Learning from the History

11/19/2002
Mariko Furukawa

Kids, how do you remember the terrorism attack that happened in the United States on September 11th? Quite a few people were killed at once. This incident was such a tragedy. Did you feel angry or sad? Did this event make you realize how terrible, pitiful and grievous the other tragedies in the past have been? Or did you think that you do not want other terrible things to happen in the future? If so, do not ever forget these feelings. Always remembering the terror and sadness is what I believe prevents people from causing more tragedies.

The more sorrowful, awful and shocking the events are, the longer people tend to remember them. September 11th might not have been shocking enough for some of you. Others might have thought that the event was somebody else's affairs, but it was not. Unfortunately, the tragic things keep happening at different places and times. In Japan, people do not expect to be killed on any given day because it is a very peaceful country now. There was a time, however, when Japan was involved in a war and a very awful and pitiful event happened during this time. I am going to tell you what you will find in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

On August 6th, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15 am. The bright flash was seen and people heard a loud roar as if a thunderstorm had attacked nearby. Soon, a big mushroom cloud rose up to the sky. It gradually swelled and glinted silver. Those who were within 2km of the hypocenter were killed instantly. People kept dying one after another. One hundred and fourteen thousand people died within a week of the explosion; another 86,000 died from their injuries by the end of the year. Three days later, on August 9th, Nagasaki was attacked by another atomic bomb. This time, about 112,000 people suffered and died.

The museum presents many pictures and relics. The damage from the bomb was too terrible to look at. Half the energy of the bomb was turned into extremely hot wind, which blew everything away. You would find lots of relics that are either burned or crooked such as twisted steel pipes and melted coins. Broken glass fragments pierced people's bodies. A person who was sitting on the steps outside of the bank disappeared in a flash. His shadow was burned onto the steps.

About half an hour later, the fire broke out here and there. The whole city was in a big conflagration that lasted for three days. The hypocenter burned to the ground. Almost everything was reduced to ashes. People tried to run away and craved water. The phrase, "Give me water, water…." is engraved on one of the monuments in the Hiroshima Peace Park. This phrase represents the feelings many people must have had before they died. They hastened to drink rain water that contained dust and soot produced by the explosion. This black and heavy rain, contaminated by radioactivity, was called Black Rain, and it affected many people for the rest of their lives.

The museum also portrays the story of a girl who was exposed to radiation when she was two years old and died of leukemia when she was twelve. Her name is Sadako. She survived the bomb and started her life outside of the city as if she were healthy. Sadako was very athletic and always won first place in any running race. She was also a very considerate, thoughtful, and cheerful girl. Everybody loved her. All of a sudden, she started to feel sick and had to be sent to a hospital. Her classmates were greatly shocked. They thought, "Why Sadako?" and "Am I going to die also?" They were desperate and anxious. They visited Sadako every day but never told her that she was going to die. She never complained or cried, which was unbearable for those who were taking care of her. Even though she had a very positive attitude toward her life, her future was taken away. She folded a thousand paper cranes with the hope of recovering. Her cranes became smaller and smaller towards her terminal stage. Finally, she died, and she never had the chance to get her normal and bright life back.

As in her case, radiation is a very long-lasting power. Most of the survivors are still suffering from the effects of the radiation. Those who were burned from the fire regenerated jelly-like skin with many lumps all over their bodies. Leukemia, cataracts, cancers and many other diseases emerged after lying dormant for years. Many still struggle against these diseases and the right to live a normal life. Amidst this terrible legacy, the country reacted in various ways to embrace the cause of peace. The creation of the Memorial Museum and the Park symbolized one of the actions that people took for peace. They were to pray for the victims and to let the world know what has happened in the past. We do not want these tragedies to happen again. We can not let anybody suffer from the pains anymore.

Everybody has the right to live in peace. We are not the only victims in the long history of terror and suffering. Japan also has done lots of horrible things to China. Japanese soldiers massacred over two hundred thousand Chinese in Nanjin during the 15-years war. The 731 military party practiced many different kinds of bacteriological experiments on prisoners every day. The soldiers dissected the prisoners while they were alive; they forced the prisoners to stand outside when the temperature was -20 degrees Celsius. It was so cold that their hands froze. The sins that our country has committed are unforgettable. The event must have been shocking enough for Chinese to remember. They would never forget what we have done to them and what they felt about it. These awful events cannot be forgotten. But I do not want them to even think about retaliation or causing another war. We have to learn not to repeat the tragedy from the past.

A philosopher, George Santayana, said, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it." I see a hope there. In other words, as long as people remember the pain and the terror that awful things can bring, they will not want to go through another tragedy. People who survived the bomb and all others who have experience tragedies did not want the same incidents to happen again. Pain and sorrow are things that can be shared; they do not need to be repeated. Let these feelings help you maintain the peace. Always remember the grief and the terror that we would have to go through in future wars and other tragedies. We have had enough sins in history. Kids, you have a future; please do not repeat the same horrible mistakes.