Reflections on Hiroshima

Small detour from my travel preparation/introduction type entries. This weekend I went to Anime Central with some friends. This is the largest anime convention in the Midwest. It's always a fantastic weekend of anime, manga, Japanese fashion, music, and culture. 

However, this year my favorite panel that I attended was one lead by a survivor of Hiroshima. This brave and wonderful woman's name was Hideko Tamura-Snider. Her presentation was inspiring, to say the least. I really appreciated that she didn't dwell on what happened that day when the bomb fell. Instead, she took us on a journey through her healing process both physically and spiritually. She explained that she felt that her purpose in life and in surviving was to tell others what happened to her so that something like this NEVER happens again. It made me feel so small and humbled to be there. She had brought such a beautiful message and purpose out of such a terrible event. I was awed by her forgiveness. She could have easily spent her life hating the American people and feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she came to the U.S. and built a life for herself. 

I think I did learn a bit about the culture I'm about to step into through this as well. Japanese culture seems to strongly value this strong sense of perseverance and moving forward. It does not value revenge but rather learning from and taking what you can from certain situations. There were also a couple of negative aspects of the culture brought to light as well. She talked a bit about the Japanese sense of pride which is very strong. She told us how much she and other survivors suffered because the Japanese government refused aid from other countries. She also talked a great deal about her isolation fro mother Japanese people. You see, in Japanese culture it is the ones that stand out and are unique that are rejected. Everyone strives for uniformity. So even though she was a part of a horrific tragedy, she was shunned by some of those in Japan who did not want to associate with someone who had such different circumstances in her life. She was an outcast which is what caused her to come to the U.S. in the first place. When she ended the presentation all she had to say was to live our lives the best we can and make a difference in the world. All in all, it was a touching learning experience that I will remember for a long time to come. I won't spend anymore time talking about her journey. This post is long enough as is. You should just read her book! It's titled One Sunny Day: A Child's Memories of Hiroshima. I bought it and got it autographed!

Hideko Tamura Snider

Now for a pallet cleansing picture!

My friends and I pose for our traditional A-cen picture on Sunday