Peace Osaka and Hiroshima

I took a look at my calendar today, and nearly had a panic attack; I cannot believe that I have already been living and studying in Japan for just over a month. It seems like just yesterday that I was in a Korean airport waiting out the five-hour layover of a 26-hour flight itinerary before I was finally permitted to enter the country that I’d been dreaming about for the past 15 years or so.

These blog entries have been pretty half-hearted and driven primarily by guilt. But I realize now that I should be using this blog much like a diary, keeping track of the various adventures I embark upon. Well, that was a little bit too much of an overstatement-how about I just don’t want to look back about 3 years from now and have no recollection of how I spent the four months of my life in a foreign country. Now that I have, to some extent, pieced together some semblance of a schedule, and I bought an electrical adapter, I can more routinely post. Thus far, I haven’t really picked a direction for this blog. It’s more or less just some random observations on lesser-known details of Japanese culture interspersed with details of my personal life and greater existence. It seems like it should be pretty low maintenance, so I think I’ll run with it. HAH.

Because I’m feeling particularly motivated, I think that I’ll continue on for a little bit longer...

This past weekend, I went to Peace Osaka, and Osaka Castle, located in, of course, Osaka. Peace Osaka is a politically controversial museum, because it narrates both sides of Japanese involvement in World War II. Here is what was written on a pamphlet at this peace museum.

“In the course of the Second World War, the destructive power of more than fifty air raids left major sections of Osaka completely demolished...[a] countless number of Japanese people lost their precious lives, became wounded or fell to illness. At the same time, we shall not forget that Japan was responsible for the great hardships suffered by the peoples of China and Other Asian-pacific regions…and the peoples of Korea and Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule.”

This museum hopes that by sharing the firsthand experiences of the devastating consequences of war that it can cause war to become less of an abstract concept in the mind of people, and instill a more fervent desire for peace.

I will say, from first-hand experience that this museum certainly achieves its goal. I left utterly depressed, and with a smoldering sense of hatred. But what did I hate? Did I hate my own people, Americans that had caused torn apart civilian families through near constant air raids? Did I hate the Japanese that literally enslaved their neighbors? Did I hate the European countries that permitted this entire mess to begin? There was so much pain and suffering, that no country could escape that period of time with a spotless conscience. I soon came to the realization that the reason I was so immensely confused and torn was due to the museums brilliant layout. It essentially guides the visitor, in this case me, to feel that hating one country or another for their past actions is inane, futile, and can only result in more injury; however, hating war, and realizing that war itself is the true enemy is a more worthwhile state of mind.

After leaving the Peace museum, I ambled over to Osaka Castle, which was only about 15 minutes away. Upon first sight, I was impressed and intimidated by such a massive and impregnable looking structure. I was later disappointed to find out that the structure was merely a museum, and a reconstructed concrete museum at that. The original structure had been burnt down and since rebuilt several times.

I did enter the museum, only to find many relics that related to war and to the feudal era of Japan. There were many samurai related articles, particularly those relating to the Toyotomi and Tokugawa families. In some ways, I felt a bit obscene walking from a peace museum over to a museum dedicated to a period of history defined by conflict, conflict that is almost always glorified in some ways.


This coming weekend, I’ll be venturing into to the Southern part of Japan to see Hiroshima and, as long as I’m down there, Miyojima. Given my experiences this past weekend, I’m really quite apprehensive about how I feel about travelling to Ground Zero. To be honest, I’m not really looking forward to it. Each day seems to be leading up to this trip. I’m doing readings, and watching documentaries, each leaving me with a little less faith in humanity than the last. This may be one of the most important places I go to see while I’m in Japan.