社説:はだしのゲン 戦争知る貴重な作品だ

August 20, 2013(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: 'Barefoot Gen' restrictions threaten vital peace education
社説:はだしのゲン　戦争知る貴重な作品だ

Schools are where the children of Japan, now so long at peace, learn about war, and about the atomic horror that marked the end of this country's last military conflict. In Matsue, capital of Shimane Prefecture, primary and junior high school students have been deprived of one major chance to learn these things, to understand the disaster of war.
　原爆や戦争を教育現場で学び、その悲惨さを知る機会を子供たちから奪うことになるのではないか。
　自らの被爆体験を基に描いた故中沢啓治さんの漫画「はだしのゲン」が松江市内の小中学校の図書室で自由に閲覧できなくなったことだ。

We speak of course of the Matsue Municipal Board of Education's move in December last year to restrict student access to the 10-part manga series "Hadashi no Gen," or "Barefoot Gen," based on late author Keiji Nakazawa's own experience of the Hiroshima atomic bombing and its aftermath. At present, students at public primary and junior high schools in the city are not allowed to view or check out books from the series without special permission from their teachers.
The restrictions were imposed because the education board, or more specifically its superintendent, believed the manga's graphic depictions of death and violence -- including beheadings and rapes committed by former Imperial Japanese Army soldiers in other Asian nations -- were unsuitable for young students. Thirty-nine of Matsue's public primary and junior high schools have all 10 volumes of "Barefoot Gen."
　市教委は昨年１２月、過激な描写があるとして、書庫に収める閉架措置を取るよう校長会で求めた。旧日本軍のアジアでの行動などで暴力的な場面があり、子供が自由に読むのは不適切と判断したという。全１０巻を保有する３９校全てが応じた。

When the access restrictions were revealed last week, the Matsue education board was flooded with protests from around the country. Many of Matsue's teachers, too, heaped scorn on the measure for violating children's right to know about the events depicted in the manga.
　この措置が先週明らかになると、市教委に全国から抗議や苦情が多数寄せられた。現場の教員からも、子供の知る権利の侵害だという批判が相次いでいる。

Teaching kids about the terror of war and the importance of peace is one of the school system's most important tasks. For a board of education, tasked with sustaining and promoting the study of peace, to close off one major avenue to do this is a serious problem that must be corrected. Moreover, the fact that the Matsue superintendent of education demanded the access restrictions without consulting her fellow education board members is a fact that must be discussed among the staff of every school, including their principals.
　戦争の恐ろしさを知り、平和の尊さを学ぶことは教育の中でも非常に重要な要素だ。平和教育を推進すべき教育委員会がそれを閉ざす対応をとったことには問題があり、撤回すべきだ。また、今回の措置は教育委員が出席する会議には報告していないというが、学校現場の校長らも含めてしっかり議論すべきだろう。

The event that prompted the education board to consider keeping "Barefoot Gen" out of the hands of its students was a petition submitted to the Matsue Municipal Assembly by a local citizen in August last year. The citizen demanded that "Barefoot Gen" be pulled from school library shelved because the series "plants mistaken historical views" in the minds of children. The municipal assembly agreed that the manga contained some extreme depictions, but that as "Barefoot Gen" was widely viewed as an important work for peace education, the assembly could not assent to the citizen's request.
　市教委がこのような判断をしたきっかけは、松江市議会に昨年８月、１人の市民から「誤った歴史認識を子供に植え付ける」と学校の図書室から撤去を求める陳情があったことだ。市議会は、過激な部分がある一方で、平和教育の参考書になっているとの意見があり、陳情を不採択にした。

The education board, however, decided separately that it was inappropriate to allow school children free access to the manga due to "scenes of former Imperial Japanese Army soldiers decapitating people of other Asian nations" and other depictions of extreme violence.
だが、独自に検討した市教委は「旧日本軍がアジアの人々の首を切るなど過激なシーンがある」として小中学生が自由に持ち出して読むのは適切ではないと判断した。

The first installment of "Barefoot Gen" was published in 1973 in a children's weekly manga magazine, and is now considered an invaluable work for its brutally honest portrayal of the horrors of war and how it snatches away our humanity. Now available in some 20 languages, "Barefoot Gen" has also brought the story of the A-bomb to readers the world over. The Matsue education board has said it recognizes the tremendous value of the series to peace education, and that there is no restriction on teachers using the manga in class.
　１９７３年から少年漫画誌で連載された「はだしのゲン」は、戦争が人間性を奪う恐ろしさを描いた貴重な作品として高い評価を得てきた。約２０カ国語に翻訳され、原爆被害の実相を広く世界に伝えている。松江市教委も、作品が平和教育の重要な教材であること自体は認め、教員の指導で授業に使うことに問題はないと説明している。

The scenes of horrific cruelty portrayed in "Barefoot Gen" are there because war and the atomic bombings are themselves cruel. The Matsue education board's excessive restrictions don't just risk violating freedom of expression, but also stealing a chance for children to think about this admittedly shocking but very important subject matter. As such, these restrictions cannot be allowed to set a precedent.
　作品に残酷な描写があるのは、戦争や原爆そのものが残酷であり、それを表現しているからだ。行き過ぎた規制は表現の自由を侵す恐れがあるだけでなく、子供たちが考える機会を奪うことにもなる。今回のような規制が前例となってはならない。

"The theme of war and the A-bomb is very deep," author Nakazawa once said. "If 'Gen' spurs people to read more about the topic, helps them mature through seeking more information, then I'll be more than happy."
　中沢さんは生前、「戦争や原爆というテーマは奥が深い。ゲンを入り口にいろいろと読んで成長してくれれば作者冥利に尽きる」と話している。

The survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs are growing older, their numbers thinning year by year. At the same time, the ranks of our people who have never known war continue to multiply. For this very reason, passing on first-hand accounts of war and the A-bombs is becoming all the more important, and nothing should be allowed to block this vital inheritance.
被爆者が高齢化する一方、戦争を知らない世代が増え、戦争や原爆被害の体験を語り継ぐことがますます重要な時代を迎えている。こうした継承を封じてはならない。

毎日新聞　2013年08月20日　02時33分