Nozomi Kubota, age 21, university student.
Dear Shisono Hisamatsu,
Hello. I am a 21-year-old university student living in Saitama.
I was shocked to know that you were the same age as I am now and in such a responsible position as a head nurse when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. I read your words wondering if I could act like you, or how you felt at that time.
I’ve been to Nagasaki once when I was a high school student. I remember it was a beautiful city with pretty Western-style houses and stone-paved paths. To be honest, I did not really think about Nagasaki’s atomic bombing when I visited there, although I certainly knew about it. It was hard to imagine that the city crowded with tourists today has once been a place of devastation. The war was something very distant and unconnected to me. However, after reading your words I got a completely different feeling about war and atomic bombings. Now I know that it was only 73 years ago that a 21-year-old girl like me had to burn her colleagues’ bodies by the Urakami Cathedral, and that she was tending wounded people no matter how sick she was herself. That struck me to the heart, and I felt really ashamed of myself for being so ignorant.
I think most young people feel that war is somebody else’s problem. That is because we cannot think of it in connection with our own lives only from the few facts we learn in school. What really stops us and makes us think is the memories of the individuals who experienced wars like you. I think it is essential that the young generation passes these memories to the next generation in order not to start a war again in the future. I appreciate your letting us share your precious memory, Shisono-san. I feel grateful as being one of those who pass it to the younger generation.
Your words have greatly changed my attitude toward war. I joined a peace activity club and held an exhibition at the university festival with other students to share people’s memories of war. I also asked young people with different backgrounds
what make them feel they live in peace, and asked them to send me photos in which they captured their peaceful moments. What I found about the photos is that they were all very beautiful. Even though some of them were taken at places which were once been destroyed in war or where many innocent people were killed, none of them was tragic. I realized how great the power of recovery is and felt grateful that we can appreciate beauty of this world without feeling the fear of death.
Moreover, the university festival became a good opportunity to talk with people from different generations. What we thought in common was that, even though we seldom think of the time when there were wars in Japan, we should never forget the history, and there are things that we can do so as not to let it fade away. By sharing thoughts with many people, I felt that each effort we make can be a step to create a peaceful world. I would like to continue taking actions in my own way, no matter how small they might be. While I take it for granted that my life is safe, there are people who are hurt in war right now in different areas of the world, and I will not say it is somebody else’s business. Your words, “You can’t waste your life”, got such meaning to me.
And I would love to visit Nagasaki again in the future. It was only a distant place for me before, but now it is the place where you lived, Shisono-san. If I get to visit there, I will walk in the beautiful city with your words in my mind, and this time I will pray for the world peace from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
Nozomi Kubota