Barefoot Gen (はだしのゲン)
Aug 7th, 2007 by Q
I can’t recommend Keiji Nakazawa’s Hadashi no Gen enough. I really think it should be part of the curriculum for elementary or junior high schools in the States. (Very likely.)
This scene from the animated version is particularly powerful. Please take a moment to watch it if you haven’t seen it before.
3 Responses to “Barefoot Gen (はだしのゲン)”
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It kinda makes you wonder, why can’t the US drop the bomb on an unpopulated area to demonstrate its power before dropping it on top of a crowded city. But what’s done is done.
I am afraid that nothing, (and properly stated in retrospect) can justify the killing of so many innocent people. Nothing. We have no right to claim that others are barbaric when we so vehemently violate the 6th commandment. We all know that we were attacked by Japan, but the old adage of two wrongs making a right cannot be applied here.
America has felt the sting of another ‘unprovoked’ attack. But how ‘unprovoked’ and how ‘unknown’, as we found out so many years later that Roosevelt knew about and allowed Pearl Harbor to occur to bring america out of its isolationism and to appease Churchill. History does repeat itself but we still never learn as we seek to dominate another country in our “hidden’ imperialistic schemes.
I couldn’t agree with you more about the necessity of reading Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen. I actually just finished the series a few days ago and wrote a blog post (coincidentally very similar in tone to yours) on my own personal Japan blog – bwhaleyjapan.blogspot.com. I think it is so important that these testimonies from survivors live on for subsequent generations to hear. Especially since there will be a time in the not so distant future when there are no more living survivors of the atomic bombings (as you pointed out). I happened to come across some great videos of Keiji Nakazawa speaking to groups in person about his experiences on youtube. It was very moving.
Best,
Ben Whaley