This Precious Volume

I was reading in The Japan Times about the discovery of a book of tanka poems by the atomic bomb survivor, Shinoe Shoda. Having endured the horror of that clear-sky August day, she set about secretly publishing the book called Sange (Buddhist for death), which chronicled the aftermath. There was a strict censorship of this kind of writing by the Occupying Forces after the war, so she had the work published in a prison.*

Not many of these slim volumes survive, but one has now found its way into the collection of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. I can only hope for an English translation in the future, but here is one that has been:

The heavy bones / must be the teacher / and alongside / small skulls / are gathered



* "The censorship enforced by the GHQ was so strict, and I was told that any violation would almost certainly lead to the death penalty. But with a strong determination even if it meant facing the death penalty, I secretly published this book, compelled by a force inside myself, though my family tried to stop me." Shinoe Shoda