I wanted to go to Nagasaki for two reasons...
No.1 was to see, the consequence of WWII... Japan had rebuilt the country from literally wreck... then 80's flourish came, and the lost 10 years we say, young people were kicked out of the job market...in sake of saving dad's generation's jobs... then another 20 years void came... the local businesses were left go out of business...instead Global companies came. This made every town of Japan look similar... Ion Shopping mole, Convenience stores, Chain restaurants instead of traditional local restaurants... same in Hotels... so the local city had lost its character...for trip-wise, it is sooooo boring...
Just few month ago, I met Nikki from Detroit, who had just moved to Fukuoka, in a few block away from my place, and this time, me and Nikki, and Lisa from South Africa, who were visiting Nikki went to Nagasaki to see, Atomic bomb museum... so taking my foreign friends are No2 reason, since it is my obligation as an English speaking Japanese to guide them to the history, also introducing to a balanced view of what happened in Nagasaki.
To my surprise, the atomic bomb museum was re-created to give less impact of how miserable the war victims were, like the people walking with their burned skin hanging... and to go into the water dying...
I had a such a mental shock when I learned about these facts when I was in Junior high-school... but there were no such display anymore in the museum... I thought the exhibit became sooo mild... in a way, laundered... so Atomic bombing seem small... than actually was.
After viewing night view from Inasa yama... we went to a local standing bar, and sad thing was, a man was trying to convince me that in WWII, Japan was trying to save South Asian Countries from colonization from the West... That is true, but you can NOT ban violence with violence, can we?
So I learned there are strong mentality in young Japanese male citizen that they still think Japan should play a policeman in Asia... arrogance in us.
In my point of view, those countries are capable enough to think what's best to their countries... also, nowadays they are the one flourishing not us...
The black and white thinking... such as any EAST is good and any WEST is bad... kind of thinking... is too childish... There are good Americans and bad Americans, just like there are bad Japanese and Good Japanese... you can not divide people in two by color or where you belong...
The worse is that Japanese people blame the westernization for misbehavior of fellow Japanese. But in my observation, it is originating from our own.
Japanese male female relationship is somewhat weird.. women are expected to let her happiness second of men... men seem to think its the way it is... just like kids expect their mom to put him first... I feel awkward about this while I climb with Japanese young man...i.e. I am always belaying and there is no return belay to me from them... ? I am not your mom, is my word. But they seem not to notice.
Those kids became young man, and the young man became the matured man and they all seem to do the same... perhaps, the Japanese army in the WWII had the same mantelity... they can put their own ego first and they can put the other people's happiness second... that's the habit... so no one thought it is the wrong doings... the consequence? The Atomic bomb and the suffering of 40 to 50 years after the war... still "male"(in western, "the while male") put their merit first and flourish at the cost of young people and woman (in western "minority") sacrifice in our society.
We haven't changed a bit.
This is what I learned in my trip to Nagasaki this time.
This is what I learned in my trip to Nagasaki this time.
