Dangerous Memory in Nagasaki
On 9 August 1945, the US dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Of the dead, approximately 8500 were Catholic Christians, representing over 60 per cent of the community. In this collective biography, nine Catholic survivors share personal and compelling stories about the aftermath of the bomb and their lives since that day.
Examining the Catholic communitys interpretation of the A-bomb, this book not only uses memory to provide a greater understanding of the destruction of the bombing, but also links it to the past experiences of religious persecution, drawing comparisons with the Secret Christian groups which survived in the Japanese countryside after the banning of Christianity. Through in-depth interviews, it emerges that the memory of the atomic bomb is viewed through the lens of a community which had experienced suffering and marginalisation for more than 400 years. Furthermore, the author argues that their dangerous memory confronts Euro-American-centric narratives of the atomic bombings, while also challenging assumptions around a providential bomb.
Dangerous Memory in Nagasaki presents the voices of Catholics, many of whom have not spoken of their losses within the framework of their faith before. As such, it will be invaluable to students and scholars of Japanese history, religion and war history.
Gwyn McClelland holds a Master of Divinity from the University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Japanese history from Monash University.
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Dangerous Memory in Nagasaki
Prayers, Protests and Catholic Survivor Narratives
Gwyn McClelland
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Asias-Transformations/book-series/SE0401
Dangerous Memory in Nagasaki
Prayers, Protests and Catholic Survivor Narratives
Gwyn McClelland
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2020 Gwyn McClelland
The right of Gwyn McClelland to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: McClelland, Gwyn, author.
Title: Dangerous memory in Nagasaki : prayers, protests and Catholic survivor narratives / Gwyn McClelland.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019028161 (print) | LCCN 2019028162 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367217754 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429266003 (ebook) | ISBN 9780429556517 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9780429565458 (mobi) | ISBN 9780429560989 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Catholic ChurchJapanHistory. | CatholicsJapan Nagasaki-shiBiography. | Atomic bomb victimsJapanNagasaki-shi Biography. | Atomic bomb victimsReligious lifeJapanNagasaki-shi. | Nuclear warfareReligious aspectsCatholic Church. | Collective memoryJapanNagasaki-shi. | Nagasaki-shi (Japan)History Bombardment, 1945Personal narratives.
Classification: LCC D767.25.N3 M33 2020 (print) |
LCC D767.25.N3 (ebook) | DDC 940.54/252244092882dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028161
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028162
ISBN: 978-0-367-21775-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-26600-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
To the kataribe of Nagasaki who told their dangerous memory. Thank you Miyake, Nishida, Fukahori Jji, Konishi, Matsuo, Nakamura, Mine, Fukahori Shigemi, Kataoka, Nagase, Enju and Ozaki.
Gwyn McClelland
Contents
Figures
0.1 Urakami Cathedral ruins, black and white drawing by Nagai Takashi, c.1946
Maps
0.1 Approximate location of ten interviewees at 11:02 a.m. on 9 August 1945 xi
Notes
Key: MS = Matsuo Sachiko; OT = Ozaki Tmei; NaK = Nakamura Kazutoshi; NagK = Nagase Kazuko; NiKi = Nishida Kiyoshi; MR = Miyake Reiko; MT = Mine Tru; FS = Fukahori Shigemi; FJ = Fukahori Jji; KS = Konishi Shinichi; = Hypocenter/Ground Zero.
I retain the Japanese order for names in the text, family name first. I will retain standard order in bibliography and footnotes. Japanese authors who predominantly publish in English will be included in the text in standard order. I base all Biblical references upon the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) unless otherwise noted. I capitalise cities and names in Japanese, but otherwise leave all words non-capitalised.
I completed the translations in this monograph from the conversations in Japanese between myself as the interviewer and the interviewees. I initially developed transcriptions in Japanese from each conversation. The resulting texts include pauses, omissions, false starts, back loops and so on. I made decisions about translation and interpretation at each stage, conscious of the dilemma as to what extent literal translation may be employed and how much contextual translation may be used for readability as well as addressing the complexity of interpreting oral text. I have tended towards translating contextually and creatively rather than producing a formal and literal equivalent of texts. An ellipsis [] in the text indicates that I have edited some data from the original interview. Clarifications and editorial notes are included in square brackets []. I take full responsibility for final translations.
