Osaka students translate A-bomb survivor's picture story into over 100 languages

The Mainichi

4 days ago

OSAKA -- In a bid to convey the horror of nuclear weapons to people across the world, high school students from Osaka have translated a story on the Hiroshima bombing experience, conveyed via the traditional "kamishibai" storytelling format with pictures, into over 100 languages.
The task of passing on people's wartime experiences has become challenging as it has been 80 years since the end of World War II. This summer, the students grappled with each word in the story, reflecting on the meaning of "peace."
The story was translated over a period of three months by 11 members of the mechatronics research club at Osaka Prefectural Miyakojima Technical Senior High School in the city of Osaka's Miyakojima Ward. The club normally focuses on building robots, but its members have also participated in social engagement activities, such as supporting victims of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that struck on Jan. 1, 2024.
The idea of creating a kamishibai work in different languages came after their adviser, Minato Kimura, 26, met Daisaku Yoshimura, 45, a local newspaper publisher and kamishibai creator from Osaka's Tsurumi Ward, through earthquake relief efforts. Yoshimura told Kimura, "I want to widely convey the A-bomb experiences from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to foreigners and younger generations."
Sharing Yoshimura's sentiments, Kimura thought, "This could be an opportunity for students to think about peace," and shared his conversations with Yoshimura to the club members. The students pondered, "What can we do?" and decided to take on the translation challenge, the adviser said.
Performance based on account of A-bomb survivor who still shares her story
The 12-page kamishibai performance titled "The Cloud that Won't Disappear by Kei," is based on the testimony of 87-year-old hibakusha, or A-bomb survivor, Keiko Ogura, who continues to share her story.
"In a flash, the entire city vanished. Houses, schools, and hospitals all disappeared without a trace. It was a terrifying bomb, a nuclear weapon, that had been dropped."
"The grief of those who perished and those who survived has remained throughout the passing decades."
Ogura, 87, was 8 years old when she survived the Hiroshima bombing, and she has continued to share her testimony in English. Through her story, the work conveys the horrors of war to younger generations and expresses a longing for peace.
Yoshimura was moved by Ogura's activities when he met her during a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in 2022 and decided to preserve her testimony in the form of a kamishibai for future generations.
Yoshimura wrote the script and a female artist who had evacuated from Ukraine to Japan created the illustrations, and both Japanese and English versions were produced.
The translation work started in early May. The students deepened their understanding of war by listening to a local woman who experienced the wartime bombing of Osaka, increasing their motivation for the project.
They dedicated two to three hours after school each day, using computer translation software to convert the story into languages ranging from widely spoken ones such as French and Spanish to more local ones including Tamil from southern India and Igbo from Nigeria.
However, when they reviewed the literal translations by converting them back into Japanese, they often found expressions that differed from the original meaning. For example, when talking about dead bodies, "drifting in the river" was mistranslated as "swimming in the river." In such cases, they searched for words that matched the intended meaning, such as "floating in the river," and repeatedly revised and rechecked the translations.
Appreciating the value of peace
"It's my first time translating. And I'm really bad at English," confided Kei Nakajima, a 17-year-old second-year student who took part in the project. He was completely unfamiliar with some languages and struggled, but he took the challenge seriously, saying, "It's a rare and valuable opportunity to convey war experiences in foreign languages." Through the project, he realized, "Everyday life, which we take for granted, is precious and something to be grateful for," and deeply appreciates the value of peace.
Fellow second-year student Hinata Shiono shared, "The translation was difficult, and it sometimes made my head spin," but the 17-year-old added with a serious look, "I've become more interested in learning about that time. I want to ask my 87-year-old grandfather about his experiences."
Yoshimura commented, "We've laid the foundation for sharing the horrors of the atomic bombing with the world. I hope the high school students will never forget the feelings regarding peace and the determination they gained through the translations and pass them on to the next generation." The completed translations and kamishibai can be viewed and downloaded by anyone from the project website