Posts Tagged ‘Hypo-Center Nagasaki’
Hypocenter, Nagasaki
Thursday, August 7th, 2014Nagasaki…500 feet above my head….
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012..September 2008 Nagasaki, Japan..
….500 feet above my head the 2nd atomic bomb detonated on August 9th, 1945. Blood, fire, black rain, and heat engulfed everywhere around me. For a split second the temperature at the epicenter reached 1 million degrees.
….100 feet to my right corpses piled on the river creating a dam of death that stopped the flow of water. The Urakami Cathedral a 1/2 mile down the street collapsed and fell down a hillside. Part of the tower still sits at the bottom.
The world had gone MAD. Never have we witnessed the level of insanity experienced in 1945. What did we do here? Nothing can justify this atrocity. To think this could happen again terrifies me.
..2nd day in Nagasaki at the epicenter of the atomic bomb, I don’t think the entire story has ever been told or ever will be comprehended.
Hibakusha, atomic bomb Survivor, Mr. Masatoshi Tsunenari and Tokyo fire bombing Survivor Ms. Haruyo Nihei
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
..June 2010..
Hibakusha, atomic bomb Survivor, Mr. Masatoshi Tsunenari and Tokyo fire bombing Survivor Ms. Haruyo Nihei a block away from the epicenter where the atomic bomb was detonated in Nagasaki.
Ms. Haruyo Nihei, a Tokyo fire bombing Survivor I photographed for the original From Above series, accompanied the exhibition when it was shown at the Nagasaki Peace Museum during June/July 2010. She wanted to tell her story of surviving the 3/10 fire bombing of Tokyo to an atomic bomb Survivor.
Hibakusha Mr. Tsunenari agreed meet Ms. Nihei in Nagasaki. It was an amazing moment to see them listen and exchange stories. Tragic moments in time that changed their lives instantly.
It was the highlight of my trip to Nagasaki. I was proud the exhibition was shown at the Nagasaki Peace Museum. But to see the feelings of Ms. Nihei, it’s what I want From Above to be about. A project that eclipses my photos and allows others to reach out to one another. Seeing Mr. Tsunenari listen to and accept Ms. Nihei’s story of the 3/10 Tokyo fire bombings was moving. I believe it was a great feeling of relief to Ms. Nihei to be able to share her story.
Many of the 3/10 Survivors don’t get the recognition as others. The event is swept away as a side note in the history books and society. On March 10, 1945 more people died in Tokyo, during one night, than in both atomic bombings combined.
Yoshiro Yamawaki-san
Monday, August 31st, 2009..September 2008 Nagasaki..
Yoshiro Yamawaki-san
74 years old
11:02AM August 9, 1945
Yamawaki-san’s story is about recovering his father’s body. He was 11 years old. Lived 2.2km from the epicenter. He and his brother where at home eating lunch at the time of the blast.
The atomic bomb blast tore apart the home. He remembers hearing the plane above. The surge of the blast. They could see the sky through the damaged ceiling beams. Nagasaki on fire and destroyed.
They waiting all night for their father to return from the Mitsubishi Steelworks factory located near the epicenter, 500 meters. He never returned. They assumed he would return home.
The next morning, August 10th, 1945, he and his brother decide to walk to the factory. The factory was located on the Urakami River. Very close to the building I was now sitting in 64 years later. I could see the former location over Yamawaki-san’s shoulder through the large window at the end of the room.
As they walked closer to the factory the devastation grew worse. They had to step easily to avoid breaking the heaps of bodies lying on what used to be streets along the river. Swollen dead bodies and scorched debris.
“…Those who died were swollen like black rubber dolls and their skin peeled off when touch even slightly.” -Mr. Yamawaki
They froze at the site of the Mitsubishi Steelworks factory. Almost nothing was left. At the factory, they found a worker who knew where their father’s body was. The 2 young boys collected wood to cremate their father’s body. They set the fire.
“…My brother and I collected pieces of wood, which we used to cremate our father’s body. When we saw the flames licking up his feet, we couldn’t stop the tears from flowing…..” -Mr. Yamawaki
They returned the next day to find the body wasn’t fully cremated. Only his hands and feet were burnt to the bones. Saddened they have not told their now 92 year old mother the story. They never will.
Mr. Yamawaki was the only Survivor to tell his story in English. I was surprised, when asked why he learned English in his late 60’s. He had retired and found it necessary to continue learning. It’s another display of the spirit of the Hibakusha I met in Nagasaki. Their will to want to live and go beyond.
The park is illuminated….
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009..September 2008 Epicenter, Nagasaki..
..The park is dark except for the illuminated gas lanterns circling the edge of the paths. I only hear chirping birds and grasshoppers whisper.
A short walk to the monument. Put the palm of my hands on the marble box shaped monument in memory of victims, many who were vaporized. Look up. It’s as if there is always a light shining From Above on the very spot. A straight beam like the vacuum a mushroom cloud. But it’s not there in reality.
Sitting in my hotel room staring at a tv that only speaks Japanese
Thursday, August 13th, 2009..September 2008 Nagasaki..
8:02PM Hotel Room across from the museum. Sitting on the bed
My first night in Nagasaki. Sitting in my hotel room staring at a tv that only speaks Japanese. Outside the window I have a view of the atomic bomb epicenter. 64 years ago death and destruction reeked outside. Now I’m sitting in a business hotel a 1/2 block away.
I’ve traveled for 2 straight days. 16 hour flight New York to Tokyo. 5 hours sleep, 9 hours Tokyo to Nagasaki by train. It’s 8:00PM, I’m exhausted and curious about who I’ll meet in the morning when I start the first portraits. What will they say? Will they be offended I’m American?
..Nagasaki..
It’s pitch black outside the window. I can’t keep my eyes open. My body has traveled half the globe. ET on the tv dubbed in Japanese. Wake-up early. Walk around the epicenter. Get ready for portraits.
Arrived under a bright sunshine, while rain teared down from the clouds.
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009..September 7th, 2008 Nagasaki, Japan 15:00..
My fear of Failing….My fear of Being Myself….My fear of someone else’s Thoughts….
…Arrived under a bright sunshine, while rain teared down from the clouds. I’ve never seen rain on a sunny day. Nagasaki is at the Edge of the Japanese main islands. No where to go once you reached the end…
Looked out at the small chain of islands that Seiichi’s grandmother witnessed the white flash of August 9th, 1945. 2 miles away on the shoreline. I’m sure she has seen it many times in her mind.
I don’t know what is inside me. Excitement, Desire, Fear, Boredom, Love, Revenge, Apathy, Lies, Truth, Complicated, Sympathy….
Where I realized how to love people..by myself..by the river 6PM 1 block from epicenter
Monday, August 10th, 2009..September 2008 1 block from epicenter, Nagasaki..
..Where I realized how to love people..By myself..by the river 6PM sunset 1 block from epicenter..
..Where I realized why I traveled across the world to meet these people..Where I found emotion in Nagasaki..
..The first time I saw the reflection in the small stream running next to the epicenter, this was when the devastation hit me. It’s one of the most moving photos I took. Peaceful but remorseful.
..I first saw the reflection of the archway in the shallow water. As August 9th, 1945 grew older the pile of bodies multiplied in the canal. Eventually making a dam of corpses which stopped the running water. The corpses piled almost to the top of the 20 foot archway.
Along with the reflection of the archway, I can see the reflection of innocent that didn’t need to die. Why did this happen? It didn’t need to. This image has more of an effect on me than the epicenter. How can a scene so peaceful be a grave 64 years ago?
..Where I realized what happened. Where I realized war is fucking shit..that kills the innocent..
Nagasaki, 500 feet above my head…
Sunday, August 9th, 2009..September 2008 Nagasaki, Japan..
….500 feet above my head the 2nd atomic bomb detonated on August 9th, 1945. Blood, fire, black rain, and heat engulfed everywhere around me. For a split second the temperature at the epicenter reached 1 million degrees.
….100 feet to my right corpses piled on the river creating a dam of death that stopped the flow of water. The Urakami Cathedral a 1/2 mile down the street collapsed and fell down a hillside. Part of the tower still sits at the bottom.
The world had gone MAD. Never have we witnessed the level of insanity experienced in 1945. What did we do here? Nothing can justify this atrocity. To think this could happen again terrifies me.
..2nd day in Nagasaki at the epicenter of the atomic bomb, I don’t think the entire story has ever been told or ever will be comprehended.
The beginings of From Above….
Friday, August 7th, 2009..March 2008 New York to Hiroshima and Nagasaki..
I find myself once again traveling to the Edge of the World. This time to speak with people who have experienced the worst of human actions. It’s remarkable how an event as disturbing as the detonation of the atomic bomb can be lauded as victory for some members of the human population.
A technology so advanced used to destroy and ravage a fellow human. Think about how we could have put the immense resources and advanced science to better human kind?
..I don’t know if it’s guilt or curiosity of what the Survivors of the atomic bomb, Hibakusha, have endured that has me traveling to the other side of the world to meet strangers. It’s both. With an explanation mark on GUILT!
What do you say to a fellow human who has lived through this horrible experience? Am I worthy to look into their eyes? I have a lot of respect for what the Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have endured.
Maybe listening to their story is the greatest sign of respect I can show each Survivor and victim of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ignoring the fact this happened and people have suffered a lifetime of pain that I could not imagine would be the disrespect a majority of people have showed.
