Hiroshima Notes Quotes

“The dead can survive as part of the lives of those that still live.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“Understanding comes hard to persons of high rank who are accustomed to phony lifestyles that involve no daily work.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“It takes a person of great care and insight to watch for any abnormality in the green grass even while it grows abundantly and healthily.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“Hiroshima is like a nakedly exposed wound inflicted on all mankind.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“The people of Hiroshima went to work at once to restore human society in the aftermath of the great atomic flood. They were concerned to salvage their own lives, but in the process they also salvaged the souls of the people who have brought the atomic bomb.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“We naturally try to forget our personal tragedies, serious or trifling, as soon as possible (even something as petty as being scorned or disdained by a stranger on a street corner). We try not to carry these things over to tomorrow. It is not strange, therefore, that the whole human race is trying to put Hiroshima, the extreme point of human tragedy, completely out of mind.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“From the instant the atomic bomb exploded, it became the symbol of all human evil; it was a savagely primitive demon and a most modern curse.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“When the Russian delegate this summer indicated the Soviet Union's interest in sending medical equipment, Dr Shigeto went right away to see the delegate and settle the matter tactfully. He is careful to steer clear of the superficial swirl of political maneuvering, but never misses any opportunity to improve the capability of the A-bomb Hospital or to enhance concretely the welfare of the patients. In that sense, he sometimes refers to himself as a 'dirty handkerchief.' That is, he serves to filter political purposes out of relief efforts so that the effect on patients is purely and concretely humane.”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes

“Wie van de toekomstige generaties
zal kunnen begrijpen
dat we opnieuw in duisternis vervallen zijn
na het licht te hebben gezien?”
― Kenzaburō Ōe, Hiroshima Notes