Atomic Bomb and my Journey

August 6, 2020 was the 75th anniversary of the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima. It is important to me as third-generation survivor. Bomb, poverty, immigration to Brazil, new beginnings, new language, new culture, strive for education. In remembering and lamenting the suffering and pain of the past, we are given a chance to be healed. We move forward faithfully to a present full of gratitude and a hopeful future in new life.

My grandma was still a teenager when it happened. My grandpa returned to Hiroshima from war to find that all was gone: loved ones, home, property, documents. Because my grandparents did not speak much about the war when I was a kid, I used to think we were just like all the other Japanese families in town who immigrated to Brazil, striving to find a place in a different culture. I regret the lost opportunity to acknowledge when I was still a child, the hidden pain with my batchan (grandma) and my jitchan (grandpa) for what they lived, felt, heard, and saw.

In 2005, one of the main national Brazilian television shows reported the atomic bomb and had my batchan interviewed. "No more war," her final request. When I asked her if she wanted to tell me what happened, I still remember my grandma holding tears and speaking in a mix of Japanese and Portuguese words describing her way back home, which had to cross Hiroshima after the bomb. She had no memory of how long she remained unconscious after being thrown into the air by the blast. She still had to walk back home. No water; it was not safe. No idea of what was going on. Thank you, Lord, for guiding her steps and bringing her back home.

It has been years since my grandparents died. I hadn't been thinking about our relationship with the past until I moved with my family to the U.S. and started to know, read, and hear other stories. It is incredible how easily we forget and take past learnings for granted.

The awakening of racial brokenness seems to be driving us all to our roots, history, and ancestry. I am grateful for the beautiful people God has brought to our lives, for the opportunity to learn more about people's history, and to celebrate people's unique contributions to the world. It has been quite a journey, and I walk faithfully with the hope for a world of racial reconciliation.

Gratefully,