Portraying Of The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima In Literature - Book Report/Review Example

Portraying Of The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima In Literature It is worth to note that facts are what survive in an upheaval. It is with detailed facts that a people are able to candidly comprehend the world. So, Yukio Mishima and Masuji Ibuse use their well-crafted work to depict to us how their main protagonists Shigematsu Shizuma,and Kochan, had been troubled by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Therefore, Yukio and Ibuse works are resourceful in giving us a vibrant insight of the transformations that have occurred in Japanese’s social relations and attitudes. For instances, Yukio uses his book “Confessions of a Mask” that had been written in 1949 to elucidate to us about young man named Kochan who was suffering from erotic fantasies of men, violence and beauty. Yukio illuminates that Kochan had been raised during Japan’s epoch of Imperialism and right-wing aggressiveness and this made him to struggles from a very early age to fit into society. For that reason, Yukio have used his main character Kochan to describe us how socially determined masculinity roles are well-defined by male-controlled culture. The novel portrays the demonization by society of Kochan, who scars himself emotionally and physically by retreating into a mask of heterosexuality. Subsequently, Ibuse uses his book “Black Rain” written in 1966 to elucidate to us about the life of young girl named Yasuko. Ibuse uses his novel to help us to apprehend that Yasuko hoped to be married after the war, but her health is in question due to radiation she was exposed to. Shigematsu Shizuma is the main narrator and niece to Yasuko is regretting for having asked her to come to Hiroshima as this has cause his nieces problem. Therefore, this had made Shizuma to compile all accounts related to the Hiroshima bombing in order to be able to convince the family and the man who will show some interest in marrying Yasuko. Therefore, this paper shall candidly examine the ways in which Ibuse and Mishima portrays the soreness of isolation that Yasuko and Kochan experiences in the society. Both Ibuse and Mishima have used their main character Yasuko and Kochan to designate how they have struggled passionately to fit into Japanese society. Due to their weaknesses, that has been caused by the bombing of Hiroshima, Yasuko and Kochan had faced more challenges that made them feel isolated by the society. For instance, Mishima depicts that Kochan had grown up in war-time and this background has affected everything he does. Kochan, as he grew up, began to recognize that he is quitter different from the other boys at his school. Mishima elucidates that Kochan felt that he was attracted to the same sex. For instances, Kochan falls in love for the first time with his schoolmate Omi. This made him to say “There were, however, numberless impressions that I got from Omi, of infinite variety, all filled with delicate nuances” (pg., 64). As he attempts to pelt his secret, he is also drawn to the masculinity and power of the boys he is surrounded by. This made Kochan, to feel like he hates himself not just because of these muddled feelings he has toward his male classmates, but then again because his , physically, does not real look anything like them, and this made him to thinks he will never look like them. This made him keep away from the other schoolboys as he is raised, and is hence not exposed to the society norms. It was through this that Mishima portrays the agony of seclusion that Kochan had experiences in the general public that recoil from homosexuality in 1940s Japan. Nevertheless, as the split between his private and public widens, Kochan withdraws into himself. Subsequently, the novel written by Ibuse depicts the story of Shigematsu Shizuma, his partner Shigeko and their niece Yasuko. Ibuse further elucidates to us that Yasuko was brought to Hiroshima by his niece Shigematsu to keep her safe from the “air raids”. However, this act causes an inordinate deal of guiltiness for Shigematsu as it was here that Yasuko got in the “Black Rain’ after the Hiroshima was attacked using a nuclear bomb that lead to her suffering of radiation sickness. This was the begging of her teething troubles as she would like to get married but this was threatened as there are chitchats that she got in the “Black Rain”. As a result, of this Shizuma was concerned in finding out what kind of a weapon was used to cause her niece the problem she was facing, and he was interested in finding out the name of the weapon, and it here that he discovered that it was called “atomic bomb” (pg. 282). It was through this that Ibuse achieved to disclose the magnitude of the human misery instigated by the atomic bomb. The life of Yasuko, on whom the ‘black rain” fell, was changed constantly by episodic attacks of radiation illness and the notion that her yet to come offspring, too, may be affected. This made her to assert that “My heart was thumping faster when I came out of the passageway than when I had gone in” (p. 25). Captivatingly, Yasuko has shown no signs of infection at all. This means that even though we have experienced the negative impacts of war through the incidence of Hiroshima still the future does not look promising. In conclusion, both Yukio Mishima and Masuji Ibuse strive to influence a collective memory of the war and it legacies. First they stress on the inversion of long-standing martial ideology. Apparently, the wars had both physical and psychological effects on the main characters in the two novels, factors that made them to ceaselessly struggle to fit into the Japanese society. The characters merely rediscover their lost being and are forced to contemplate the bitter and hard truth of the adversarial effects of the war. Secondly, they emphasize for the existence of individual freedom that will secure them from agony and isolation in the society. The Japanese society isolated the victims, a clear indication that the society was prejudiced against those affected by the bomb. For instance, they upheld that Yasuko should not be married since the radiation sickness that she had will spread to future generations, maiming the entire Japan. Works Cited Ibuse, Masuji. Black Rain: A Novel. Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd, 1966. Print. Mishima, Yukio. Confessions of a Mask. New York: New Directions, 1949. Print. Read More