Column: The atomic bomb exploded on a Monday morning
Aug. 6, 2019
As the lyrics to the following song indicate, “Getsu, Getsu, Ka, Sui, Moku, Kin, Kin” meaning “Monday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday,” weekends and holidays don’t exist during war. Back then, there was one bank that made it a rule to hold its weekly morning meeting before starting work on Monday. This is why the bank employees were conscientiously trying to arrive at the bank in time for the meeting. But they were mercilessly struck from overhead by the flash, heat rays, radiation, and massive blast of the atomic bomb.
Seventy four years ago, at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, which was a Monday, the United States military dropped an atomic bomb over the very center of the city of Hiroshima at a time when refreshed workers, in good spirits, were on their way to start another week of work. Even if the bomb had not been an atomic bomb, the indiscriminate air strike that targeted innocent civilians would still be inexcusable.
There have been many A-bomb survivors who have harbored feelings of bitterness toward the United States for a long time but have never tried to talk about their experiences of the atomic bombing. Instead of feeling joy at having been able to narrowly escape death, for the rest of their lives they have had to suffer the blame and shame of being one of the very few who managed to survive while their loved ones perished.
A 12-year old junior high school student who didn’t take part in the work to tear down houses to create a fire lane, due to a stomachache, lost all his classmates who headed for the worksite that day, which was near the hypocenter. He says, “It was very hard to meet the parents of my close friends or even be seen by them.” Feeling overwhelmed with shame and guilt, he left the school.
More than 30 years after the atomic bombing, the A-bombed man came to realize that talking about his A-bomb experiences is one way to overcome his sense of shame and guilt, and so he started sharing his experiences with others. The City of Hiroshima has inherited a range of accounts from the A-bomb survivors that are imbued with their feelings and emotions. Their stories will surely continue to be passed on to all future generations from tomorrow, too.
(Originally published on August 6, 2019)
Seventy four years ago, at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, which was a Monday, the United States military dropped an atomic bomb over the very center of the city of Hiroshima at a time when refreshed workers, in good spirits, were on their way to start another week of work. Even if the bomb had not been an atomic bomb, the indiscriminate air strike that targeted innocent civilians would still be inexcusable.
There have been many A-bomb survivors who have harbored feelings of bitterness toward the United States for a long time but have never tried to talk about their experiences of the atomic bombing. Instead of feeling joy at having been able to narrowly escape death, for the rest of their lives they have had to suffer the blame and shame of being one of the very few who managed to survive while their loved ones perished.
A 12-year old junior high school student who didn’t take part in the work to tear down houses to create a fire lane, due to a stomachache, lost all his classmates who headed for the worksite that day, which was near the hypocenter. He says, “It was very hard to meet the parents of my close friends or even be seen by them.” Feeling overwhelmed with shame and guilt, he left the school.
More than 30 years after the atomic bombing, the A-bombed man came to realize that talking about his A-bomb experiences is one way to overcome his sense of shame and guilt, and so he started sharing his experiences with others. The City of Hiroshima has inherited a range of accounts from the A-bomb survivors that are imbued with their feelings and emotions. Their stories will surely continue to be passed on to all future generations from tomorrow, too.
(Originally published on August 6, 2019)
