Hiroshima and Miyajima

I spent the last few days exploring Hiroshima and Miyajima. It was an great 4 days because I was able to see some nature, a world famous shrine, learn a lot about the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and pay my respects to the victims of that tragedy. Thursday morning, I took the Shinkansen (Bullet train) to Hiroshima. This was the fourth time that I have been on this train, the world's fastest long distance rail, and I am still amazed at how quickly it covers long distances. Including 3 stops, the train took 49 minutes to get from Fukuoka to Hiroshima, a distance of almost 300 kilometers. The train is so smooth that you hardly notice the speed until you look out the window and observe mountains whizzing by in a matter of seconds. I spent the day in Hiroshima at the Peace Park.

I went to Nagasaki last month and though I didn't write about it, that city ranks very high on my "Best in Japan" list. I encourage my handful of readers to look at the Nagasaki album on my Yahoo photo website. Hiroshima, like Nagasaki, isn't a huge city by Japanese standards. Americans know of these cities because of the Atomic bombs but are often unaware of the huge Japanese cities of Fukuoka, Kobe, Nagoya, Sendai, and Yokohama (Everyone does seem to be aware of the super-cities of Osaka and Tokyo). Today, Hiroshima is about the size of Indianapolis. At the time of the bombing, it was even lower on the list of major Japanese cities.

The world changed forever on the morning of August 6, 1945. I seriously think that this day was the darkest hour in human history. Not only did the bomb kill over 140,000 people immediately and cripple hundreds of thousands more for life, it ushered in a new era in the world. Never since then have human beings been free from the threat of nuclear annihilation. Even today, from Tokyo, to New York, Beijing, Damascus, Tel Aviv, Pyongyang, Seoul, Baghdad, and all points in between, there are people going to sleep wondering when the fire from the sky will come. Make no mistake, the cat is out of the bag, it will happen again, the only question is when. There is simply too much nuclear material in the world for it not to happen again. Furthermore, humans are cruel, petty, and proud, it is only a matter of time before one person, of the countless who would like to, gets the access and the opportunity to carry out a nuclear attack. The technology has improved vastly in the past sixty years. Today, someone can take a suitcase bomb into New York, Tokyo, London, or Hong Kong and kill millions of people in an instant. I don't want to be a doomsayer but it is an inevitability. I would estimate that the chances of a nuclear bomb detonating somewhere in the United States in the next 10 years at as high as 25%. The question isn't of if one of the thousands of existing and currently be created nuclear weapons will be used to, as it was designed to do, inflict maximum damage on a civilian population. Rather, the question is of when and where.

This being noted, there is a lot to learn from the experiences of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bad thing about statistics is that they impersonalise things that should be felt as personal. The killing of any person on earth should be felt in a deep and personal way. This type of empathy is the only way to really understand tragedies. When I am visiting places like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Mi Lai, Vietnam, I seriously try to put myself in the victims place and question what it must feel like. Though I can never really understand fully, I believe that the process of trying is worthwhile and edifying. Memorials, museums, and personal accounts help with this. I was very fortunate that this time, I was able to understand in a deeper way than I had ever before (more on that later, keep reading). I should say that I was not looking forward to visiting Hiroshima. I wanted to go and felt like I needed to go but visiting places that were sites of so much anguish and suffering is hard. I remember after Mi Lai and Nagasaki, I was so spent and depressed that I didn't want to talk to anyone for days. I leave Japan in two months and I knew that Hiroshima is a place that I needed to go, if for no other reason than to go to the epicenter and pray for the people who died there and pay my respects.

Many Americans don't realize this but the technology of dropping bombs with accuracy wasn't very developed in 1945. It was nothing like today where lasers and global position satellites guide missiles to a pinpoint location. Back in 1945, the strategy wasn't much more sophisticated than flying over a city and dropping a bomb. Sure, in both atomic bombings there were military reasons behind choosing the cities (Weapons factories in Hiroshima and Naval piers in Nagasaki) but it wasn't as if there was technology available to accurately target the A-bombs. By a sad twist of fate, both in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, ground zero of the bombings were in districts particularly dense with schools. There are a very large of A-bomb survivors still alive in Japan, this is chiefly because a large percentage of the victims and subsequent survivors were students. As much as we Americans are taught that the bombs ended the war early and saved lives (and this argument may have some validity), the sad fact is that most of the casualties of the Atomic bombings were Women, children, and the elderly. Neither bombing was successful in destroying substantial military targets, though they did break the will of the people of Japan, forcing the government to submit.

While living in Japan I have often wondered how experiencing overwhelming defeat, millions dead, and the world's first atomic bombings has changed the Japanese people and the nations culture. One thing is certain, almost every Japanese person I have ever talked to is fervently anti-war. The level of anti-war sentiment held by the average person in Japan is about on the same level as America's most outspoken peace activists. While the Japanese Government frequently goes along with America's international policy because there is a pressing need for American protection (particularly from North Korea, which is both feared and reviled here in Japan), most Japanese people have very disapproving attitudes regarding the frequency in which America engages in military actions. I have had 10 year-old kids ask me, "why do Americans love war so much?".

Study of Japanese history reveals that this anti-war, pacifistic attitude is relatively new to Japan. This is, after all, the land of the Samurai, Bushido (code of the warrior), Ninja (professional assassin), and Seppuku (ritual self-disembowelment suicide done by warriors who have brought shame to their names). This is the country that from the 11th to the 17th century was basically at an almost constant state of civil war. Today, no one talks about the glories of war or the honor of being a warrior. That Japan is gone forever. Of course, this is a good thing in some ways. The world is certainly a better place because Japan, possessor of the second largest economy in the world, has abandoned all dreams of conquest. But, we are living in a world characterized by aggressive a Chinese and North Korean States. I doubt that the Japanese even have the stomach to defend themselves if it becomes necessary. Couple this attitude with a steadily decreasing population (the only major country in the world with this trend) due to extremely low birth rates, and one can see that the future is not bright for Japan. I hope that I am wrong but I would guess that Japan will be part of the Chinese Empire by the end of this century.

Getting back on topic, I went to the peace park and museums in Hiroshima. In the peace park there is a huge Cenotaph that is a memorial to the victims and a flame that will stay lit until “all atomic weapons are destroyed and the world is free of the threat of nuclear disasters”. There is also a building, now called the A-bomb Dome, that was one of only a handful of buildings in the city center after the bomb and has been left as a reminder to everyone of the damage the A-bomb inflicted. Most poignant of all is the children’s memorial. A little background information is necessary here, this is taken from http://www.sadako.org/sadakostory.htm , I encourage everyone to read this story:

The paper crane has become an international symbol of peace in recent years as a result of it's connection to the story of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki born in 1943. Sadako was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. As she grew up, Sadako was a strong, courageous and athletic girl. In 1955, at age 11, while practicing for a big race, she became dizzy and fell to the ground. Sadako was diagnosed with Leukemia, "the atom bomb" disease.
Sadako's best friend told her of an old Japanese legend which said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako hoped that the gods would grant her a wish to get well so that she could run again. She started to work on the paper cranes and completed over 1000 before dying on October 25, 1955 at the age of twelve.

Today in Japan, children from all over the country continue this legacy of making paper cranes and leaving strings of 1000 of the multi-colored paper cranes at the memorials in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. If you look at my pictures from the two cities, you will see these cranes in many shots.

I also took in a few more sights. As much as I love Japanese Castles, Hiroshima Castle was a disappointment because the original was destroyed by the A-bomb. The castle standing today, though a very well-done reproduction that was done in the old style to maintain the architectural legacy, just doesn't have the character of the old Castles like Himeji, Kumamoto, and Nijo. Though the history of Hiroshima is sad, this city, like Nagasaki, has amazingly been brought back to life. Today, both cities are beautiful, vibrant, and very modern. Because the cities were leveled 60 years ago, the percentage of newer buildings is much higher in Hiroshima and Nagasaki than anywhere else in Japan. Hiroshima especially, has some of the best modern architecture that I have seen. There are many buildings that were creatively designed and it is obvious that the city planners were very careful to make sure that the large scale projects blended with the natural environmental features and the surrounding architectural styles. I am sometimes annoyed when I see boring steel and glass skyscrapers that seem to clash with everything around them, you won't find these type of buildings in Hiroshima.

Because I knew that the trip to Hiroshima would be emotionally taxing, I decided to go to Miyajima after my 2 days in Hiroshima. Miyajima is world famous for the giant Torii Gate that stands out in the water in front of the beautiful Itsukashima Shrine. This shrine was built so that at high tide, it appears to float on the water. The Island is also famous for the abundant wildlife (particularly monkeys and deer) that roam wild and free, and the sacred mountain, Mt. Misen, that dominates the island. In ancient times, the island of Miyajima was considered very sacred and there are many temples and shrines all over the island, including near the top of Mt. Misen. The views from the mountaintop of Hiroshima Bay and the surrounding Inland Sea, are truly magnificent. Just for the nature and shrines alone, I would have loved Miyajima. It definitely deserves the moniker (which is inescapable because everyone describe it as such), “One of the most beautiful places in Japan”.

Luckily, I was fortunate to have one of the most amazing experiences of my life on Miyajima. I should note that Miyajima is a mere 10 minute ferry ride from Hiroshima and you can see Hiroshima Bay from the island. Here is how it happened: Miyajima is a place that most people come for a day trip and return to the mainland. I wanted to stay overnight on the island so I booked a room. After 6 p.m., the busy island just empties completely. Seriously, in one hour it went from being packed and touristy to completely dead. I was wondering around after eating a good dinner of oysters, rice, sushi, and squid soup when I encountered a small sake shop. I saw that the store had cold beer so I decided to buy a can. I went in and noticed a group 5 of old men sitting around the table with the shopkeeper drinking sake and talking. I struck up a conversation and they invited me to stay and have a few cups of Sake with them. I didn’t leave the store for 3 hours. It turned out that the youngest among the men was 69 years-old. I managed to have a great conversation with them about the weather, shrines, sports, my experiences teaching, the characteristics of quality Sake, and many other topics. Keep in mind, none of these men knew any English and I was communicating with only my poor Japanese (though this experience made me realize that I know more Japanese than I thought because I was able to talk about various things and understood a lot of what they said). Though sometimes communication was rough, we managed pretty well. After about an hour, the subject turned to Hiroshima. When I told them that I had been the day before, they were very curious about my impressions.

They seemed impressed that I was so interested in the history of Hiroshima and the A-bomb. It finally came out that all 5 of them had been in Hiroshima on the day of the bombing. They were very old friends who knew each other since childhood. At the time, 3 were elementary school students and 2 were Junior High School students. For the next 2 hours, these men told me about their experiences of that day and the days immediately after. They told me many sad things, (one man lost both his younger sisters that day), showed me keloid scars from the blast, and described in detail the experience of the bomb (the noise was what stood out most for all five men), they seemed happy to talk about these things with me. They continued to poor me Sake I soon became one of their group. Customers came in to but liquor and were quickly served so we could get back to talking. The customers seemed surprised to see the young American drinking sake with the old men. The men would put their arms on my shoulder and introduce me as their friend. I cannot begin to explain how touched I was. I asked them if they felt any resentment against Americans and one an said that he resents the governments that ruled both countries during the war but that he judges a man by his heart, the others murmured in agreement as another told me he could see I was a good man and I was always welcome to drink with him. It may sound silly but this acceptance brought tears to my eyes (which I hid of course because it would be unbecoming to Japanese men). Now, as I write this 24 hours later, I can still feel the lump in my throat caused by the extraordinary humaneness of our interaction together. It was an experience that I will never forget.

I took a couple of snapshots and one man motioned for me to stop and wait a minute. He left and returned 5 minutes later with a really nice digital SLR (easily a $5000 camera). His hobby is photography and he explained that he wanted to commemorate the evening with a nice picture. He set up the camera and took some pictures and then left again. He returned 20 minutes later with 2 prints of the picture, which we all signed. One print was given to me and the other was immediately framed and hung on the wall in the Sake store. If you are ever in Miyajima, Japan, look for this picture at the small Sake store behind Tsukashima Shrine. The man also gave me a large glossy print of the island’s famous giant Torri at sunset. It is an amazing picture that will occupy a place in my home for the rest of my life. I know that this has been long. I wanted to record this experience in detail because I am not sure I will have a cultural interaction as rich, human, and enriching as this one was. I hope that you enjoyed reading it.