Hiroshima -- the "Liveliest”City in Japan
1】That must be what the man in the Japanese stationmaster's uniform shouted, as the fastest train in the world slipped to a stop in Hiroshima Station.
2】Secondly, because I had a lump in my throat and a lot of sad thoughts on my mind that had little to do with anything a Nippon railways official might say. The very act of stepping on this soil, in breathing this air of Hiroshima, was for me a far greater adventure than any trip or any reportorial assignment I'd previously taken.
3】 Was I not at the scene of the crime?
4】The Japanese crowd did not appear to have the same preoccupations that I had.
5】 Little girls and elderly ladies in kimonos rubbed shoulders with teenagers and women in western dress.
6】Serious looking men spoke to one another as if they were oblivious of the crowds about them, and bobbed up and down re-heatedly in little bows, as they exchanged the ritual formula of gratitude and respect:
7】 The cab driver, whose door popped open at the very sight of a traveler.
8】The tall buildings of the martyred city flashed by as we lurched from side to side in response to the driver's sharp twists of the wheel.
9】 Just as I was beginning to find the ride long, the taxi screeched to a halt, and the driver got out and went over to a policeman to ask the way.
10】 As in Tokyo, taxi drivers in Hiroshima often know little of their city, but to avoid loss of face before foreigners, will not admit their ignorance, and will accept any destination without concern for how long it may take them to find it.
11】 The rather arresting spectacle of little old Japan adrift adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers is the very symbol of the incessant struggle between the kimono and the miniskirt.
12】At the door to the restaurant, a stunning, porcelain-faced woman in traditional costume asked me to remove my shoes.
13】This done, I entered one of the low-ceilinged rooms of the little floating house, treading cautiously on the soft matting and experiencing a twingeof embarrassment at the prospect of meeting the mayor of Hiroshima in my socks.
14】 Quite unexpectedly, the strange emotion which had overwhelmed me at the station returned, and I was again crushed by the thought that I now stood on the site of the first atomic bombardment, where thousands upon thousands of people had been slainin one second, where thousands upon thousands of others had lingered on to die in slow agony .
15】Everyone bowed, including the Westerners. After three days in Japan, the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.
16】 There were fresh bows, and the faces grew more and more serious each time the name Hiroshima was repeated.
17】Seldom has a city gained such world renown, and I am proud and happy to welcome you to Hiroshima, a town known throughout the world for its--- oysters
18】 I was just about to make my little bow of assent, when the meaning of these last words sank in, jolting me out of my sad reverie .
19】There are two different schools of thought in this city of oysters, one that would like to preserve traces of the bomb, and the other that would like to get rid of everything, even the monument that was erected at the point of impact. They would also like to demolish the atomic museum."
20】Because it hurts everybody, and because time marches on. That is why.
21】Like any other, the hospital smelled of formaldehyde and ethere . Stretchers and wheelchairs lined the walls of endless corridors, and nurses walked by carrying Stretchers instruments, the very sight of which would send shivers down the spine of any healthy visitor.
22】The so-called atomic section was located on the third floor. It consisted of 17 beds.
23】 I thought somehow I had been spared.
24】 Each day that I escape death, each day of suffering that helps to free me from earthly cares, I make a new little paper bird, and add it to the others. This way I look at them and congratulate myself of the good fortune that my illness has brought me.
25】 Because, thanks to it, I have the opportunity to improve my character.
26】
2】Secondly, because I had a lump in my throat and a lot of sad thoughts on my mind that had little to do with anything a Nippon railways official might say. The very act of stepping on this soil, in breathing this air of Hiroshima, was for me a far greater adventure than any trip or any reportorial assignment I'd previously taken.
3】 Was I not at the scene of the crime?
4】The Japanese crowd did not appear to have the same preoccupations that I had.
5】 Little girls and elderly ladies in kimonos rubbed shoulders with teenagers and women in western dress.
6】Serious looking men spoke to one another as if they were oblivious of the crowds about them, and bobbed up and down re-heatedly in little bows, as they exchanged the ritual formula of gratitude and respect:
7】 The cab driver, whose door popped open at the very sight of a traveler.
8】The tall buildings of the martyred city flashed by as we lurched from side to side in response to the driver's sharp twists of the wheel.
9】 Just as I was beginning to find the ride long, the taxi screeched to a halt, and the driver got out and went over to a policeman to ask the way.
10】 As in Tokyo, taxi drivers in Hiroshima often know little of their city, but to avoid loss of face before foreigners, will not admit their ignorance, and will accept any destination without concern for how long it may take them to find it.
11】 The rather arresting spectacle of little old Japan adrift adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers is the very symbol of the incessant struggle between the kimono and the miniskirt.
12】At the door to the restaurant, a stunning, porcelain-faced woman in traditional costume asked me to remove my shoes.
13】This done, I entered one of the low-ceilinged rooms of the little floating house, treading cautiously on the soft matting and experiencing a twingeof embarrassment at the prospect of meeting the mayor of Hiroshima in my socks.
14】 Quite unexpectedly, the strange emotion which had overwhelmed me at the station returned, and I was again crushed by the thought that I now stood on the site of the first atomic bombardment, where thousands upon thousands of people had been slainin one second, where thousands upon thousands of others had lingered on to die in slow agony .
15】Everyone bowed, including the Westerners. After three days in Japan, the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.
16】 There were fresh bows, and the faces grew more and more serious each time the name Hiroshima was repeated.
17】Seldom has a city gained such world renown, and I am proud and happy to welcome you to Hiroshima, a town known throughout the world for its--- oysters
18】 I was just about to make my little bow of assent, when the meaning of these last words sank in, jolting me out of my sad reverie .
19】There are two different schools of thought in this city of oysters, one that would like to preserve traces of the bomb, and the other that would like to get rid of everything, even the monument that was erected at the point of impact. They would also like to demolish the atomic museum."
20】Because it hurts everybody, and because time marches on. That is why.
21】Like any other, the hospital smelled of formaldehyde and ethere . Stretchers and wheelchairs lined the walls of endless corridors, and nurses walked by carrying Stretchers instruments, the very sight of which would send shivers down the spine of any healthy visitor.
22】The so-called atomic section was located on the third floor. It consisted of 17 beds.
23】 I thought somehow I had been spared.
24】 Each day that I escape death, each day of suffering that helps to free me from earthly cares, I make a new little paper bird, and add it to the others. This way I look at them and congratulate myself of the good fortune that my illness has brought me.
25】 Because, thanks to it, I have the opportunity to improve my character.
26】
