Atomic bomb literature (原爆文学)

Atomic Bomb Literature is specifically acclaimed to Japan and nuclear bomb drops in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The most well known writers of post-war Japan who described the tragic consequences of nuclear bombs were; Yoko Ota, Tamiki Hara, Sadako Kurihara, Ineko Sata, Makoto Oda , Kobo Abe. The most well known is “Black Rain” written by Masuji Ibuse. The novels had character of diaries, documentaries, interviews, drama was non-fictional descriptions of real life of Japanese people after the bombing.

The Second World War had a great impact on Japan – its perception of western world, after the nuclear invasion Japan changed the perception of war, military movements – the new weapon was so destructive – Japan faced such an Armageddon for the first time. Japan had to face with sets of responsibilities, the socialism and communist system after the war, the system that was far more imposing than the Empire Japanese people used to live in.  The end of the war for Japan was very humiliating, the surrender – and its outcome unbearable. People were victimized – the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is felt till nowadays. Those who survived the bomb blasts were not only heroes but also the personification of strength, endurance and hope for the better future. Hiroshima for all Japanese people meant “I” – self-being. People of Japan had to accept new ideology, new system, the post-war reality which was harsh, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were pronounced – the ground zero, it was a waste land, the consequences of radiation are and were then – catastrophic. It mustn't be forgotten that the most supreme power had the Emperor,  all the power was centered around the divine leader. The Emperor governed the hierarchy, each level of social being, it mustn't have been by any means crossed out – if it happened,  meant, – disobedience and insubordination. Hiroshima represented the center of human suffering, the center of human abyss –people were left to die, the ground zero was left behind – children, adults, elderly people, all of them, those who couldn't escape, were in terminal or almost condition simply died.  Basic humane and ethical values were halted, forgotten, people seemed to be deprived of. The Emperor was banished, he was ordered to shake off the divine power, eased to exist, paradoxically, someone who had been at the very top of hierarchical system, found himself at the very bottom, Japan changed the structure and people had to change their believes, their system of values, moreover, the atomic bombs – become symbolic for Japanese people, it was a stigma of victimization, the sigma of martyr-hood and the symbol of unification against “new weapon” against new civilization – western one. There was only one comparable disaster in modern – post-war world – the Holocaust. Till nowadays both cities are ideological symbols of antinuclear propaganda. Japanese people had living proofs how destructive radiation is – mass of deformities and disfigured children had been born, cancer killed numerous amount of people.  Sad but true, people in Japan divided themselves as those who lived around the ground zero so-called insiders and those who weren't directly affected by the bomb, however, its results touched them anyway, so-called outsiders. The meaning  doesn't really matter, both sides fought severely against nuclear weapon production, distribution, programs.  Japan will always perceive nuclear weapon as a devilish, evil tool – not as an advantage, but as a real hell. The nuclear explosion and the radiation were about to destroy Japan, the people of Japan, it did, it made them suffer, it made them terminally ill, the radiation sickness led to countless, never-ending demises, despite of it all, Japanese people survived it, didn't collapse completely. People were desperate, people were depressed by the overwhelming destruction, the destruction of their lives and destruction of the immense area populated by masses. To avoid sickness they committed suicide, they killed their relatives, the one they loved, they knew the area will never be clean, clean enough to start up a new life. They didn't see the future, they saw doomed tomorrow. What identified the Japanese people in this harsh period was courage – all of them were very courageous.They fought, they didn't give up. Showed pride and respect towards Japanese identity. The most affected were children, their death, sickness marked generations, the lethal illnesses passed from one generation to another. There was no hope to stop it. Japan learnt how to fight with it but it took years to understand the whole process.  

Hiromu Morishita. Hiroshima Watch dutifully with your eyes. Here, something happened that shouldn’t have. Here now, something irreparable continues. Here tomorrow, signs of everyone’s destruction may appear. Don’t watch with one eye. Don’t watch with your arm or with your head. With the heart of one who endures despair.

When We Say “Hiroshima”! When we say “Hiroshima,” do people answer, gently, “Ah, Hiroshima”? Say “Hiroshima,” and hear “Pearl Harbor.” Say “Hiroshima,” and hear “Rape of Nanking.”  Say “Hiroshima,” and hear of women and children in Manila thrown into trenches, doused with gasoline, and burned alive. Say “Hiroshima,” and hear echoes of blood and fire. Say “Hiroshima,” and we don’t hear, gently, “Ah, Hiroshima.” In chorus, Asia’s dead and her voiceless masses spit out the anger of all those we made victims. That we may say “Hiroshima,” and hear in reply, gently, “Ah, Hiroshima.” we must in fact lay down the arms we were supposed to lay down. We must get rid of all foreign bases. Until that day Hiroshima will be a city of cruelty and bitter bad faith. And we will be pariahs burning with remnant radioactivity. That we may say “Hiroshima” and hear in reply, gently, “Ah, Hiroshima.” …

People had to learn how to live with the bomb. The atrocities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will never be forgotten,  it indicated the end of the Empire, militarism and sublime power. For many people it was unnecessary sacrifice of human life in the name of military glory.  A very powerful description of suffering and pain was given in the novel “City of Corpses” of Ota Yoko, the meaning was so direct and straightforward that the book was censored and forbidden, some chapters were torn out from the book. The book criticized everyone, the Japanese government, the Emperor, the Americans, the imperialistic ideologies of “undefeated Japan”, it mourned the innocent people, the victims of horrible bombs, the book foresaw ahead the consequences and irreversible harm. The atomic bomb literature became a new genre, it showed new trends and new outlook on life. It was a literature of the apocalypse. People cried, it was a lament condemning devastation, condemning cruelty, people believed that the atomic disaster was caused because of  the ignorance of the Emperor,  the ignorance of the government, if the government surrendered, the war would have been ended without so many victims, without contamination, without desolation that had been left behind. In contrary there were Western newspapers which put all the blame on Japan, its crimes against humanity in Asia, undoubtedly, the Second World War had many fronts, each of them had its casualties, no man’s land and the truth that was left behind the trenches. In the poem above the author says about clarification of the system, about the removal of foreign troops out of Japan, about the weapon that must be gotten rig of and forgotten.  The sense of responsibility laid on both side, the Americans who decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan’s cities and Japanese citizens who had to understand why it all happened, why they have been so much victimized and hurt.

Both sides were victims of radiation and atomic power, Americans were exposed on radiation while they were working on the bomb, while they were making atomic mock tests, at that stage, they weren't advanced enough to protect themselves from radiation. They sacrificed their lives “in the name of peace” – which still is a quarrelsome issue examined by historians and political scientists – some deeply believe it was an unnecessary sacrifice, vain and selfish. The war might have been won by means of different methods. People forget what human dignity means – they couldn't halt the military operations, the order not the reason was important. The “day after” was not taken into account. The glory of the won war mattered.  Even though the bomb had been dropped 70 years ago – still the mentality of the generations must be changed to understand and to acknowledge the past.