I've come to beg for forgiveness...and I'll take all that I'm given...and try to teach by my doing. -Yeasayer “Forgiveness”

This is part 2 of a 3 part update that I started last week.  I've been putting off writing this blog since getting back to Tokyo, partially because its uncomfortable to write and partially because sometimes written words just aren't good enough.  It's a little lengthy, but hopefully worth the read!

I spent November 20^th and 21^st in Hiroshima for this year's J-3 retreat. The Tokyo J-3s (Ally, Christine, Dana, Matt and myself) traveled south and met up with the Kumamoto J-3s (Carolyn, Jen, Doug, Sue, and John) to have our annual get-together and to explore the history of Hiroshima. There were more than a few concerns about being a group of Americans in a city that was utterly decimated by Americans (and others) within the lifetime of many of the city's residents. For me personally, it was awkward and uncomfortable and while I knew the visit was a necessary experience to have, I was not looking forward to going to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The first section of the museum gave an interesting history of Hiroshima up to the dropping of the A-Bomb on August 6, 1945. There were several models showing before and after views of the city, as well as first hand accounts of things people had been doing the day of. 

The second part of the museum was the most difficult to get through. Case after case displayed the remains of clothing and personal effects collected from people who survived the initial blast but died shortly thereafter from the resulting injuries. The plaques under each case told the story of the artifact's owner and all but one that I looked at ended with “he/she died several hours later” or “the body was never recovered.” Still more told of people who somehow managed to make their way home, only to die in the arms of loved ones. Far too many of the cases contained tattered bits of childrens' uniforms, book bags, etc. One case told the story of an eight-year-old boy who had been horribly injured while walking to school. His father found him and carried him home and while many people tried to help him, he died the next day. After reading the plaque I looked down to see a little boy who was visiting the museum with his family. He was no older than the boy I had just read about and it was truly chilling to realize that the remains of the uniform in the case would have fit him perfectly.

The third section of the museum focused on the history of nuclear weapons. Here are a few interesting facts I learned (and keep in mind that most of the information presented hasn't been updated since before the fall of the Soviet Union) :

• At its peak, the total destructive force of the five nuclear weapon states (U.S., Soviet Union, U.K., France and China) is thought to have been 22,000 megatons, or 1.38 million times the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Of these weapons 93% belonged to the United States and the Soviet Union.

• Other times the use of nuclear weapons has been considered:
  • 1946 - Deployment of Soviet Army in Iran
  • 1946 - Shooting down of a U.S. plane by Yugoslavia
  • 1948 - Sealing off of West Berlin by Soviet Union
  • 1950 - Breakout of the Korean War
  • 1953 - Deterioration of the Korean War
  • 1954 - Offer to supply French army with A-Bomb on the Vietnam front
  • 1954 - Guatemala's selection of pro-Soviet Policy
  • 1954 - China's liberation of Taiwan
  • 1956 - The Suez Crisis
  • 1958 - Coup d'ètat by Iraq's military and the Taiwan Strait crisis
  • 1959 - Berlin issue
  • 1961 - More Berlin issues
  • 1962 - Cuban missile crisis
  • 1968 - Seizure of USS Pueblo by North Korea
  • 1968 - Vietnam War (Battle of Quesan)
  • 1969 - Intensification of Vietnam War
  • 1970 - Invasion of Jordan by Syria
  • 1973 - Desire to end Fourth Middle East War
  • 1980 - Desire to halt Iran crisis
  • 1991 - Anticipation of the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in Persian Gulf War

Obviously the list could be updated from there, but this was the information the museum provided.

The most impressive aspect of the museum and Hiroshima in general is that, while the Japanese will never forget their history and the horrible devastation their city and country suffered, the emphasis of the museum and park is on PEACE. The Japanese have an amazing capacity to forgive and Americans could stand to learn a thing or two from it.

To end on a lighter note, after going to the Peace Museum and Park, Ally, Matt, Matt's sister Janet, and I took a ferry out to Miyajima Island to see the famous Floating Torii. (The gate itself doesn't actually float, as you can see in some of my pictures, but when the tide is high enough it definitely looks like it does.) 

Deer roam freely around the island and happily let tourists pet/feed them. 

Occasionally they will nibble on your jacket or souvenir bag and if you aren't paying attention while eating lunch, they may decide to help you out. It was fairly late in the afternoon by the time we made it to Miyajima, so we hung around long enough to see the full moon come out.

All in all, the trip to Hiroshima was a very educational one. I'm going to forgo the “Lessons Learned” section of the blog this time because if you've read this far then you already know what I learned. :-) The final chapter of this 3 part update should be posted in the next few days. For more pictures from Hiroshima, check out 

flickr.