"In the ruined city,
a lotus flower
flourishes in silence."
Haiku, anonymous

On October 26, 2024, Yasuaki Yamashita gave his testimony as a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki at the Caja Real University Cultural Center of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi, in the historic heart of the capital of San Luis Potosi. About 200 people ranging in age from three to 92 years old came to listen with curiosity, but also to learn from one of the few people who have survived a nuclear bombing; his teachings helped us to understand the dramatic meaning of the word "survivor". hibakushawhich we will explain later. We have notions about the nuclear attack that the United States launched against Japan during World War II, but we know little about the people who survived this event: what diseases did they manifest with the radiation, what did they eat, how did they organize themselves to rebuild areas that were in ashes, what did they focus on to overcome adversity and tragedy? We had many questions and this brief interview is the result of what Yamashita shared with us.

Both the talk to the public and this interview are intended to provide readers with a first-hand example of why a culture of peace is important; we seek to highlight the experiences of a survivor of the U.S. nuclear attack, so that his experience becomes part of the social memory and his words transcend the theoretical notions of the academic knowledge of anthropology and history, which are important for the academic community. Undoubtedly, testimonial knowledge has a greater impact on collective memory.

As for theoretical references, there are classics such as the thought of Mahatma Gandhi, who occupies a fundamental place by proposing non-violence (ahimsa) and the active search for truth (satyagraha) as pillars for resolving conflicts and building just societies. Gandhi affirmed that peace is not only the absence of war, but the presence of social justice, harmony and empathy, elements that must be cultivated through education and personal example (Bose, 1981: 159-161). We consider that this interview shows the example of a survivor who has been spreading his experiences of resilience for years. This is the importance and the privilege of being able to dialogue with Yasuaki Yamashita.

Therefore, we will present some aspects of the culture of peace, how Yamashita has become one of the promoters of this movement, we will know its history, which we will approach in analogy with the anime. The boy and the heron (2023) by Hayao Miyazaki.

The culture of peace from anthropology, historical memory and art.

The culture of peace represents an essential paradigm for global coexistence, especially in a world marked by armed conflicts and inequalities. Authors such as Elise Boulding (2000) and Johan Galtung (1996) have explored this concept from anthropological and sociological perspectives, highlighting the need to approach peace not only as the absence of war, but as an active structure of justice and mutual respect.

The culture of peace, according to Galtung (1996: 11-13), is built through the elimination of structural violence, understood as the social, economic and cultural inequalities that perpetuate conflict. In this sense, anthropology provides a framework for understanding community practices and narratives that promote reconciliation. For his part, Boulding (2000: 1-7) suggests that peace must be cultivated from the cultural bases through education, art and traditions, strengthening values of cooperation and empowerment.

Yasuaki Yamashita's work is a concrete example of these practices within the culture of peace: he focuses not only on making visible the horrors of atomic bombs, but has constructed a discourse to transcend the pain and promote a world without nuclear weapons. How could a six-year-old child survive a nuclear attack? His storytelling can be compared to the anime The boy and the heron (2023),1 based on the 1937 novel written by Genzaburō Yoshino. In the anime, Miyazaki weaves a story that, although set in World War II, addresses universal themes such as grief, coping and resilience.

The story presents the experiences of Mahito, the young protagonist, who faces a devastating loss in a tension-filled environment. Miyazaki's anime also acts as a vehicle of memory, addressing how the scars of war are passed down through generations. Mahito struggles not only with the loss of his mother during the war, but also with the expectations of a rebuilding world. This experience resonates with Yamashita's words, "On the bones the city was rebuilt." Both narratives underscore the importance of confronting the past in order to move toward a more just future. In the Japanese audiovisual, the figure of the grey heron appears, challenging and accompanying Mahito, which can be interpreted as a symbolic representation of trauma and hope. This story, in its complexity, reflects how individual stories of suffering can be a starting point for personal and collective transformation.

Thus, Yasuaki Yamashita's testimony finds an echo in the narrative of The boy and the heron by remembering the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, for, like Mahito, Yamashita faced a harrowing reality, but managed to transform his experience into a call to action to build a future without violence. Thus, the culture of peace requires a comprehensive understanding that includes art, memory and collective action. The boy and the heron and Yamashita's testimony illustrate how personal experiences of loss and resilience can contribute to a global discourse of reconciliation.

This is why social memory, an essential component of the culture of peace, is important, as it allows us to reflect on the errors of the past for a better understanding of the present, since forgetfulness and ignorance undoubtedly favor errors and the perpetuation of violence. According to Maurice Halbwachs (1992), collective memory is built from social interactions and is fundamental for identity and collective action. In this way, Yasuaki told us the following:

On August 9, a second atomic bomb, known as the Fat Man was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing some 40,000 people and injuring more than 60,000. I was six years old at the time and was playing in the mountains. I lived with my three sisters and my mom, as my other three brothers and my dad were fighting in the war. I remember that my mother took us to a shelter, but before we entered, there was a terrible light of almost a thousand lightning bolts at the same time. After the explosion, fragments of windows and roofs flew overhead, while Nagasaki burned in the distance. The devastation included not only material destruction, but also human suffering. Yamashita remembers a child with a broken back who died without access to doctors or medicine. Despite living 2.5 kilometers from the epicenter of the blast, the radiation-contaminated black rain claimed the lives of many more in the days that followed.

Yasuaki and his mother boarded a train to go to various villages to get some sweet potatoes, which they exchanged for the few belongings they still had, such as kimonos or jewelry. His father was working in the Nagasaki shipyard, survived, but was recruited to pick up corpses and succumbed to the effects of radiation. As time passed, Yamashita witnessed the after-effects of the bombs on subsequent generations, observing cases of cancer, leukemia and malformations in infants. When he worked at the Nagasaki hospital, he understood the lasting impact of the atomic bomb. He remarked that the population was never given information about the consequences of being exposed to the nuclear attack until they became ill.

Yasuaki was able to continue his studies and became especially interested in Spanish classes with the Jesuits. He had to be treated for acute anemia, also caused by radiation. Even so, he worked at the atomic bomb hospital in Nagasaki, where they received survivors of the bombing. There he met and later experienced discrimination because he was an hibakusha (bombed person), Japanese term used to refer to people who survived the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Because the after-effects of radiation were not known, there were cases in which people excluded survivors out of fear and ignorance that they might "pass on" the diseases generated by radioactivity. To such an extent that if there was a suspicion that some women had been in the bombed areas, they were seen as unsuitable for marriage for fear that they might transmit genetic problems to their descendants and, in some cases, the groom's family hired private detectives to investigate whether they had been in contact with or near the nuclear attacks in order to cancel the wedding ceremony (Serrano, 2020).2

Years later, Yasuaki was offered a job as a translator at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. He arrived in the Federal District, now Mexico City, with the idea of staying for two months and decided he would stay to perfect his Spanish. Now (2025) he lives in San Miguel de Allende. It was in 1995 when she decided to share her story publicly to raise awareness of the devastation caused by nuclear weapons. Her testimony is part of the efforts of the Japanese Confederation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors, better known as Nihon Hidankyo, founded in 1956. This organization is dedicated to promoting nuclear disarmament and defending the rights of the survivors. hibakusha which, we have already mentioned, is the name given to the victims of atomic bombings. Their activities include the dissemination of testimonies about the devastating consequences of nuclear bombs and participation in international peace movements (Greenpeace Spain, 2024).

In 2024, Nihon Hidankyo received the Nobel Peace Prize, a recognition that highlights her tireless work for a world free of nuclear weapons. This award emphasizes the relevance of survivors' testimonies as tools to raise global awareness of the dangers of nuclear weapons and to promote their abolition (Nobel Prize, 2024). According to data from 2024, approximately 107,000 people affected by the bombings survive in Japan, with an average age of 85.6 years (AsiaNews, 2024). Precisely, Yasuaki Yamashita represents a bridge between the experiences of the hibakusha and the promotion of a global culture of peace. He has dedicated his life to educating about the risks of nuclear weapons, actively contributing to the legacy of Nihon Hidankyo. His efforts demonstrate the importance of personal testimonies as catalysts for global peace and reconciliation (Gonzalez, October 25, 2024).

Final thoughts

The testimony of Yasuaki Yamashita, a survivor of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki, provides a narrative about the consequences of extreme violence. His educational work and commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons are aligned with the ideals of positive peace put forward by Johan Galtung, which promote reconciliation and memory as instruments to avoid future conflicts (González Morales, 2024). Testimonies such as his have also been approached from an artistic point of view, as in the case of the film The boy and the heron (2023), an anime that explores the scars of war and the importance of peace through an emotional and symbolic narrative that connects new generations with historical memory.

As we emphasized at the beginning, the culture of peace - understood as a set of values, attitudes and behaviors that reject violence and promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts - has theoretical and practical foundations in the contributions of figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Elise Boulding and Johan Galtung. Gandhi proposed nonviolence (ahimsa) as an essential principle for transforming conflicts, demonstrating that social change can be achieved through peaceful actions and moral resistance (Gandhi, 1983). Elise Boulding (2000: 56-59) emphasized the role of social imagination and communities as active agents for building sustainable peace, highlighting the importance of collective narratives and peace education. Johan Galtung (1996: 9-24), known as the father of peace studies, developed the concept of positive peace, which goes beyond the absence of violence and focuses on social justice, equity and structural well-being.

Without a doubt, the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Nihon Hidankyo in 2024 represents a global recognition of the victims of the atomic bombs and their tireless struggle for nuclear disarmament. This award reinforces the relevance of the testimonies of the victims of the atomic bombs and their tireless struggle for nuclear disarmament. hibakusha as educational and political tools to sensitize the international community to the risks of nuclear armament and to promote a culture of world peace (Nobel Prize, 2024).

Taken together, these perspectives show that building a culture of peace requires a multidimensional approach that combines academic theories, personal narratives and artistic expressions. Peace implies not only the absence of conflict, but also the active presence of justice and memory. This holistic approach makes it possible to address the complexities of modern conflicts and opens paths towards a more equitable and supportive coexistence.

Bibliography

AsiaNews (2024). Nobel Peace Prize to the Hibakusha: ‘Message for Today’s Wars. Recuperado de https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Nobel-Peace-Prize-to-the-hibakusha:-‘Message-for-today’s-wars’-61688.html

Bose, Anima (1981). “A Gandhian Perspective on Peace”, Journal of Peace Research, 18 (2), pp. 159-164. Recuperado de: http://www.jstor.org/stable/424207

Boulding, Elise (2000). Cultures of Peace: The Hidden Side of History. Nueva York: Syracuse University Press.

Galtung, Johan (1996). Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization. Londres: Sage.

Gandhi, Mahatma (1983). An Autobiography: The Story of my Experiments with Truth. Boston: Beacon Press.

González Morales, Omar (2024). “Yasuaki Yamashita relatará heridas de explosiones nucleares en San Luis”, La Jornada, 25 de octubre. Recuperado de https://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2024/10/25/cultura/yasuaki-yamshita-relatara-heridas-de-explosiones-nucleares-en-san-luis-7097

Greenpeace España (2024). Comunicado sobre la concesión del Premio Nobel de la Paz a Nihon Hidankyo. Recuperado de: https://es.greenpeace.org/es/sala-de-prensa/comunicados/comunicado-de-greenpeace-sobre-la-concesion-del-premio-nobel-de-la-paz-a-nihon-hidankyo/

Halbwachs, Maurice (1992). On Collective Memory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Serrano, C. (2020). “Hiroshima y Nagasaki. La dramática vida de los hibakusha, los sobrevivientes de las bombas atómicas que luego sufrieron miedo, culpa y discriminación”. BBC Mundo, 9 de agosto. Recuperado de: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-53675074

Nobel Prize (2024). Nobel Peace Prize 2024 Announcement. Recuperado de https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2024/press-release/

Greta alvarado lugo holds a PhD in Anthropological Studies from El Colegio de San Luis, Mexico. She holds a Master's degree and a Specialist in Indian Art from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, and also holds a diploma in Asia from the Universidad del Chaco Austral, Argentina. Member of the Latin American Association of Asian and African Studies (aladaa), the Latin America and the Caribbean Network on China unam-cechimexShe is a member of the Latin (and Hispanic) Americanist Academic Network on Sinological Studies of the University of Costa Rica and of the Latin American Association of Asian and African Studies. Since 2019 she has been a professor at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí (uaslp), Mexico. Member of the National System of Researchers (snii), candidate level.

José Luis Pérez Flores holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the unam. Since 2010 to date he has been a full time research professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. He has a Desirable Profile prodep. Member of the National System of Researchers, level. i. He teaches undergraduate, masters and doctoral level; he has directed undergraduate and graduate theses. He has published one authored book, coordinated several collective books; he has also written scientific articles in national and international indexed and refereed journals. Participant in academic events in Mexico, Spain, United States, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Italy.

Yasuaki Yamashita was born in Nagasaki in 1939, six years before the two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan. Yamashita has dedicated himself to sharing his testimony, contributing to the preservation of historical memory about the bombing and advocating for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons. Her efforts have been instrumental in educating new generations about the devastating consequences of nuclear war and raising awareness of the need for a world without nuclear weapons.