Hiroshima and Nagasaki

[firecracker]

Has anyone here seen any good exhibits, books, documentary films, etc about Hiroshima and Nagasaki? I am planning to go to Hiroshima later this month and visit the museum that has the display of the life after a nuclear bomb explosion.

But I suspect that is not going to be enough to see because things are not well presented over here in Japan when it comes to exploring taboos. It still feels like the GHQ cencership is still out filtering a lot of important war documents and other sources that are otherwise highly educational for the public 60 years later.

So, I want to know if anyone knowledgable could give me some leads.

Thanks.

[brent8927]

Anything on the history channel! They might as well call it the WWII channel with all the documentaries that they do, and they do a great job (though the Nagasaki and Hiroshima, as well as the holocaust, documentaries aren't very uplifting). I think they sell their films and you might be able to rent them somewhere.

[Shinnya]

Hi there:

I was in DC this past weekend, and saw Shomei Tomatsu's retrospective show at Corcoran gallery. This was the show I could not see in NY the beginning of this year.

I really liked his treatment of Nagasaki in his photographs. It was very well-done photographically as well as in terms of the content. I really liked his economy of expression. His expression was very succinct yet very effective without making the subject look overdone like you see in today's photojournalism.

He did a book on this subject, and the English title is called Nagasaki, 11:02 August 9, 1945.

This book is not easy to get at this point. There is an accompanying book to the show I saw in DC Skin of the Nation, which you can see some of the images from the series.

As I studied Japanese history after I came to US, I would also suggest to read John Dower who is really good at this topic. It is not about so much of the experience of atomic bomb per se, but the whole political, social, cultural impact of the war on Japanese as well as Americans in a broader context. Tiles that come to my mind immediately is "Embracing Defeat" and "Japan in War and Peace."

Also, if you are into graphic novels or Manga, there is one book that I read when I was younger. It is called "Hadashi no Gen," or Barefoot Gen." This is a really good perspective from a young boy who has experienced the atomic bomb and live his life through the complexity of after-war Japan. This is a graphic novel, but you should not take it lightly. I am sure there is a translated version by now.

I would be happy to suggest more books if you are interested. Hope you will have a nice time in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Warmly,
Tsuyoshi

[mikewhi]

There have been some excellent shows on PBS the last few days on the subject. I think they were accurate and fair on both sides, just what I like to see on public TV. They showed a lot of actual footage of the events leading up to, after and even of the explosions themselves. There were many interview of survivors, including an miraculous one of a woman who was just 800 feet away from the Hiroshima explosion and lived! They are playing constantly now and will probably go thru the 9th or so.

-Mike

[JeffD]

I saw Tora Tora Tora over the weekend on cable. Gave me good context.

[atenlaugh]

Akira Kurosawa wrote and directed an excellent film entitled "Rhapsody in August". It's about modern children, staying at their grandmother's house (who was an atomic survivor). There is much in the film dealing with current fealings toward those events, and also feelings toward those who survived.

It's well-done and moving.

[firecracker]

Thanks guys. I'll check out the stuff you mentioned here. I've read some books, heard some news, and watched TV shows and films before, but I have never sat down and taken serious notes about what I saw. So, I'm just trying to organize the contents from this part of the history inside of my head.

Anyway, any more inputs and insights from anyone?