Catholic Cathedral Bombing

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On August 9, 1945, the United States of America dropped a second atomic bomb on the island nation of Japan. The previous atom bomb was aimed at the city of Hiroshima, and this one had been aimed at the munitions factories in Nagasaki. However, due to weather, the atom bomb was slightly off target, exploding in the air directly above the Catholic cathedral. This fact is significant, although it may not seem so at first. Ever since St. Francis Xavier first spread the Christian Gospel in Japan, Nagasaki has been the Christian center of the nation. The atom bomb killed over 8,000 Christian believers in an instant, yet it can be argued that it resulted in the Church in Japan becoming stronger than it had been before. The bomb, and the resulting …show more content…
One striking example of this, and of a difference between Christian and non-Christian views of the bombing, was the contention involving the ruins of the Catholic Cathedral, which was ground zero for the atomic bomb. Before the bomb, the cathedral had been an important landmark in Nagasaki, a symbol of beauty and pride even for non-Christians. After the bomb, the ruins of the cathedral were still a symbol, but of what was a point of dissent between Catholics and non-Christians. Specifically, non-Christians saw the ruins of the Cathedral as a memorial, representing the tragedy of the lives lost to the bomb. In addition, the ruins came to be almost a symbol for Nagasaki itself, and were a primary location for tourists to visit. The Catholics, however, saw the cathedral as a significant location in the history of their religion in Japan, and the ruins as representing the tragedy of loss that was the bomb. As such, they wanted to destroy the ruins and rebuild their cathedral in its historical location, so they could literally and symbolically move on from the tragedy of the past toward a peaceful, hopeful future. Eventually, the mayor of Nagasaki sided with the Catholics, permitting them to rebuild their cathedral in the same location as the previous one. As a compromise with the …show more content…
Nagai’s ideas had incredibly widespread influence is proved by several impressive facts. First, his books quickly became national bestsellers despite their distinctly religious tone. This is mostly due to the fact that he presented a uniquely personal and hopeful perspective on an event that was on every Japanese citizen’s mind. Many people wrestled to come to terms with the horrific tragedy, to recover from the loss of loved ones and to move on towards the future. Dr. Nagai’s books helped them with this struggle. Another proof is Dr. Nagai’s widespread fame. He was in correspondence with people from all over Japan, and even from around the world. [examples] Finally, one of the most impressive proofs is the fact that the emperor of Japan visited Dr. Nagai in his little hut in Nagasaki, in May
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