And, I had an added surprise. There were deer just roaming about. Yup, not a care in the world. I actually ran into a deer who was chasing a little girl, it was hilarious (video below). I took pictures of the deer (and some with them too) and I gotta say, it was pretty mind boggling that these animals, who were not in a zoo whatsoever, were so chill around human beings. I imagine that's how it used to be at one point and time, animals and humanity living side by side in peace. Peace..what a concept.
Oh, speaking of peace, off the subject really quickly: I went to the Peace Museum last weekend. And I must say, I do not have any desire to go back unless absolutely necessary. I've been to the Holocaust museum (in Israel) and I do not wish to go back there either. Seeing the Holocaust victims captured in photo was insightful and yet overwhelming, and yet, seeing the burn victims, the victims of a catastrophic man made disaster up close and personal in photos of the city where I now reside was unlike anything I had ever experienced in my whole life (please believe I am not comparing these two events, I am simply saying that being in the actual spot where it happened while looking at history is quite the feeling). How was the museum? Halfway through I thought it was over and I was about to cry from the images I had seen, and that was just of the city and reading about the people, I hadn't gotten to the actual overwhelming photos and intimate stories of survivors or witnesses yet. I saw burn victims, I learned about the lasting effects of radiation, I heard a story of a young boy on his tricycle who died during the blast. I heard stories of children who were evacuated way before their parents because Japan was in constant terror of air raids (let alone an atomic bomb) and something around the number of 20,000 children were orphaned because of the A-bomb. I felt shame, misery, guilt, sadness, and a resounding question of "Why?" Why did this even happen? "Pearl Harbor!! The Holocaust!! We were protecting ourselves!! They hit us so we hit them! We had to show our power!!" These were some of the answers dancing around in my head. What those ideas didnt know is that it was 2AM and time to go home from the disco. I didn't care for them. Not that I didnt care about ANY answers, but at this time, standing in THIS city seeing THESE photos understanding, or at least trying to understand, THESE people's pain especially since it was the first and only nuclear weapon used in the history of the world..yeah..those answers could get the **** out as far as I was concerned. These were people, innocent people. Chinese, Korean and Japanese people, all innocent. And while they were begging for water, looking for their children, searching for their parents, trying to survive, wondering if the blur between life and death would just clear up and choose, they were asking the same question...Why?
After going there and watching Avatar I was pretty anti-war that day. Every one of you, if you ever get a chance, should check out some of the history and photos of the people of Japan when they got hit with the blast. Whether it's through google or you get a chance to go to a memorial museum yourself, get informed, it will overwhelm you.
So back to Miyajima. GORGEOUS!!! I had a great day and throughly enjoyed my second real weekend in Hiroshima. Wow, it's only week 4.
-Jeremy
