Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park at night
Here is my journal entry for the study trip to Hiroshima and Kyoto. First thing that needs to be said is that the way we traveled from Yokohama to Hiroshima was absolutely amazing. We had the opportunity to ride on the bullet train, the Shinkansen. This is the quickest transportation by train available and definitely a great experience.
We arrived in Hiroshima on Monday September, 12 in the afternoon. The Aster Plaza is where we checked into for 3 nights. After the check-in process we walked over to the Peace Memorial Museum. This Museum focused on the events that led up the bombing, the destructiveness of the blast, and then the long lasting effects. There were very informative displays and videos to look at. The most notable viewings in the museum had to be of the horrible effects of the bomb and how the radiation genetically altered many people. I found it unbelievable that I was actually standing close to where the bomb had been dropped.
After we got back from the Peace Memorial Park, we made our way to the 7th floor conference room and attended a lecture given by a guest speaker. Ms. Ogura was the guest speaker and she spoke about her and others’ eye witness accounts of the atom bomb. Her lecture was informative and insightful, and also very emotional. I have never had the opportunity to meet a survivor of the atomic bombings, so her talk helped to give me a better visualization and idea of what happened that day on August 6th, 1945. The descriptions of the bomb dropping and its effects were very detailed.
Her main point throughout the talk was to give other people a first hand account of the destructiveness and after effects of nuclear power. She wants her story and other survivors’ stories to be told in order that more and more people will fully understand the terrible power and threat of nuclear weapons. It was interesting to hear that most survivors were unwilling to speak about what had happened, because of the fear of discrimination and the weight of guilt from surviving. I had before figured that many survivors would have no problem telling others about their experience, yet I was able from Ms. Ogura to understand the very complicated nature of it all.
It was also interesting to hear her views on America. I did not sense any resentment to the United States and the American citizens. At the beginning of her talk she even commented on how sorry she was for the devastating situation in New Orleans. She was genuine and sincere in her words and thoughts.
In her talk she expressed concern about the rising nationalism in Japan. The younger generation, in her opinion, likes the increasing military authorization and power. They want to see a more powerful and autonomous military, and to this Ms. Ogura was very critical on their desires.
The next day on Tuesday September 13th, we attended a lecture by Dr. Tanaka in the same conference room. He focused on the problems of indiscriminate killing and bombings like the atomic weapons used and the bombings that still occur today. I noticed that he was critical of the Japanese government and especially Prime Minister Koizumi. In his opinion, the government is not too interested in the atomic bombings and its history. Dr. Tanaka believes that Koizumi feels a nuclear weapon would be necessary for defense. His lecture was very interesting but seemed rather idealistic. Since he wants the termination of civilian casualties and killings war can no longer exist. With current situations and conflicts between countries, war does seem inevitable.
After the talk we went to Miyajima and saw so many amazing sights. It was great to be able to stand in front of the O-torii gate and see historic buildings like the five-storied pagoda.
The next day on Wednesday September 14th, our group went to the Yamato museum to see things about the huge battleship Japan constructed during World War II. This museum was interesting, but hard to do anything other than just look at the visual displays. It seemed to me that this place was more about the greatness of the Yamato and not about the problems with World War II and war itself. This whole museum made me think about the Japanese and their nationalism. Nationalism does seem to be on the rise and these feelings can be dangerous as what it can have in store for Japan later down the line.
After the Yamato museum a history teacher from Japan took the group around Hiroshima and Kure. We saw the naval area in Kure and the huge submarines that we docked there. I s aw that the flags on the submarines were the same as the Japanese military during WWII and couldn’t help but wonder how other neighboring countries felt about Japan’s military and gradual rise. The history teacher then took us to an underground area where during the war it was occupied by mostly children and women. The cave was so dark, and felt kind of creepy to walk through it. When we all had to turn off our lights in the cave, it was a good time to try and imagine what some innocent civilians had to go through.