2019: Emi Mondragon Journal Article

2019: Emi Mondragon Journal Article

Emi Mondragon Journal Article

In this journal article Emi Mondragon talks about her experience as a Japanese American. She describes her perspectives on Hiroshima prior to visiting the Peace Memorial Museum in Japan and how she realized there was a disconnect between her and her Japanese family. Because of the trip she realized that she needed to put more effort into getting to know her Japanese family instead of having her mother act as intermediary contact.

Emi Mondragon

Mellon Initiative

June 17, 2019

Prior to visiting the museum, my knowledge about the bomb on Hiroshima came from what I
learned about history, a documentary I watched, and personal experience from my grandmother. During
world history classes, I learned that the U.S. dropped the bomb on Hiroshima to prevent a large amount of
American casualties that would occur from invading the Japan mainland to end World War II. In addition,
I learned about the events surrounding the event such as Pearl Harbor from the American perspective and
when Japan’s emperor Hirohito surrendered. I learned that the U.S.’s goal was not to let the Japanese to
continuously suffer since they lost the war, but rather that the U.S. would help rebuild the Japanese
economy and allowing them to get back on their feet after the war.
From a documentary about the aftermath of the Hiroshima bomb, I was able to understand what
happened directly underneath the bomb along with nearby areas. People were instantly vaporized and
others were injured badly enough that they died from their wounds. First, the bomb hit and created a
shockwave outward that could send glass into people’s bodies or knock buildings onto people. After the
shockwave came an intense wave of heat and dark cloud that pushed outward, burned people’s bodies,
and fused objects together. Directly following this occurrence, some people described it as appearing like
“hell.” People were desperately running around on fire or trapped under objects. Children clung to their
mothers who tried what they could to protect them. Since many were scorched from the intense heat, they
were in search of water, but a black rain fell from the sky, which came from bomb’s cloud. However, if
people drank the rain they, died because it contained radiation and other harmful substances. The
aftermath of the bomb was equally awful; people who were deformed, burned, or blind after the bomb
wandered like zombies to where they seeked to find their lost families or to get medical assistance. There
were many who lost their lives to these injuries. Others who entered to assist the wounded or those who
were not badly wounded began to become infected with radiation poisoning. This brought them down
with a mysterious illness and many died suffering at the hands of the poisoning. Survivors had a hard time
moving past this event, since many lost their lives and Japan suffered a terrible defeat. At the end of the
documentary, it mentioned that people who survived long after the bomb were having a strange sense of
nostalgia seeing the city rebuilt, and remnants of the past disappear.
As for my personal experience, my grandma was in elementary school when the bomb was
dropped on Hiroshima. She lived in Ube, in Yamaguchi prefecture, at the time but was still able to view
the bomb from her location.From what my mom told me, she described it as a “pretty mushroom,” but she
probably didn’t understand the event like the adults did. Furthermore, she felt that she understood that the
U.S. dropped the bomb to end the war, so she did not harbor any resentment or hatred toward Americans.
In addition, when my mom came to America as a foreign exchange student in high school, she felt that the
Americans portrayed the bomb as warranted justice for Japan trying to conquer the world. She felt
conflicted about this interpretation, since she was Japanese, and felt that her country was the victim. She
usually avoided this topic and her teacher allowed her to skip classes involving this topic. My family’s
experiences with the Hiroshima bomb gave me a bit more of an understanding of the bomb and events
surrounding it, which made up my interpretation of the event before the museum.
During the visit to Hiroshima, I learned many personal stories about people who lived through the
Hiroshima bomb or what happened to them afterward. I read about people who died almost instantly or
soon after the bomb dropped. I learned about all the pain and agony that their wounds made them feel. In
addition, I learned that people who survived the bomb long after it was dropped were often not
themselves or eventually died as a result of the long-term effects of the bomb. There were many
illustrations depicting events that people saw, which helped me understand what happened and how it
affected people. Furthermore, I saw the message that the museum was trying to portray to the visitors
about the event. They displayed the countries that signed and ratified the banning of nuclear weapons and
hoped that one day there would be no more use of nuclear weapons, knowing the consequences of
Hiroshima.
From the visit, I felt that I was sad about everything that had happened and a bit nostalgic. All the
stories of people losing their ability to live life like they used to was depressing to read about. Like my
grandmother, I feel that I cannot harbor hatred toward the U.S. for dropping the bombs, for the reason that
it ended the war. There is no telling what would have happened and who would have died if the bombs
had not been dropped. Regardless, the bombs were horrific and many people suffered. I felt that countries
going to war creates numerous occasions of inhumane acts or awful deaths. There is no real justification
for humans inflicting great suffering on one another, but people may find comfort knowing there is a
reason for awful acts such as these.
Once I considered that my grandmother had to live through this, I began thinking about this more
when we were sharing our thoughts about the museum. I wished I had more time to think on my own,
since it wasn’t a feeling I could share with the group. I felt the disconnect between my mother and my
grandmother. My mother never felt super close to her mother, so always I felt that there was a bit of a
barrier between my grandmother and I. Since I did not know Japanese, I had no way to communicate
properly and my mother told me about my grandmother’s experiences. I never heard her tell me about her
life directly. I was a bit sad I could not ever ask her how she felt or what happened to her during the time
the bomb was dropped, since she died a few years ago. Originally, one of the reasons I came to Japan was
to reconnect with my roots because I felt a vague sense of this disconnection throughout my life. As I sat
listening to the survivor’s story, I wondered what my grandmother would say if she had been up on the
stage talking. Her story wouldn’t have been as descriptive or as relevant, but I still would have liked to
hear it. I finally began to realize how big the disconnection with my grandmother, and I felt a sense of
failure, like I had failed to reconnect with my mom’s family before I began this trip. Once I snapped
myself out of this phase a bit, I felt I should make more efforts to get closer to my Japanese side in the
future, so I can properly connect with my cousins, rather than constantly have my mom as an intermediary
contact. Overall, I felt the museum made me realize more about myself while informing me about the
events associated with the Hiroshima bomb.

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