For one healthy, Peaceful World
Summer, War and Peace
To me, since I was a school kid, summer has always been a time to reflect on "War
and Peace".
August 6th was when an atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, 9th in Nagasaki,
both in 1945.
And on August 15th, The Japanese military government finally accepted the
unconditional surrender.
My father used to tell us his own experience how it was like running away from fires
and bombs being dropped in my home town Fukuoka as other major cities in Japan
toward the end of WW2.
When I was in school, 8/6 was the day when all the kids go to school, even though it
was in the middle of summer break, and we would learn about Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
During summer, on TV and news papers, we have lots of special programs and
reports on the war, such as testimony by a-bomb survivors, or people who
experiences the war.
While in elementary school, the school trip was to visit Nagasaki.
In junior high, it was Hiroshima.
We visited a-bomb memorial museums during the day, and in the evening at hotel,
we would listen to the stories from a-bomb survivors in person.
In college, during the summer, we organized a campaign called “Message to the
Future”, and visited and interviewed a-bomb survivors living in our neighborhood,
and published a small booklet of testimony by them.
And while in 20s, I participated in world conference against nuclear weapons, which
is held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki every summer, where I met so many people
around the world, including the victims of a-bombs, nuclear tests and Chernobyl
accident.
So naturally, summer to me is associated with "War and Peace".
Modern Macrobiotics as Peace Movement
Modern macrobiotics, which was introduced by people such as Michio Kushi from
Japan, started as a "World Peace Movement", too.
Kushi himself went to Hiroshima right after the a-bomb, and saw the horror of
aftermath.
His simple theory is that healthy people (physically, mentally and spiritually) makes
healthy community, and creates one healthy, peaceful world.
Peace starts with the health of individual.
Health on physical, mental and spiritual level.
Healthy eating and life style can “cure” the diseases of people, and society as a
whole.
From the structure of our teeth to digestive enzymes in the mouth, and to the length
of intestines, all supports that we human beings have evolved by eating whole
grains and plant based diet.
But since we started to ignore this biological nature, and eat in a chaotic manner,
true human quality, both physical and spiritual, started to degenerate.
And all sorts of diseases have widespread, including societal illness such as wars.
In Japanese, the word "peace" or "harmony" consists of two parts.
The left side means "grains", the right side "mouth".
Whole grains have been the principal human food for thousands of years.
They are most economical foods that can easily feed the entire population on the
planet.
Eating whole grains as main food creates harmony and peace.
That's my idea of Macrobiotics.
And this message is the motivation for me to study and pursue Macrobiotic principle
and way of living.
My small peace movement
Every summer, I try to think "what small things I can do to contribute to peace ?"
One year, I sent a link to testimonies by a-bomb survivors to my friends by e-mail.
Another year, I recommended watching this HBO special "White light, black rain"
(DVD available)
And this year, I’d like to introduce this comic book(manga), called "Barefoot Gen".
This is an autobiographical story written by Keiji Nakazawa, who survived and
witnessed the atrocity and tragedy of atomic bomb in Hiroshima and the aftermath,
through a young boy (himself)'s eyes.
Most of Japanese people (at least my generation) have read this manga when in
school, as I did almost 30 years ago.
And I recently found that there is an English translated versions.(available at
amazon.com or I can rent it, too)
This is a powerful, and emotional story.
So I strongly urge as many people as possible to read this cartoon books, and know
what the war, atomic bombs were really like.
And how anti-human, or anti-all living things the nuclear weapons really are, in so
many levels.
And how, we really have to work together toward peace and harmony…
There are so many ways to do it.
But knowing the facts and truth is the start, I believe.
And my way of doing it is to continue to help people eat and live healthy.
May the health, love and peace spread
Summer 2011, Jin
The treasure of Japanese People
(Article 9 of Japanese Constitution)
(1)
Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the
Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the
threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
(2)
To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well
as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the
state will not be recognized.
(link "Global Article 9 Campaign" )
To me, since I was a school kid, summer has always been a time to reflect on "War
and Peace".
August 6th was when an atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima, 9th in Nagasaki,
both in 1945.
And on August 15th, The Japanese military government finally accepted the
unconditional surrender.
My father used to tell us his own experience how it was like running away from fires
and bombs being dropped in my home town Fukuoka as other major cities in Japan
toward the end of WW2.
When I was in school, 8/6 was the day when all the kids go to school, even though it
was in the middle of summer break, and we would learn about Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
During summer, on TV and news papers, we have lots of special programs and
reports on the war, such as testimony by a-bomb survivors, or people who
experiences the war.
While in elementary school, the school trip was to visit Nagasaki.
In junior high, it was Hiroshima.
We visited a-bomb memorial museums during the day, and in the evening at hotel,
we would listen to the stories from a-bomb survivors in person.
In college, during the summer, we organized a campaign called “Message to the
Future”, and visited and interviewed a-bomb survivors living in our neighborhood,
and published a small booklet of testimony by them.
And while in 20s, I participated in world conference against nuclear weapons, which
is held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki every summer, where I met so many people
around the world, including the victims of a-bombs, nuclear tests and Chernobyl
accident.
So naturally, summer to me is associated with "War and Peace".
Modern Macrobiotics as Peace Movement
Modern macrobiotics, which was introduced by people such as Michio Kushi from
Japan, started as a "World Peace Movement", too.
Kushi himself went to Hiroshima right after the a-bomb, and saw the horror of
aftermath.
His simple theory is that healthy people (physically, mentally and spiritually) makes
healthy community, and creates one healthy, peaceful world.
Peace starts with the health of individual.
Health on physical, mental and spiritual level.
Healthy eating and life style can “cure” the diseases of people, and society as a
whole.
From the structure of our teeth to digestive enzymes in the mouth, and to the length
of intestines, all supports that we human beings have evolved by eating whole
grains and plant based diet.
But since we started to ignore this biological nature, and eat in a chaotic manner,
true human quality, both physical and spiritual, started to degenerate.
And all sorts of diseases have widespread, including societal illness such as wars.
In Japanese, the word "peace" or "harmony" consists of two parts.
The left side means "grains", the right side "mouth".
Whole grains have been the principal human food for thousands of years.
They are most economical foods that can easily feed the entire population on the
planet.
Eating whole grains as main food creates harmony and peace.
That's my idea of Macrobiotics.
And this message is the motivation for me to study and pursue Macrobiotic principle
and way of living.
My small peace movement
Every summer, I try to think "what small things I can do to contribute to peace ?"
One year, I sent a link to testimonies by a-bomb survivors to my friends by e-mail.
Another year, I recommended watching this HBO special "White light, black rain"
(DVD available)
And this year, I’d like to introduce this comic book(manga), called "Barefoot Gen".
This is an autobiographical story written by Keiji Nakazawa, who survived and
witnessed the atrocity and tragedy of atomic bomb in Hiroshima and the aftermath,
through a young boy (himself)'s eyes.
Most of Japanese people (at least my generation) have read this manga when in
school, as I did almost 30 years ago.
And I recently found that there is an English translated versions.(available at
amazon.com or I can rent it, too)
This is a powerful, and emotional story.
So I strongly urge as many people as possible to read this cartoon books, and know
what the war, atomic bombs were really like.
And how anti-human, or anti-all living things the nuclear weapons really are, in so
many levels.
And how, we really have to work together toward peace and harmony…
There are so many ways to do it.
But knowing the facts and truth is the start, I believe.
And my way of doing it is to continue to help people eat and live healthy.
May the health, love and peace spread
Summer 2011, Jin
The treasure of Japanese People
(Article 9 of Japanese Constitution)
(1)
Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the
Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the
threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
(2)
To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well
as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the
state will not be recognized.
(link "Global Article 9 Campaign" )
