記者の目：被爆６４年の広島 私は黙り込んだ＝井上梢

(Mainichi Japan) August 6, 2009
Serving as a bridge to spread the message of the atomic bombing
記者の目：被爆６４年の広島　私は黙り込んだ＝井上梢

"You don't need to tell anybody my feelings -- the message isn't getting through," the 49-year-old doctor, a second-generation atomic-bomb survivor, told me.
　「私の気持ちは誰にも伝わらなくていい。伝わらないのだから」。

When I heard these words during my coverage of the medical treatment of atomic-bomb diseases, I could do nothing but remain silent.
被爆２世の男性医師（４９）の言葉に、黙り込むしかなかった。

This summer, 64 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, U.S. President Barack Obama's declaration on aiming for the elimination of nuclear weapons has provided a new ray of hope.
被爆６４年の広島の今夏は、核廃絶を目指すとオバマ米大統領が宣言したことで、例年になく「希望」がともにある。

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and the Hiroshima confederation of organizations supporting A- and H-bomb sufferers have supported his stance.
広島県被団協や秋葉忠利・広島市長らは、その姿勢を絶賛。

In addition, seven groups supporting atomic-bomb survivors, or hibakusha, have sent letters to Obama and are hoping that he will visit Hiroshima.
They hope to convey their feelings directly and add momentum to the move to eliminate nuclear weapons.
さらに被爆地の思いを直接伝えて核廃絶への機運を高めようと、被爆者７団体などは手紙を送り、広島訪問を待ち望む。

But when I visited the 49-year-old doctor during my reporting on medical treatment of people suffering from atomic-bomb diseases in June this year, he told me he couldn't find any meaning in conveying messages about the atomic bombing, adding that he told his son, "I don't think I'll share my thoughts on the atomic bombing. It should end with my generation."
ところが今年６月、被爆医療の取材で訪ねた医師は、伝えることに意味を見いださず、医学生の息子に対してさえも「原爆への思いは話そうと思わない。この話は私の代で終わればいい」と言うのだ。

The doctor's mother suffered burns on her back during the atomic bombing, and her shoulder blade showed through her thinned skin, he said.
　医師の母は背中に大やけどを負い、薄くなった皮膚の向こうには肩甲骨が透けて見えたという。

His father suffered from a condition common to many atomic-bomb survivors that brought on a feeling of fatigue.
父は、倦怠（けんたい）感に悩まされる被爆者特有の「原爆ぶらぶら病」に苦しんだ。

At the time, when the atomic bombing was not recognized as the cause of such illnesses, many hibakusha were labeled lazy. まだ原爆の影響と認められなかった当時、多くの被爆者が怠け者とみなされた。

The doctor's father quit his company job and opened a bar.
父は会社勤めをやめ、居酒屋を開いた。

He often felt unwell and the doctor, from when he was young, helped out at the business. When he spilled drinks he was hit relentlessly by customers.
体調が悪いことも多く、医師は小さい時から店を手伝い、酒をつぎこぼしては客に容赦なく殴られた。

The mere sight of photographs of Hiroshima at the time of the bombing made the doctor's father throw up.
　父は被爆時の広島の写真を見ただけで嘔吐（おうと）もした。

"There was something sad about seeking life's simple daily pleasures but not being able to attain them," the doctor says. "That's something I can't convey."
医師は言う。「日常の幸福といったささやかな喜びを求めながら得られない悲しみ。それは伝えられない」。

After becoming a doctor and seeing hibakusha die from cancer and other illnesses, that feeling only grew stronger.
医師になった後も、がんなどで亡くなる被爆者をみとる中で、その思いを強くしたという。

It has been four years since I was first assigned to work in Hiroshima.
　初任地の広島に来て、４年目だ。

Many times hibakusha have told me, "You don't understand," but they have quickly changed their minds and carefully shared their feelings with me.
幾たびも被爆者から「あなたには分からないでしょう」と言われてきた。それでもすぐに思い直し、丁寧に話をしてくれたものだ。

However this doctor simply adopted an attitude of detachment.
しかし、この医師は突き放すだけだった。

I felt a gap that seemed impossible to bridge.
もう手が届かないような距離を感じさせられた。

Still at a loss about what to do, I headed to Hawaii to visit 60-year-old second-generation hibakusha Hiromi Peterson, who teaches Japanese at the school Obama attended and is also involved in peace education.
　どうしたらいいかわからなくなったまま、オバマ大統領の母校で日本語を教え、平和教育にも取り組む被爆２世のピーターソン（旧姓・中井）ひろみさん（６０）に会うためにハワイへ向かった。

Peterson's grandfather died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and her father also suffered major burns. When she decided to marry an American and move to Hawaii, her grandmother cried in opposition, and her grandmother never saw her husband up until the time she died. Her sister died from leukemia at the relatively young age of 62.
　ひろみさんの祖父は広島の原爆で亡くなり、父も大やけどを負った。ひろみさんが米国人との結婚を決め、ハワイへ渡る時、祖母は涙を流して反対した。そして、亡くなるまで夫と会わなかったという。ひろみさんの姉も６２歳の若さで白血病で亡くなった。

When teaching Japanese, Peterson thought that her students should learn about the point where Japan and the United States met, and what she had to show them was the atomic bombing. She produced a textbook recounting her family's experiences and used it in her lessons. At first, many students said that the atomic-bombing was justified, but in the end, about half the class came to the conclusion that the bomb shouldn't have been dropped. Now the textbook is used across the United States.
　ひろみさんは日本語を教えるにあたり、「日米の接点を知った上で生徒は学ぶべきだ。私が示せるものは原爆」と考えた。家族の被爆体験を取り上げたテキストを作り、授業で使った。そうすると、最初は「原爆は正しかった」と答える学生が多くても、最終的にはクラスの半分が「落とすべきでなかった」に転じるという。現在、テキストは全米に広がっている。

Looking at Peterson, who was conveying the terror of the atomic bombing in the land that is home to Pearl Harbor, a place holding special meaning for America, I felt her strength. Her words, "I won't let them say, 'That never happened,'" came at a time when I was feeling discouraged, and stirred up in me a renewed belief that it was important to convey the message of the bombing.
　米国にとって特別な意味を持つパールハーバー（真珠湾）の地で、原爆の恐怖を伝えるひろみさんの姿勢に、強さを感じた。「『あんなことは無かった』と言わせない」と語ったその言葉は、くじけかけていた私に、再び伝えることが大切と信じる気持ちを呼び起こしてくれた。

For a year and a half I have interviewed hibakusha who have risked their lives and continued to spread the message of the atomic bombing. One of them is 86-year-old Suzuko Numata, who says she was taught to live from the example of a Chinese parasol tree that was hit by the atomic bombing but returned to life. Though she now spends most of her time in bed due to illness, twice a month she continues to give talks to students who visit the home for the elderly where she lives.
　命をかけて被爆証言を続ける被爆者を、１年半にわたって取材してきた。被爆したアオギリが枯れずによみがえった様子から、自らも生きることを教わったという沼田鈴子（すずこ）さん（８６）。病に倒れて主にベッドで過ごす今も、月２回ほど、入所する老人ホームに集まった学生などを対象に証言活動を続ける。

When I visited her after the nuclear test by North Korea in May, she had a hollow look in her eyes.
"We've been saying nuclear weapons should never be used, and now this," she said, moving her head as she spoke even though it would hurt her weakened backbone. In the past she had told me, "I want hibakusha in North Korea to speak out and stop the nuclear tests." I wondered if such a thing was possible, but it was a case of believing in the power of conveying a message.
　５月の北朝鮮の核実験後に訪ねると、うつろな目で「絶対、核は使っちゃいけんと言っているのにね」と訴えた。ベッド暮らしで弱くなった背骨を痛めることもいとわず、首を上下させて語る。そういえば、「北朝鮮の被爆者が語って、核実験を止めてほしい」と話していた。そんなことが可能かとは思うが、伝える力を信じればこそだった。

Still, I worried about whether I could carry out the role of introducing the words of hibakusha to the world. I have always written articles on the assumption that I am conveying hibakushas' messages to the friends I had as a student. I want to serve as a bridge and have the same generation, which had no interest in the atomic bombing, think about the issues.
　それでも、被爆者の言葉を世界に紹介する役目が私に果たせるのかどうかを悩む。いつも学生時代の友人に伝えることを念頭に置いて書いてきた。原爆に関心の無かった同世代に、問題を考えてもらう橋渡しをしたいと。

At the beginning of August, I visited the doctor once again. I asked him why he had agreed to meet me when he didn't want to convey a message in the first place.
　８月初め、医師を再訪し、そもそも伝わらないと考えているのに、なぜ私の取材に応じたかを尋ねた。

"I'm not completely without a feeling of wanting to convey a message. It comes down to whether you can convey my feelings in writing. It's an experiment and a written challenge," he said.
「私も伝えたい気持ちが完全にないのではない。あなたが私の気持ちを書き伝えることができるかどうか。実験であり、挑戦状です」と言った。

Behind the Hiroshima that uses anger and sadness as energy in its push to eliminate nuclear weapons, there are people who still swallow their feelings. Needless to say, it is difficult to understand the feelings inside people's hearts and convey them. But I believe that I can listen with simple honesty, and convey something, albeit to a small extent. At the same time, in my own way, I want to find the real answer for the doctor. ("As I See It," by Kozue Inoue, Hiroshima Bureau)
　怒りや悲しみをエネルギーに核廃絶へつなげようとする広島の裏側に、今も気持ちをのみ込む人たちがいる。胸の内をそのままに理解し、伝えることが困難なのは言うまでもない。しかし、私は愚直に聞き取り、わずかなりとも伝わると信じていく。そして、医師に対する本当の回答を、自分なりに見つけたい。（広島支局）

毎日新聞　2009年8月6日　0時01分