Journal 7 Cameron Watson

  The most interesting character profiled so far in the reading is Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto.  Mr. Tanimoto was the pastor of the Hiroshima Methodist Church.  Right before the bomb dropped, he was about to unload a cart of clothes at a rich man's ho e in the suburbs.  Mr. Tanimoto was "a small man, quick to talk, laugh, and cry.  He wore his black hair parted in the middle and rather long; the prominence of the frontal bones just above his eyebrows and the smallness of his mustache, mouth, and chin gave him a strange, old-young look, boyish and yet wise, weak yet fiery."  During this catastrophe, Mr. Tanimoto played almost a superhero role.  This is one of the reasons I was intrigued by his profile so much.  One big scene within the book was when Mr. Tanimoto finally came in contact with his wife after some time.  The weird part about this was that instead of hugging and kissing, Mr. Tanimoto was almost in shock and just managed to say, "I'm glad you're safe.”  Throughout chapters two and three, he has provided constant aid to wherever and whoever was in need.  Mr. Tanimoto found himself at Asano Park.  He was helping as many people as he could possibly help but he couldn't do it all himself.  He requested various doctors from other areas to come with him and help but none would cooperate.  Mr. Tanimoto put all differences aside and took action quickly.  

After reading the first few chapters, one of the places that stood out the most to me was the Asano Park.  Asano Park was a place of refuge because it seemed to be the only place within the city that wasn't destroyed from the bomb.  This was a place where people could go if they were seeking shelter.  There was a river close by but was ineffective.  If not anything this was a place where individuals could congregate in order to know that there were still some people out there that were in the same boat that they were in.  Mr. Tanimoto leads a group of volunteers, including Father Kleinsorge, to put out the fire using clothing and buckets of water. He also finds a boat and begins ferrying people who cannot move themselves.  In 1945 Asano Park acted as an evacuation area for many, but what about now?  With Asano Park is also the Hiroshima Peace Museum.  This museum is dedicated to the many people whom lives were taken that day due to the bombing.  Within this museum it collects the collects and displays belongings left by the victims, photos, and other materials that convey the horror of that event. Asano Park was in my opinion what kept Hiroshima from completely falling apart.  The stronghold that united both the strong and the weak.   

                                       

         Asano Park today, a very nice place it seems like.  Imagine the horror that took place here though.