Lecture on Peace Education
Speakers: Koji Ikeda, Tomoko Yanagi, Migiwa Ishtani, introduced by David H Satterwhite
Mr. Satterwall: Senator Fulbright, who proposed a system of shared learning between the US and Japan post-WWII, deserves a large amount of credit for beginning conversations about peace. This session is in no way an attempt to cast blame regarding the nuclear bombings of cities in Japan, but it is an opportunity to hear from individuals who either survived themselves, or their parents did, one of the two bombings.
First, Ms. Yanagi, born in Hiroshima, a 'second generation' A-bomb survivor.
Points: radioactivity; perspective of other Asian countries on the bombing; work in Hiroshima on peace education.
One of the questions I've long had is now answered: were there any effects of radiation on the children of women who were pregnant at the time of the bombing? The answer: yes. Ms. Yanagi had a cancerous growth in her throat, most likely the result of radiation poisoning while her mother was pregnant. (She had surgery, and is now okay.)
August 6th, 1945, 8:15am.
According to Ms Yanagi, when people speak about Hiroshima, especially survivors, their goal is not to justify a grudge against the US; instead, it is their goal to speak to the need for world peace, understanding. This surprised me at first: it seems that a grudge would be well deserved. However, on second thought, it makes sense: Japanese culture is largely concerned with the group, the whole. This is a philosophy echoed in Buddhism. On a global scale, if the world's citizens can learn from the stories and experiences of A-bomb survivors, then the Japanese loss of life will serve a purpose.
Next: Koji Ikeda, a Hiroshima survivor, newly married on August 6th, and with a young baby. He was standing in the backyard, holding his child, when he heard a single B-29 flying overhead; there were no air raid sirens...then a sound, a light, and the explosive waves. Complete darkness. Either hell or complete paradise, or something worse. Darkness cleared, and people began moving again... He survived, as did his wife and child. His wife was badly burned...
Everything was on fire. People converged on the rivers, safe places to be when everything else was on fire. But in places oil was dripping into the water, and catching on fire. There were corpses in the water, which began to flow downriver; many people, burned badly, had gone to the river to get something to drink. The explosion had caused the river to reverse direction, and there was no water left near the epicenter - it had been blown up river; when people went to the river the water returned and crushed them, in the style of a tsumani.
I stopped taking notes, out of respect. His talk was very moving - as a man of nearly 90, he has a great deal of feeling and thought about his experiences.
Finally, Migiwa Ishtani. She is the daughter of a Hiroshima survivor, who worked for peace most of his life. He passed 5 years ago, as a result of cancer related to nuclear radiation.
This whole presentation was amazing and moving. All three have been deeply affected by the American decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It has reinforced my desire and drive to visit Nagasaki while in Arao. It'll be tight, but it is now a non-negotiable.
-Kippu
Mr. Satterwall: Senator Fulbright, who proposed a system of shared learning between the US and Japan post-WWII, deserves a large amount of credit for beginning conversations about peace. This session is in no way an attempt to cast blame regarding the nuclear bombings of cities in Japan, but it is an opportunity to hear from individuals who either survived themselves, or their parents did, one of the two bombings.
First, Ms. Yanagi, born in Hiroshima, a 'second generation' A-bomb survivor.
Points: radioactivity; perspective of other Asian countries on the bombing; work in Hiroshima on peace education.
One of the questions I've long had is now answered: were there any effects of radiation on the children of women who were pregnant at the time of the bombing? The answer: yes. Ms. Yanagi had a cancerous growth in her throat, most likely the result of radiation poisoning while her mother was pregnant. (She had surgery, and is now okay.)
August 6th, 1945, 8:15am.
According to Ms Yanagi, when people speak about Hiroshima, especially survivors, their goal is not to justify a grudge against the US; instead, it is their goal to speak to the need for world peace, understanding. This surprised me at first: it seems that a grudge would be well deserved. However, on second thought, it makes sense: Japanese culture is largely concerned with the group, the whole. This is a philosophy echoed in Buddhism. On a global scale, if the world's citizens can learn from the stories and experiences of A-bomb survivors, then the Japanese loss of life will serve a purpose.
Next: Koji Ikeda, a Hiroshima survivor, newly married on August 6th, and with a young baby. He was standing in the backyard, holding his child, when he heard a single B-29 flying overhead; there were no air raid sirens...then a sound, a light, and the explosive waves. Complete darkness. Either hell or complete paradise, or something worse. Darkness cleared, and people began moving again... He survived, as did his wife and child. His wife was badly burned...
Everything was on fire. People converged on the rivers, safe places to be when everything else was on fire. But in places oil was dripping into the water, and catching on fire. There were corpses in the water, which began to flow downriver; many people, burned badly, had gone to the river to get something to drink. The explosion had caused the river to reverse direction, and there was no water left near the epicenter - it had been blown up river; when people went to the river the water returned and crushed them, in the style of a tsumani.
I stopped taking notes, out of respect. His talk was very moving - as a man of nearly 90, he has a great deal of feeling and thought about his experiences.
Finally, Migiwa Ishtani. She is the daughter of a Hiroshima survivor, who worked for peace most of his life. He passed 5 years ago, as a result of cancer related to nuclear radiation.
This whole presentation was amazing and moving. All three have been deeply affected by the American decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It has reinforced my desire and drive to visit Nagasaki while in Arao. It'll be tight, but it is now a non-negotiable.
-Kippu
posted by kip at 23:24
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