A kihiro Yamaguchi

The Importance of Mutual Understanding

O n e d a y i n February 2003, I followed my parents and entered a large concrete building. As I walked around the ba re b u i l d i n g , I suddenly came up on t e r r i b l e scenes. Melting ski n , m a g g o t - i n f e s t e d corpses and devastated land appeared.

E verything seemed dark, t h e b l a c k a n d r ed of fire and blood. Oh my god , I t h o u g h t . I have come to h e l l . I was so scared, and I c o u l d n o t stop myself from

Fig.1 This “ Barefoot Gen ” l e a v i n g t h e exh i b i t i o n h a l l . I was in the comic frame represents the

tragedy of the atomic Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. b o m b . ( N a kazawa p254)

The e x h i b i t s e m p h a s i z e d the tragedy of the bombing , h o p i n g for world peace, and they said that we must not repeat the same mistake anymore. A dditionally, the bombing seemed depicted as an unprece d e n t e d a c t o f terrorism against civilians shown from the perspective of a v i c t i m .

I nterestingly, history is one of the most invisible indications of c u l t u r e , and it is strongly bonded to our patriotism, or t h e identity of citizens. Usually, most people ar e educated a b o u t their history, which was created by their ancestors and t h e m s e l v e s , along with t h e i r c u l t u r e . B u t w e may not realize the d i f f e r e n ce in perspectives b e t w e e n our history and that of others .

Sometimes, this unrecognized difference creates ser ious conflicts.

Through my experiences in Japan and t h e U.S . , I have noticed d i f f e r e n t perspectives about the atomic bomb and have realized the importance of understanding d i v e r s e v i e w p o i n t s, in order to r e a l i z e one’ s own p o t e n t i a l c u l t u r a l p r e j u d i c e .

A f t e r I came to the United States i n July 2010, I r e a l i z e d that the atomic bombing was w i d e l y justified in th is c o u n t r y . T he perspect i v e o n the atomic bombings w h i c h I l e a r n e d in J a p a n i s very d i f f e r e n t from t h a t o f this country. In 2009, lots of media in

Japan emphasized President Obama ’ s speech in Prague before the summit of the U.S. and the European Union as a “ change,” or t h e reflection of a change of American perspectives. He s a i d , “ A s a nuclear power – as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon – the United States ha s a moral responsibility to act ”

( “ Remarks of President Barack Obama ” ). Looking at media responses to the speech, many people in Japan could considered it a reflection of the United States ’ r e p e n t a n ce of past events .

H owever, I real i z e d t h i s m a y n o t be t r u e when I heard t h e objections to his speech in the U.S .

T o l e a r n about American perspective s about the bombing, we can read s o m e high school t e x t b o o k s used in the U.S. A s we can see from one of t h e m , The American P r o m i s e , t h e b o m b i ng s e e m s t o b e d e p i c t ed as t h e r i g h t d e c i s i o n , and t h i s perspective has become c o m m o n ly accepted by m a n y A m e r i c a n p e o p l e . The book d e s c r i b e s the atomic bomb i n g a s f o l l o w s :

Truman made the decision to drop it on Japan to end the war quickly and to prevent a n invasion of the home islands, which would have cost millions of lives. The war ended quickly thereafter, with lives saved on both sides of the battlefield. After the explosion of the A - b o m b o n Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese emperor asked that h i s p eople end their fight. World War II thus came to an end . ( “ Atomic Warfare ” )

F rom the textbook o r t h e representations of Hiroshima l i k e in F i g . 1 , it s e e m s possible to s i m p l y j u s t i f y or condemn t h e b o m b i n g . However, we should not do s o e a s i l y based only on a single perspective. T he problem is not just about the b o m b i n g s .

E ven now, I have a lot of things to l e a r n , and I cannot justify a n y t h i n g . T h e m o r e I l e a r n about it, the more complex it seems.

Because of the c o m p l e x i t y and the ambiguity of t h e atomic bomb’ s m e a n i n g s related to d i f f e r e n t nationalism s , it is very hard to see t h e f a c t s , t h e r e a l purpose and background of it.

To this day , m a n y p e o p l e in the two nations often discuss t h e j u s t i ce or injustice based on their experiences , b u t t h e y c a n n o t reach a set t l e m e n t . Even t o d a y , i f someone tries t o justify or c o n d e m n the historical events in terms of only their national perspective , i t i n e v i t a b l y w i l l create antagonism . W e need to think about the purposes of how history is depicted, and realize the way nation alism is created bas ed on historical representation s . W e n e e d t o think about the purposes , the reasons why s o m e h i s t o r i e s try to justify national actions .

T his may be a good way to know about t h e invisible nationalism within our histories . If possible, we s h o u l d g o t o historical sites and l e a r n d i f f e r e n t perspectives to u n d e r s t a n d h o w o t h e r s l o o k a t t h e same events . T h i s is one of the best way s t o r e d u c e c o n f l i c t s and increase m u t u a l understanding .

B ack in the museum , I left the fear s o m e e x h i b i t s , and w a i t e d until my p a r e n t s c a m e out. W e l e f t t h e m u s e u m . I f e l t a cool breeze, and walked through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. I t took a while to be free from the fear and g e t t o s l e e p that day.

Looki n g a t t h e ceiling in bed , I s t a r t ed t h i n k i n g . Why w a s t h e d e p i c tion of the e x h i b i t so g r a p h i c and scary? A n d s t i l l , I a m t h i n k i n g . W o r k s C i t e d

“ Atomic Warfare. ” The American Promise: A HISTORY OF THE

UNITED STATES. James L. Roark, Michael P. Johnson,

Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, Alan Lawson, Susan M.

H a r t m a n n , eds. Bedford/St. Martin ’ s . Web. 21 Oct. 2010.

< http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/history/cap/con_index.

h t m ? 2 5 >

Buruma, Ian. The Wages Of Guilt: M emories of W ar in Germany

a n d J a p a n . New York: HarperCollinsCanadaLtd , 1 9 9 4 . P r i n t .

Fujiwara, Kiichi. “ Sensou wo kiokusuru ” 戦争を記憶する.

Tokyo: Koudansya Gendai Shinsyo 講談社現代新書, 2001.

P r i n t .

Nakazawa, Keiji. Barefoot Gen : A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima

v o l u m e 1 . San F r a n c i s c o : Last Gasp of San F r a n c i s c o , 2004.

P r i n t .

“ Remarks of President Barack Obama ” Embassy of the United

S t a t e s . T he United States of America. 5 April. 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2010 < http://prague.usembassy.gov/obama.html >

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