Joanna Macy

Mission

Hibakusha Stories passes the legacy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to a new generation, and empowers them with tools to build a world free of nuclear weapons.

MORE ON OUR MISSION
REMEMBRANCE RESPONSIBILITY

In A Flash of Memory, an Op Ed essay in The New York Times about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, fashion designer Issey Miyaki wrote, “I have never chosen to share my memories or thoughts of that day. I have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to put them behind me, preferring to think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy.”

Miyaki’s sentiments are honorable and understandable. If one brings beauty and joy into the world, the thinking goes, there will be less incentive to wreak the terrible destruction brought about by war. Looking into the face of man’s inhumanity to man breeds anger, hatred, despair and resignation. This is not the legacy we wish to leave our children.

Activist and engaged Buddhist Joanna Macy, on the other hand, says that within that very darkness we find the fuel to bring about the light. The degree to which we are angry is the degree to which we desire justice. The degree to which we are sad is the degree to which we are capable of loving. If we do not face the darkness, she argues, we risk the greatest tragedy of all— shuting down our ability to care.

Hibakusha Stories believes it is irresponsible to show children the face of war without giving them reason to hope and reason to care and without giving them the tools they will need to create a bright future.

Although we see reasons all around us for despair, we must not lose sight of the joy of friendship and of laughter and the beauty of art and excellence.

Therefore we ground our work in gratitude and we conclude our work with a gift to future generations.

In May of 2010 we gave thanks and set our intentions at the annual spring blossoming of the cherry trees at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. No one need tell cherry trees to blossom, and cherry trees don’t blossom because they know it makes us happy. They just blossom. It is a miracle that brings us great joy. As we gave thanks for the cherry trees we asked each person to give thanks for some gift he or she was given as a birthright—something within that “just comes naturally.”

Later in the spring we planted cherry trees at Kingsbridge International High School in the Bronx and at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Westchester County where forty students were joined by over 20 Hibakusha including a delegation from Nagasaki. The trees we viewed in April were trees that are bred for the beauty of their blossoms. The trees we planted in May are fruit-bearing. We began with trees that feed our souls and we concluded with trees that will feed the bodies of the children of the future. As we planted the trees each person planted a slip of rice paper on which they wrote about something within that comes naturally that contributes to a peaceful and sustainable world free of nuclear weapons.

By contextualizing Hibakusha Stories with these two events, we impart in youth the knowledge that the visit by the Hibakusha to their schools was not just an isolated “get-out-of-class-free” experience. Students were given a treasure— a story, a legacy and a remembrance responsibility.

Students who participate in Hibakusha Stories will become direct lineage carriers of one of the most important stories of the twentieth century. We, as their elders, have given them the gift of guardianship of this story. We have entrusted them with a remembrance responsibility to pass on the story of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to their children and their grandchildren.

Oral tradition has been the way that the wisdom of the elders has been passed to the next generation since the dawn of Man. Long after digital information storage has been lost, oral tradition will remain.

The work of our participating teachers and the Hibakusha Stories website is to provide students with the tools they will need to co-create a peaceful and sustainable future.