Passing on the Torch

If you decide to read just one of my blog entries, please let if be this one.

When I was in Hiroshima I had the honor of listening to Miyoko Mastubara. Last weekend this 75-year-old Japanese woman, wearing white horn-rimmed glasses and dressed in a light pink cardigan, addressed a group of students from Kansai Gaidai University. As Miyoko began to speak, I was struck by memories of my grandmother, June Saling. Nothing specific brought to mind this parallel, just the feelings sparked by looking into kind eyes and by hearing the captivating voice of an experienced storyteller. Miyoko's story, however, was far more grim and heavy than any my grandmother had ever told me. In her closing, Miyoko asked us, on the behalf of all hibakusha (atomic bomb victims), to tell friends and family of the horror of the atomic bomb, to help prevent such an evil from recurring, and to pass on the torch of hope and peace. She told us, "Please keep our torch burning!" So I will do what little I can.

Miyoko was 12 years old when the bomb was dropped. 12 years old. Can you even imagine? It was a clear, sunny day. Miyoko and her classmates, her friends, were working on creating fire breakers. They were clearing away the rubble of demolished houses, when one of her friends identified the sound of a B-29. Shading their eyes with their hands, they all looked up. At this point in her story, Miyoko raised her hands to demonstrate how she and her friends looked up into the sky. We had been warned beforehand that flash photography would hurt Miyoko's sensitive eyes, and now we could see why. We could also see that both her pinkie fingers had been bent and stunted in their growth.

Miyoko was 1.5 km away from the hypocenter. When the bomb was dropped she fell to the ground, and when she stood up she was alone in the dark. Miyoko described how there was an awful smell, so she raised her hands to cover her nose. It was then she realized that the skin on her hands and face had melted and that her burnt flesh was the source of the bad smell. Her clothes had also burned away. Relating the pain and terror, Miyoko said in a whisper, "I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home." On that day, Miyoko experienced horrors that no person, let alone a child, should ever experience.

Miyoko ran through the ruins, the hell that Hiroshima had become, until she reached the river. There she was greeted by her friend, Michiko. At first, Miyoko didn't recognize Michiko because her face had been burned away. For a time, they ran together trying to escape the fires and to find their teacher. Suddenly, Michiko collapsed saying, "I can't go any further." Miyoko told us that Michiko was pleading with her eyes not to be left behind. But they had to separate. Three days later, Michiko was found by her parents. She had died. Miyoko blames herself, saying that Michiko might have survived if only she had helped her to a first-aid station. Miyoko said, when thinking of Michiko, "my heart aches."

Miyoko's tragedy didn't end there. That day was only the beginning of Miyoko's pain. She had to deal with her keloid scarring, submit to numerous surgical operations, survive breast cancer, rise above her own people's discrimination (in regards to finding a job and a husband), and cope with the deaths of her two brothers and her father. All three were secondary hibakusha, who died years later as a result of being exposed to so much radiation. Her younger brother died just 10 months ago from leukemia. I am in awe of this woman, her strength, her courage, and above all her compassion. There was never any hate in her voice, only sorrow, as she said, "Give me back my father. Give me back my brothers. Give me back myself."

Can we claim to understand what happened in Hiroshima that day? In the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima there is a wall covered with 593 letters. Each time a world leader carries out nuclear weapons testing, they receive an official letter of protest from the mayor of Hiroshima. I counted and there were at least 13 written to the current United States president and more than 15 written to the previous. They are running out of space on that wall.

After Miyoko's speech, I talked with my friend Beth who said if the bomb hadn't been dropped her grandfather would have been sent over to fight (and presumably die) in Japan. Beth might not be here today if the bomb hadn't been dropped on Hiroshima. President Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb based on the idea that it would save somewhere between 200,000 to a million Americen soldiers' lives. Additionally, the U.S. had spent a bucket load of money, time, and man-power to create this weapon, so might as well try it out right? Many of the scientists wanted to see what would happen. Thus curiosity killed more than just one measly cat. To be fair, many people also make the argument that dropping the atomic bomb ended up saving more lives than it took, Japanese lives included. During WW2, the Japanese had shown themselves willing to fight to the bitter end, even going so far as to arm women and children. Some argue that the atomic bomb was a necessity.

I can't accept this. As I walked through the Peace Museum and saw the personal possessions of the children who had died in the blast (13-year-old Noriko's school uniform, 12-year-old Akira's belt, 3-year-old Shinichi's tricycle), my beliefs were strengthened. There are always alternatives to violence. Always. When it comes to finding alternatives to hate and to leading the world towards peace, I put my faith in my friends at home, as well as, the friends I've made here in Japan.

The Official Homepage of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Please click here and here for more information about Miyoko Matsubara.

Six Impossible Things

Sometimes I have believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. ~Lewis Carroll

Here are my six impossible (highly unlikely) things before breakfast:

1. I wrote a blog entry.

Can you believe it?

2. I woke up at 6AM... and went running.

I don't want to believe it.

3. I saw an old Japanese man walking a polar bear.

Slight exaggeration, but not by much. This white, fluffy bear (a.k.a. one big dawg) almost came up to the shoulder of the tiny elderly gentleman who was walking her. It wasn't hard to imagine him jumping onto her back, yelling a battle cry, and riding off into the sunset...er sunrise.

4. I did homework.

Did you know in the Japanese Shinto religion people can become kamis (gods) after they die? These people have to be special, like monks, national heroes, martyrs, military officers, etc. My favorite kami of them all is *drum roll* Thomas Edison! No joke. In Kyoto there is a Shinto shrine called the Denden-gu, which roughly translated means "Shrine of Electricity and Wavelength." The deities of this shrine are the Patriarch of Electricity and the Patriarch of Wavelength (a.k.a. Thomas Edison and Heinrich Hertz). At Denden-gu you can find bronze portraits of both these scientists. Actually, Edison did visit Japan, and even decided to use Japanese bamboo in constructing the filament of his incandescent light bulbs. There are so many interesting and quirky facets of Shinto. I hope to have at least one blog entry dedicated to this fascinating religion.

5. I practiced Japanese.

This morning marked my complete transformation to the dork side. Do you know the "Ring Verse" from the Lord of the Rings? Most everybody is familiar with the last couple lines:
One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.
Many Tolkien fans have memorized the entire verse. But how many people have those last couple lines memorized in Japanese? Mwhahaha!
Hitotsu no yubiwa wa subete o sube,
Hitotsu no yubiwa wa subete o mitsuke,
Hitotsu no yubiwa wa subete o toraete,
Kurayami no naka ni tsunagitomeru.
It was for homework... seriously! I had to write and present a biography in Japanese about an artist/writer/singer of my choice. I chose J.R.R. Tolkien. So there.

6. I'm going to eat an apple for breakfast. Just one apple, and it will be enough to last me until lunch.

This isn't about what a small eater I am. It seems almost everything in Japan is smaller than in America: the cars, the drinking cups, the meal portions, the people, etc. There are, however, a few notable exceptions. One exception is that polar bear and the other is the apples. They are huge! Bigger than grapefruits, these mutant apples (called ringo in Japanese) are slightly larger than magic eight-balls. I get full after eating just one! And they taste good too! Okay, I lied. I won't be eating just an apple. I'll also have a piece of toast. I love Japanese bread; it's white, fluffy, and substantial. When I leave Japan it will the food I miss the most. At almost every meal for desert, I have toast smothered with strawberry jam.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

It's come to this. I knew (and you might have assumed) that it would happen eventually. But I didn't think it would happen so soon. I've broken my resolution to blog at a weekly interval. Each day I put off blogging the harder it became to actually imagine sitting down to type. Don't get your hopes up. This isn't going to be much of an entry. I'm writing just so it won't feel as daunting to write a real entry tomorrow... or maybe the day after... or this weekend... or sometime in the future.

I don't want this to be a complete waste of your time, so I'm including links to photo albums of my fun-tastic weekend. *embarrassed* That would be the weekend before last. Just click on the photos to be transported to a land of magic and mystery... okay, it's only Japan, BUT there is a magician and some other mysterious men. I apologize to Facebook users who have already looked at these albums, but for those who haven't, believe me, photos are more interesting and accurate than any long-winded blathering I could contrive. Please enjoy!

Saturday February 9th in Kyoto

Part One:


Part Two:


Sunday February 10th in Kobe

Part One:


Part Two:

Mailing Address

Since many, many people *cough*only one*cough* have been asking, here's my mailing address:

Kate Saling
c/o Center for International Education
Kansai Gaidai Univeristy
16-1 Nakamiyahigashino-cho, Hirakata, Osaksa
573-1001 Japan

No, you don't need to write it out in Japanese; English will do quite nicely. So please feel free to send a letter. Ginormous care packages stuffed with candy, chocolate, movies, and Dr. Pepper will also be accepted. ;)

By the way, I still LOVE being in Japan. Why do I love Japan so much? Well, a couple day ago something very exciting happened. For the first time in my entire life someone said to me, "It's a good thing you're so tall." Tall?! When you're 5'3" someone calling you tall is a once in a life time event. Thus, I love Japan because of all the unique experiences I've had here. :)

Ba Da Ba Ba Baa! I'm Lovin' It!

Can you believe it? Two posts in one day! I was feeling rather guilty because I cheated on my last one.

Anyway, I don't think anybody is appreciating my clever (a.k.a. dork-tastic) Lewis Carroll allusions. You know, Alice in Wonderland (Fushigi no Kuni), Through the Looking Glass, and the previous post's title from the poem, "The Jabberwocky." *sigh* I just couldn't help myself from drawing parallels between my exploration of Japan and Alice's dazzling -- often daunting -- adventures in a surreal landscape.

However, I've changed my mind. Japan doesn't feel surreal. It doesn't feel like I'm wandering through a dreamscape or some madman's fantasy. On the contrary, I have never felt more awake! Furthermore, in Japan I don't feel that out of place. Yes, I realize there are differences between cultures. But on some level we are the same. In any culture around the world -- even in Japan -- you can find the important things in life, the things that make us human, things like smiles, laughter, friendships, and most importantly...

MCDONALDS!!!

Okay, I was serious about the other stuff, but I have a confession to make. During my first week in Japan, I ate at a McDonalds, and it was delicious! I couldn't help myself! There's one right next to the cafeteria on campus. Escape is impossible! Anyway, to describe my transgression: The fries tasted EXACTLY the same as in America. Yet, the cheeseburger and soda tasted slightly different. The soda being more syrupy and the burger....well just different. Also ordering is a bit more complicated. Then again, maybe it's easier, and it just took a while for me to understand this new system.

First, I tried some fries. What a cute lil' Pikachu!


Then a bite of the cheeseburger. Look how it shines!



And here's my friend Ashley eating both at the same time. She's really lovin' it!



Okay, enough with this silliness, and back to what I was talking about before. You see, what really matters in life is....hold up...what am I saying? The silly stuff is what really matters. ;-)

Stay classy, my friends!

p.s. Classes start on Monday, so don't expect another post until Friday. I'm thinking I'll make this a weekly thing (or a whenever-I-feel-like-it thing).

O Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!

So I went with a group to Kyoto and it was basically amazing! Highlights include: following around five very cute Japanese students (our tour guides), seeing the Kamo River, visiting Kiyomizu Temple, and best of all, eating. I could write for quite a while about the whole grand adventure, but why do that when my pictures tell just as good (if not better) a story. Check it out:

http://gac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033160&id=52902606&l=25ad2

What Alice Found There

I have so much to write about! There have been lots of red tape and paper work going on with school, which I don't think I'll ever write about, but there was also a trip to Hirakata with some friends, which I don't have time to write about, even though it was tanoshii (fun)! Instead, I'm going to show you pictures of my walk between the school and the seminar house.

Here are some cute little tanuki (raccoon dogs) lining a wall. In Japanese folklore tanuki spirits are "mischievous and jolly, masters of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded." (Thank you Wikipedia!)


Here's the front of a house that I thought was pretty.

And here's a park. I've seen kids playing in it before, but today it was vacant because of the rain. Although a children's park, the area is solemn and quiet. The air reminiscent of a shrine or some other holy place.

Look! A friendly gate guardian. What do you think her name is? No, I don't know what the kanji beneath her says. I'll do some investigating.

Well, that concludes my tour. I wanted to include some pictures of the narrow and winding streets, but there were always people walking on them, so I was somewhat reluctant.