原爆は人間への失望に根拠を与えた犯罪　三宅一生氏の英文書簡から

2009年、ファッションデザイナーで「イッセイ　ミヤケ」ブランドで知られる三宅一生さんが、被爆体験を新聞に発表して話題になった。

ニューヨークタイムズに載った英文書簡  "A Flash of Memory"（7月13日付）は、はじめ三宅氏がホワイトハウスに送った手紙で、ホワイトハウスからタイムズに転送され掲載されたものらしい。

時代に対しても自分に対しても前向き modern and optimistic であろうとしてファッション界に入ったこと。

そうした人生の原点のひとつが7歳のとき体験した原爆だったこと。

しかし「被爆デザイナー」などとレッテルを貼られないよう、原爆体験については触れないようにしてきた。

それは「過去によって自分がきまってしまうことを許さないため　never to be defined by my past」であった。

I tried never to be defined by my past. I did not want to be labeled “the designer who survived the atomic bomb,” and therefore I have always avoided questions about Hiroshima. They made me uncomfortable.

破壊と創造という正反対のものが、この人の生涯を作った。

この手紙でもっとも印象に残ったのは、原爆について

「人間が憎しみからお互いにしてしまうこと　what humans do to one another out of hatred」

と表現している部分だ。

被爆体験は、当日の閃光や破壊、そしてその後もつづいた闘病や差別（への恐れ）といった面から語られることが多い。

しかし、それだけでは被爆者が沈黙を守ろうとする理由が十分説明できないのではないかと私は思ってきた。

三宅氏の「人間が憎しみからお互いにしてしまうこと　what humans do to one another out of hatred」という表現に、私はハッとした。

地下鉄サリン事件の被害者で、精神的にショックをうけて外出できなくなった若い女性が、こういう主旨を語っていた。

「あの日、たくさんの人が駅で倒れているのを横目で見ながら、私はそのまま会社に出勤してしまった。なぜあんなことをしたのだろう？　それを思い出すと自分が許せなくなり、立ち直れない」

この人は自分への失望によって苦しんでいた。

被爆体験は自分への失望というより、人間への失望をふくんでいたのだ。

人間が憎しみあったとき、どれほどのことをしてしまうか。被爆体験とは、そのことへのショックをふくんでいるのだと思う。

原爆はどういう犯罪か。

それは人間への失望に根拠を与えた犯罪なのだ。

...

（以下、三宅一生氏の書簡全文）

A Flash of Memory

By ISSEY MIYAKE
Published: July 13, 2009
Tokyo

IN April, President Obama pledged to seek peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons. He called for not simply a reduction, but elimination. His words awakened something buried deeply within me, something about which I have until now been reluctant to discuss.
I realized that I have, perhaps now more than ever, a personal and moral responsibility to speak out as one who survived what Mr. Obama called the “flash of light.”
On Aug. 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on my hometown, Hiroshima. I was there, and only 7 years old. When I close my eyes, I still see things no one should ever experience: a bright red light, the black cloud soon after, people running in every direction trying desperately to escape — I remember it all. Within three years, my mother died from radiation exposure.
I have never chosen to share my memories or thoughts of that day. I have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to put them behind me, preferring to think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy. I gravitated toward the field of clothing design, partly because it is a creative format that is modern and optimistic.
I tried never to be defined by my past. I did not want to be labeled “the designer who survived the atomic bomb,” and therefore I have always avoided questions about Hiroshima. They made me uncomfortable.
But now I realize it is a subject that must be discussed if we are ever to rid the world of nuclear weapons. There is a movement in Hiroshima to invite Mr. Obama to Universal Peace Day on Aug. 6 — the annual commemoration of that fateful day. I hope he will accept. My wish is motivated by a desire not to dwell on the past, but rather to give a sign to the world that the American president’s goal is to work to eliminate nuclear wars in the future.
Last week, Russia and the United States signed an agreement to reduce nuclear arms. This was an important event. However, we are not naïve: no one person or country can stop nuclear warfare. In Japan, we live with the constant threat from our nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea. There are reports of other countries acquiring nuclear technology, too. For there to be any hope of peace, people around the world must add their voices to President Obama’s.
If Mr. Obama could walk across the Peace Bridge in Hiroshima — whose balustrades were designed by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi as a reminder both of his ties to East and West and of what humans do to one another out of hatred — it would be both a real and a symbolic step toward creating a world that knows no fear of nuclear threat. Every step taken is another step closer to world peace.

Issey Miyake is a clothing designer. This article was translated by members of his staff from the Japanese.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/opinion/14miyake.html?_r=1