Hiroshima

[Tim]

I'm back from Hiroshima. Wow. That's all there is to say about it.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I read Hiroshima when I was 9 or 10, and I don't think any book in my youth had a greater effect on me. The story about rescuers trying to pull a woman out of the river, and her skin slid off as if she were wearing gloves, haunts me to this day. Visiting Japan is several places down on my bucket list, but if I do, Hiroshima is a must see.

[Brian]

I read Hiroshima when I was 9 or 10, and I don't think any book in my youth had a greater effect on me. The story about rescuers trying to pull a woman out of the river, and her skin slid off as if she were wearing gloves, haunts me to this day. Visiting Japan is several places down on my bucket list, but if I do, Hiroshima is a must see.

I remember that book. About the same age. Impacted me as well.
I've been to Nagasaki. Very sobering.

[happyone]

If I ever get back to Japan, Hiroshima is one the places I am going to visit. My sister served her mission there and said it was very moving.

[Fiyero]

I've heard that when the bomb went off, structures dissolved into nothingness so quickly that their shadows remained. Is that true? How long did they last?

[RobinFinderson]

Issey Miyake, the fashion designer, recently wrote this Op-Ed in the NYT. I thought it was pretty moving:

IN April, President Obama pledged to seek peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons. He called for not simply a reduction, but elimination. His words awakened something buried deeply within me, something about which I have until now been reluctant to discuss.

I realized that I have, perhaps now more than ever, a personal and moral responsibility to speak out as one who survived what Mr. Obama called the “flash of light.”

On Aug. 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on my hometown, Hiroshima. I was there, and only 7 years old. When I close my eyes, I still see things no one should ever experience: a bright red light, the black cloud soon after, people running in every direction trying desperately to escape — I remember it all. Within three years, my mother died from radiation exposure.

I have never chosen to share my memories or thoughts of that day. I have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to put them behind me, preferring to think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy. I gravitated toward the field of clothing design, partly because it is a creative format that is modern and optimistic.

I tried never to be defined by my past. I did not want to be labeled “the designer who survived the atomic bomb,” and therefore I have always avoided questions about Hiroshima. They made me uncomfortable.

But now I realize it is a subject that must be discussed if we are ever to rid the world of nuclear weapons. There is a movement in Hiroshima to invite Mr. Obama to Universal Peace Day on Aug. 6 — the annual commemoration of that fateful day. I hope he will accept. My wish is motivated by a desire not to dwell on the past, but rather to give a sign to the world that the American president’s goal is to work to eliminate nuclear wars in the future.

Last week, Russia and the United States signed an agreement to reduce nuclear arms. This was an important event. However, we are not naïve: no one person or country can stop nuclear warfare. In Japan, we live with the constant threat from our nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea. There are reports of other countries acquiring nuclear technology, too. For there to be any hope of peace, people around the world must add their voices to President Obama’s.

If Mr. Obama could walk across the Peace Bridge in Hiroshima — whose balustrades were designed by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi as a reminder both of his ties to East and West and of what humans do to one another out of hatred — it would be both a real and a symbolic step toward creating a world that knows no fear of nuclear threat. Every step taken is another step closer to world peace.

Issey Miyake is a clothing designer. This article was translated by members of his staff from the Japanese.

[myboynoah]

Issey Miyake, the fashion designer, recently wrote this Op-Ed in the NYT. I thought it was pretty moving:

Yeah, that is moving.

Having spent time in Japan, I had the opportunity to work with people whose relatives were affected by the bomb at Hiroshima and the fire-bombing of Tokyo. Amazingly there is no anger, none at all, in the people I have met.

Sho ga nai.

Let's get the trains running.

[Tim]

Yeah, that is moving.

Having spent time in Japan, I had the opportunity to work with people whose relatives were affected by the bomb at Hiroshima and the fire-bombing of Tokyo. Amazingly there is no anger, none at all, in the people I have met.

Sho ga nai.

Let's get the trains running.

That was the thing that struck me the most about the park: it's not about fault or blame or guilt. It takes a very neutral stance on the facts and looks forward peacefully. Very touching.

[thesaint258]

I felt the same way when I visited a concentration camp in Austria. It's hard to describe how you feel when you walk where those prisoners did. You can walk into an area where "housing" used to exist, and there's a plaque that tells you how many thousands of people are buried in that one small area. There are also plaques around the entire camp commemorating places where people are known to have been executed. Then the quarry is just overwhelming. It's very sobering.

[New Mexican Disaster]

Hiroshima is one of the best and most memorable books that I have ever read. I also love A bell for Adano, by John Hersey. Someday I really want to go to Hiroshima.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I read Hiroshima when I was 9 or 10, and I don't think any book in my youth had a greater effect on me. The story about rescuers trying to pull a woman out of the river, and her skin slid off as if she were wearing gloves, haunts me to this day. Visiting Japan is several places down on my bucket list, but if I do, Hiroshima is a must see.

We moved Japan up on our bucket list, in part because filsdepac is working in Tokyo for three months. So we've come over to spend a few days (three in Tokyo, two in Hiroshima and the last three in Kyoto). Hiroshima was even more interesting than anticipated. We had an excellent guide who took us first to Miyajima, an island with some beautiful Shinto and Buddhist temples, along with an iconic Torii arch in the water. We spent the afternoon at the Peace Park and museum that's very well done. Two survivors spoke to us for several minutes, and the various displays (including a simulation of the blast) were deeply moving, such as a tricycle a little boy was riding near the hypocenter of the blast.

Despite the somber afternoon, we've had a great visit. fils is a foodie so we've been dining superbly but differently each night--yakitori, teppanyaki (with a fiscally irresponsible amount of Kobe beef), okonomiyaki, multiple sushi joints and others. Still much to see, but anyone visiting Japan ought to include Hiroshima on the itinerary.

[Jeff Lebowski]

We moved Japan up on our bucket list, in part because filsdepac is working in Tokyo for three months. So we've come over to spend a few days (three in Tokyo, two in Hiroshima and the last three in Kyoto). Hiroshima was even more interesting than anticipated. We had an excellent guide who took us first to Miyajima, an island with some beautiful Shinto and Buddhist temples, along with an iconic Torii arch in the water. We spent the afternoon at the Peace Park and museum that's very well done. Two survivors spoke to us for several minutes, and the various displays (including a simulation of the blast) were deeply moving, such as a tricycle a little boy was riding near the hypocenter of the blast.

Despite the somber afternoon, we've had a great visit. fils is a foodie so we've been dining superbly but differently each night--yakitori, teppanyaki (with a fiscally irresponsible amount of Kobe beef), okonomiyaki, multiple sushi joints and others. Still much to see, but anyone visiting Japan ought to include Hiroshima on the itinerary.

Miyajima is great! As is the peace park, assuming you can stomach some of the revisionist history.

You are probably eating Hiroshima style okonomiyaki with noodles. When you get to Kyoto be sure to try Osaka style. Both are very good.

[myboynoah]

Miyajima is great! As is the peace park, assuming you can stomach some of the revisionist history.

You are probably eating Hiroshima style okonomiyaki with noodles. When you get to Kyoto be sure to try Osaka style. Both are very good.

Yes, eat the real ononomiyaki. Also, if you're up for working-man level dives, Gyoza no Osho. There are plenty in Kyoto. Have the gyoza; the best in Japan (IMHO).

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yes, eat the real ononomiyaki. Also, if you're up for working-man level dives, Gyoza no Osho. There are plenty in Kyoto. Have the gyoza; the best in Japan (IMHO).

Yes!

[clackamascoug]

Bento on the Ginza is as good as it gets...