Please exile me to the most beautiful time

Chapter 11 Japan: Abuse and Desire (1)
city ​​bombed

"In the waves of the world, there are often miscellaneous fish that are good at drifting with the waves, singing and jumping in the water. But, who knows the center of the water and the depth of the water a hundred feet down?" Ben Musashi", the plane landed smoothly in Hiroshima, which was my first stop in Japan.You must have heard of this place name on TV or in history textbooks. During World War II, the US military launched the first nuclear weapon air strike in human history and dropped the first atomic bomb here, code-named "Little Boy". .Hiroshima is destined to become an indelible scar in human history. At 1945:8 a.m. on August 6, 8, the atomic bomb "Little Boy" exploded 15 meters above Hiroshima. Just below the explosion was a dome hospital. Because it was at the epicenter of the explosion, it only suffered less lateral force. Destructive power, becoming one of the very few buildings that still survived after being ravaged by the shock wave.After several repairs, the hospital became the most famous memorial building of the Hiroshima nuclear bombing event - the Atomic Bomb Dome.

Standing in front of this domed building with only mottled wreckage and skeletons left, one can vaguely smell the smell of old gunpowder, the roar of bombers, and the violent explosion, almost distorting the impact of time and space.Tens of thousands of people were instantly crushed to pieces like crushed ants, leaving no bones left.The shocking comparison photos before and after the explosion in the Atomic Bomb Memorial Hall made every visitor gasp. A densely populated city was razed to the ground in an instant, as if it had been ruthlessly wiped by the hand of God, and the bustling streets disappeared. The remains of flesh and blood have been eroded away, and even the last human form has not been preserved.

I once watched a Japanese drama called OIL. The story happened on a certain day in 1945. The hero in Hiroshima and the heroine in other places talked on the phone.While talking, suddenly the phone was cut off, there was a loud bang on the stage, and the light on the hero went out—the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima.The heroine holds the receiver in confusion, she doesn't know that the person on the other end of the phone has disappeared from this world forever.

Japanese middle school students in school uniforms were crowded inside and outside the memorial hall. Teachers and students mourned collectively in front of the monument.I followed the team and walked slowly in the exhibition hall. The tragic stories on the exhibition boards broke into my sight one by one, and I had to use a long sigh to relieve my heavy heart.Regardless of whether the war is won or lost, it is a tragedy, and ordinary people are always losers.Contrary to the stereotype conveyed in the news, in reality the Japanese people are extremely disgusted with war, and the anti-nuclear and anti-war thinking has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.Anti-war banners can be seen on the streets of different cities in Japan, with words such as "Never let children go to the battlefield again" and "A country that allows mothers to send their children to the battlefield is not worthy of respect". War as a selling point will never succeed.

It reminds me of the Japanese drama "Musashi".This is a stage play created by the dramatist Mr. Inoue Xia in the last few years of his life. The whole play revolves around the theme of "Break the Chains of Hatred". Through laughter and tears, the audience can feel the old man standing at the end of his life to face the world. shout.This stage play, which is very popular in Japan, has been performed continuously for 3 years, and has also been performed in many overseas countries. "Break the chains of hatred" is the common aspiration of all mankind. Except for a very small number of people who gain benefits by inciting hatred, who else will be the winner of hatred?
The wandering thoughts were pulled back to reality, only to find that he had inadvertently blocked the way of the car.There were no urging horns or angry shouts from the driver. The car just stopped quietly and waited patiently for me to find out on my own before stepping aside and continuing to drive away.The tram comes jingling, carrying passengers to the next stop.A series of small Japanese-style buildings with great artistic beauty dangled past.The transportation in the city center is developed, and the buildings in the suburbs are exquisite and elegant. Japan maintains its traditional beauty while being highly developed, which is really likable.I took the electric train to the pier and took the ferry to Miyajima.

Miyajima
Miyajima, also known as Itsukushima, and Matsushima and Amanohashidate are known as Japan's Three Scenic Spots. It was famous in Japan as early as the Tokugawa Shogunate period, and gradually became a symbol of Japan's tourist attractions.The large red torii gate standing in the water is the most representative building in Miyajima.There are no birds in the torii, but a traditional Japanese building, a bit like an old Chinese archway. In Japanese culture, it is a kind of enchantment. The torii itself is the entrance to the gods, and the door is human. Living in the secular world, opposite the door is the realm of the gods.Miyajima has been considered an island where goddesses live since ancient times.The deer were walking on the road, sniffing in front of pedestrians from time to time, trying to find the delicacies hidden on people, and finally declared victory by tearing off a piece of map paper in their pockets and chewing it into their mouths. walk away.Deer are considered messengers of the gods, and there are no chains or cages to restrain them, just like the sacred cows pacing freely on the streets of India.

Logging is strictly prohibited on the island, the mountains are full of red maples, and the fallen leaves are falling. The exquisite and classical wooden buildings and the shrine archways half hidden in the mountains seem to be the small streets and alleys of the movie scenes.Rickshaw pullers in traditional costumes, small bridges and flowing water, and ancient temple towers constitute a different scene.A black cat squatting in front of the shrine door stared at me a few times, then lazily turned its head away, arched its body and stretched.There are real people in the streets and alleys, and there are wooden nameplates hanging on the doors of the houses, with the owner's surname written on them.The residents of the island live their daily lives, and the full-time housewives are busy waiting for their husbands to return from get off work.

Miyajima is a very famous tourist destination in Japan, but it doesn’t feel overly commercialized at all. There are no souvenir shops or commercial streets. It is elegant and natural. There are no merchants soliciting customers at the door of the store, and there are no loudspeakers to promote cheap products. , except for a small number of low-key restaurants and shops to meet the needs of tourists, most of the places maintain their original appearance.The tourists are quiet, there is no noise, and they do not disturb the lives of the residents on the island.Going around here is like wandering around in an ancient Japanese painting.Also, even the small shop selling oysters on Miyajima surprised me.

Grilled oysters are a specialty of Miyajima. Based on my past experience, I instinctively thought that the price of food in tourist spots must be more expensive than outside, so I only tasted a pair of oysters in Miyajima. They were delicious, but I didn’t dare to buy more. Then feast on the area.It wasn’t until I left Miyajima and returned to downtown Hiroshima that I realized that the oysters on Miyajima were really cheap, and I really wanted to go back and eat them at sea!

The over-commercialization of tourist spots is not unique to China, and many well-known tourist countries have similar problems.However, Miyajima has been a famous sightseeing spot since a hundred years ago. Why can this traditional flavor be maintained so well? Maybe it is caused by the low-key folk customs in Japan, or maybe it is because the management department intends to maintain it. In any case, Miyajima is very popular. comfortable.

I once saw a video that said that after Chernobyl suffered the most serious nuclear leak in human history, in less than 30 years, the place that was destroyed to the point of no grass has gradually recovered its biological chain, and the plants are dense , Life awakens.Time is the most universal prescription on this planet, which can cure almost all diseases.

More than half a century has passed, and today's Hiroshima has been healed by time. The tragedy of being completely changed and disfigured is long gone. What is presented in front of us is a clean and tidy city. Comic dolls, and a shelf full of comic books in the small noodle shop.Pull out a familiar manga to read, eat delicious soba noodles, and watch the neon lights flashing under the night outside the window, feeling drunk all the time.At this time, who would believe that this place was once a purgatory on earth half a century ago.If it weren't for the Atomic Bomb Memorial and the Atomic Bomb Dome to remind people, there would be no trace of destruction here.

almost unreal clean
Every traveler who first arrives in Japan will be amazed at the cleanliness of this country.The streets are spotless, only the fallen leaves from the trees on the road surface, golden yellow, deep red, the autumn wind is rolled up, fluttering a few times, and then slowly falling down, waiting for the next opportunity to dance.The curtain opened, followed the trend, and spun on the invisible stage.

The high quality of Japanese people has always been amazed by the world.Although I knew something about it earlier, I was still shocked when I experienced it for myself.On the escalator, people always consciously stand on one side, leaving the other side free for those who need to travel in a hurry; lined up in neat lines according to the drawn lines, waiting for trains, subways, and buses without confusion.It is extremely difficult to find a garbage bin on the street, and the garbage must be collected and brought back to the residence for disposal. The reason, some people say, is because of the dumpster bomb incident. Since then, a large number of garbage bins have been removed, and people have gradually developed The habit of taking garbage home for disposal.Whatever the reason, there are surprisingly few trash cans on the streets of Japan.In this case, standing in the middle of the road and looking forward, there is almost no scrap of paper, and it is so clean that you can almost lie down.

During my stay in Japan, I didn't polish my shoes once, but the uppers were still spotless.The public restrooms made my jaw drop, I can't find any other country that has such clean public restrooms!There is no peculiar smell in the bathroom, and it is clean and shiny.I have never seen such a tidy country, not even the garden city of Singapore.It is a bit speechless how conscious the Japanese people must be to maintain the city's appearance to such an almost extreme cleanliness.

Cleaner areas tend to stay cleaner, and vice versa.According to the "broken window theory" in psychology, if a window in a house is broken and no one repairs it, other windows will soon be broken inexplicably.If a street has a small amount of garbage, more and more garbage will soon be dumped on the street.Living in a tidy place, even a sloppy person will not litter, which will make the whole avenue appear only dirt, which is extremely dazzling.The almost unreal level of cleanliness evokes a sense of pity, so everyone unknowingly becomes an emissary to maintain it.

(End of this chapter)