Photo/Illutration Shinoe Shoda (Provided by Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims)

On Aug. 5, 1945, Hiroshima resident Shinoe Shoda heard from an acquaintance that beans were growing differently from usual, which they took to be an auspicious sign that Japan would win the war.

She later penned a tanka poem that went to this effect, “How pathetic/ The day before the A-bomb was dropped on us/ We believed the rumor that we would win the war.”

In the Aug. 6 bombing, Shoda suffered a shoulder injury. Arriving at an evacuation center, she came across rows of injured people, including those who appeared beyond help.

She recalled one of them this way: “A dear, sweet student/ About to die/ But when I called her name/ She answered ‘yes.’” 

Another grisly sight was what remained of people who were alive only a short while before: “These are not lumps of coal/ These are charred remains of human beings/ Piled high/ A truck rumbles past.”

These were among the images of hell that Shoda, who later became known as “Genbaku Kajin” (A-bomb tanka poet), would never forget.

Her collection of poems titled “Sange” was secretly published, having escaped censorship by the General Headquarters, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ).

Shoda was prepared to take any risk to publish the work. She must have been driven by her desire to mourn the dead, but perhaps was motivated even more intensely by her fury over the A-bomb attack.

Today marks the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

But how many times have people called for nuclear disarmament over the years, only to have their hopes dashed?

“We proceed from the fact that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin in his message to mark the start of the ongoing review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

But Putin, weren’t you the very person who threatened the use of nuclear weapons?

It is feared that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may lead to a nuclear arms race, not global nuclear disarmament. In Japan, some politicians have called for “nuclear sharing.”

Now, like never before, it is surely more important to be truly afraid of, and outraged by, the presence of nuclear weapons in the world.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 6

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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