Before arriving in Hiroshima, one of the main concerns that we had was whether the city would be, and might have already been, saturated with similar initiatives. Might it be that the last thing Hiroshima residents would actually want to talk about is “Hiroshima”?
We had already raised this with Nori – Norifumi Hida – a Japanese researcher, specializing in Drama and Education, who has been living in working in London for the last ten years. He said that whilst the children, and the adults who had been children, would have studied the bombing and would be aware of the facts and figures, that they might not have had the opportunity to be actively engaged in the emotions, experiences and the reflects of those who experienced it; i.e. that they perhaps hadn’t been immersed in the human story of their history.
This made me think about my generation growing up and the metaphorical moans that accompanied almost any of our grandparent’s Second World War stories. It was almost as if these narratives belonged to a different chapter of human experience, nestled in the cupboard of the dusty past alongside other dated relics and unwanted tales. As a result, we didn’t listen properly and we felt like we knew it all. We knew nothing. How many missed opportunities lay there? I suppose it might be the same for the children – and adults – in Hiroshima. Could we help these children and adults look at their own history from a different angle? Could we help them to look at the human story? This heartened me.
A tangible indication that we would not be as unnecessary as we perhaps feared arrived – thankfully – early on. It came in the form of a brilliant team of volunteers and in the number of other people who have willingly given heir support and help to the project. These individuals have talked to us about why they think the project is important, what role they it playing in the children’s– and also adults’ lives – and how they think the wider Hiroshima community might be able to benefit. They have voted with their feet – and hands – by getting involved. They have helped to give us energy and purpose. They are:
Brilliant Volunteer no 1: Kaz – Kazuhiro Yoshimoto – is an English Language Professor at Hiroshima Prefectural University. During the workshops, Kaz helped document the sessions by filming and taking photographs, and since then – has been present at most of the interviews and instrumental in helping to translate between the interviewees and myself. The whole shebang would have been infinitely more tricky without him.
Brilliant Volunteer no. 2: Hiromi Kashima is an actor and clown-doctor who helped us throughout the workshop week, supporting the children as they got to grips with their new interviewing skills and ensuring that everything ran smoothly. It was a pleasure to have her around and we are currently forcing her to take part in the final production.
Brilliant Volunteer no. 3: Mirei Tashiro is the mother of Leona and Maila, 10 year-old twin girls who have been taking part in the workshops and interviews. Mirei spent 4 years in Canada as a child and is bilingual, as are her daughters. Mirei has been helping as a translator on the interviews and in the general running of things: a calming presence with a sharp mind.
There have also been other, very genki people popping their faces in and out of the room, who have kept the pace up, kept things moving along and played their rather brilliant part in creating a supportive and energised environment. Not to mention staff in various cafes, bars and establishments around Hiroshima – whom I have regaled with tales of what we are trying to achieve and who have been unanimously positive about the value of the project – or the kind people that have offered their help with translation so far: Tomoko Tanaka, Tomoko O’Reilly, Norifumi Hida, Melissa Chapin, Vickie Basham.
As well as the volunteer staff, we have had the pleasure of working with Yorie Akiba – a puppet-maker/theatre director and translator extraordinaire – and Yukie Ogasawara – the producer of a non-profit organisation called Kodomo Net. They have both been superlatively brilliant.
Minako Eshi from the Setagaya Public Theatre in Tokyo – our partner company – was the initial lynch pin between us and the team in Hiroshima. Minako went above and beyond her role to ensure that everything was in place and that we were ready to rock. Mihoko Sakamoto from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum very kindly agreed to organize a number of “hibakusha” to be involved in the interviews, without whose stories the project could not be a project..
Miki Takashima, an NHK broadcaster (NHK being the equivalent of the BBC) initially turned up to do a morning’s worth of filming for the evening news, but has kept coming back and seems to be genuinely interested in what we are currently doing and what we are working towards. When I asked her about the value and benefit of the project for the Hiroshima people, she said that – for many of the folk inside Hiroshima – the bombing is a normal, inbuilt part of their personal and collective history and as such, that they many people don’t always see it as special or extraordinary. August 6th has been woven into the fabric of their everyday lives of the community for 69 years and although aspirations to PEACE resonate throughout the city – as we have seen –she feels like a project such as this, will enable children and adults to discover more about the human history of their city.
These are just the helpers/interested parties in Japan. In the UK, we have also had a flock of engaged supporters. I mentioned in my first post, that we received a grant from the Daiwa Foundation – I failed to mention at this time that we also ran a successful We Fund campaign; its success purely due to the people that contributed.
They are: Tim Hughes, Joel Hughes, Holly Hughes, Gillian Lacey, Peter Burditt, Zal Sethna, Stephanie Waller, Digby Waller, Ainslie Waller, Sue Duncan, Gemma Burditt, Gemma Ronte, Robert Brand, Steve Nurse, Jane Valey, Jonathan Petherbridge, Anna Quine, Kate Sissons, Rosa Aers, Ellie Quine, Helle Skjervold, Lydia Wilson, Manuel Arrais, Gareth Price, Yorie Akiba, Christine Ellis, Flora Wilson, Francesca Delaney, Susannah Delve, Joe Hewton, Cristina Pinan-Hughes, Nick Llewellyn, Alex Madewell, Amanda Gettrup, Mirry Stolzenberg, Esther Mcauley and Dan Smith. Sincere apologies if I missed anyone out! It is no exaggeration to say that we couldn’t have done this without their help.
As with any fledgling idea, growing seed or burgeoning life form – it needs support, to help it grow, to nurture it and to lend it gentle, or not so gentle, validation. Thankfully, that support is there. Not only have we been given practical assistance, but also endless enthusiasm. For whatever reason we felt like this was a good idea, that belief seems to be shared with all these folk, on both sides of the world. Phew.
And now, I am off to engage in the most Japanese of pursuits: Hula dancing! One grass skirt closer to Honolulu and a step closer to modern life in Hiroshima….
The Grandchildren of Hiroshima 