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The memoir that is the core
of A Dimly Burning Wick was
created by Sadako Okuda from the diary she kept during her agonizing search for
her niece and nephew after the bombing of Hiroshima, telling the stories of the
children she encountered during her search. Dr. Pamela Vergun translated and
edited her memoir, and Dr. Vergun brought together several contributors to
provide a stronger context for understanding and analyzing OkudaÕs experiences
and the meaning of this event for the worldÕs future.
Included in this work is
additional commentary and analysis written by Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Sok-Hon
Ham and preeminent scholars—Historian Dr. Ronald Takaki of the University
of California at Berkeley (winner of the American Book Award) and Sociologist
Dr. Paul Joseph, Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Tufts
University. The additional material addresses such profound issues as why the
atomic bomb was dropped and how we remember Hiroshima. This book offers a rare
and powerful approach to history. Written from the bottom-up, it intimately
draws the reader into the events following the bombing, but also gives readers
the overarching historical context and continuing relevance.
Pamela Bea Wilson Vergun—Editor and Translator
Catherine Thomasson—Contributor
Sadako
OkudaÕs Photograph by Yumiko Goto
Born in Hiroshima
Prefecture, Japan in 1914, Sadako Teiko Okuda taught sewing on a small island some 35 miles
outside of Hiroshima on the day that the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. Even
at that distance, the bomb permanently damaged her ability to see and hear.
Until her recent retirement she taught home economics at a non-traditional high
school in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. She still lives in the mountains she
loves, close to her school.
About the Editor and Translator
Pamela
VergunÕs Photograph by Anthony Floyd
Dr. Pamela Bea Wilson
Vergun, the translator and editor of this book, is a Stanford- and
Princeton-trained Ph.D. sociologist and policy analyst. Her Masters Degree is
from PrincetonÕs Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and
her B.A. in Language Studies is from UC Santa Cruz, where she was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa. Dr.
VergunÕs experience includes over ten years conducting social science,
evaluation, and policy research. She lives in the Portland, Oregon area with
her husband and two children.
The Friendship that
Led to this Book
Sadako
Teiko Okuda and Pamela Vergun, Yamagata-ken, Japan, December 1997
AuthorsÕ
Photograph by Robert Allen Vergun.
Other
Contributors
The book includes
accessible background chapters that provide readers with the context of the
atomic bombing.
U.C.
Berkeley Professor Ronald Takaki contributed an analysis of the American
decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, based largely on
the research conducted for his book Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb (Back Bay Books, 1996). His research makes use of documents with which many
Americans, even public figures, are unfamiliar.
Takaki
is internationally recognized for his penetrating insights covering US history,
ethnic studies, the value of multiculturalism, and the significance and
benefits of diversity. Takaki created the exciting and innovate class that
became the basis for top-ranked B.A. and Ph.D. programs in Comparative Ethnic
Studies and UC BerkeleyÕs American Cultures Requirement. His teaching about
multiculturalism as a key American asset that Americans can make better use of
reaches far beyond the University of California system and other colleges more
generally.
He
is a frequently-requested speaker, has contributed to Public Television and
Radio programs, debated Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. at the Council on Foreign
Relations, and has been instrumental in changing leading conservatives views
(e.g., Nathan Glazer) on issues such as multiculturalism. TakakiÕs intellectual
power and passion have made a direct impact upon policy; for example, he was
asked by President Bill Clinton to meet as part of the development of President
ClintonÕs major speech, ÒOne America in the 21st Century: The President's
Initiative on Race.Ó
TakakiÕs
other critically-acclaimed books include: Iron Cages: Race and Culture in
19th Century America (Knopf, 1979),
Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans (Little, Brown, 1989), A Different Mirror: A
History of Multicultural America
(Little, Brown, 1993), and Double Victory: A Multicultural History of
America in World War II (Back Bay
Books, 2001). A Different Mirror
won the American Book Award and Strangers from a Different Shore was selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as one
of the best 100 non-fiction books of the 20th century.
Not
only did Takaki contribute an insightful chapter to this book, his
participation in this project suggests the value of the bookÕs perspective. On
a personal note, the Editor and Translator is grateful for his encouragement
and experience during the publication process.
Dr. Paul JosephÕs
contribution to this book is his insights regarding the special ways in which
Hiroshima is regarded and remembered, and how OkudaÕs account can be a
significant contribution to helping people of the world view the event in a
more powerful way. Hiroshima can become a powerful symbol of
globalization—enlisting these memories on behalf of mobilizing efforts
for nuclear abolition and peace.
Paul Joseph is a Professor
of Sociology at Tufts University, past Chair of the Sociology Department and The Peace and Justice Studies
Association, Director of the Peace and
Justice Studies Program at Tufts. He received his Ph.D. and M.A.
at the University of California at Berkley and his B.A. at McGill University.
Professor JosephÕs work in political sociology has looked at race and class in
the United States, Maori-Pakeha (European) relations in New Zealand, the
influence of social movements and public opinion on defense and foreign policy,
and the politics of memory surrounding Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His books
examine the Vietnam War, the security debate after the end of the Cold War, the
American publicÕs changing relationship to war, and nuclear policy. Joseph is
the author of Peace Politics: The United States Between the Old and New
World Orders (Temple University
Press, 1993) and Are Americans Becoming More Peaceful? (Paradigm Publishers, 2006).
Dr. JosephÕs work makes
clear that a global approach to regional and international problems of economic
inequality, environmental degradation, and political instability is needed to protect
and improve peopleÕs quality of life worldwide. Shared threats such as
repressive governments, nuclear destruction, violations of human rights,
poverty and despair, and environmental threats, combine to make citizen
activism, democracy, economic justice, and environmental renewal key steps
toward creating real international and domestic security and survival.
Paul Joseph, who was born
and raised in New York City, loves to travel with his spouse and three
children.
Dr. Pamela Vergun would
like to acknowledge her appreciation for Dr. JosephÕs scholarship and also his
support during the publication process, including bringing the book to the
attention of his friend Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima.
Robert
VergunÕs Photograph by Horgan Korok
Robert Vergun, Ph.D.,
coauthored the chapters on social psychology and the medical effects, as well
as assisting in the process of editing the manuscript. Dr. Robert Vergun
provides education research and economic analysis for Portland Community
College. He has conducted education and related policy research for
approximately 15 years since receiving his doctorate in Economics from U.C.
Berkeley. In his spare time, he enjoys being with his family and volunteering
in the community. His contributions to this book have been pivotal.
Catherine
Thomasson, Past President of Physicians for Social Responsibility
Catherine Thomasson, MD,
who served as President of the national organization Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR) in 2007, wrote the foreword for A Dimly Burning Wick. She also contributed to the chapter on the medical
effects of the atomic bombings.
Dr. Thomasson has continued
to remain active on the PSR Board of Directors as the immediate Past President.
In addition, as Oregon PSRÕs Board President for five years, she led efforts to
educate and organize Oregonians on issues of Global Warming and the threats
that war and nuclear weapons pose to human life and health.
Dr. Thomasson has years of
public health activism and experience. Under her leadership, the Oregon Chapter
of PSR created a video to educate the public about misinformation in the War on
Terror. As an alternative to the ÒWar on TerrorÓ approach to addressing
terrorism PSR developed and supports the Sensible Multilateral American
Response to Terrorism (SMART),
which provides a rational approach focusing on strengthening international aid
and law to combat terrorism. Her presentation on this approach and the DVD
created from it have been extremely well received.
Dr. Thomasson has studied,
written, and spoken about the impasse between the U.S. and Iran and visited
Iran as a citizen diplomat in March 2007 in connection with her work with PSR.
Her trip included visiting with physicians, civic leaders, and policy makers in
Iran, and traveling throughout the United States to communicate her experiences
and perceptions of Iranian leadersÕ interest in working to resolve the
political deadlock over IranÕs nuclear program through diplomacy.
She also contributed to
Portland, OregonÕs water treatment policy and served on the Multnomah County
West Nile Prevention Task Force with the goal of reducing pesticide use. In
addition, Dr. Thomasson and the Oregon chapter of PSR succeeded in convincing
all the Oregon members of the U. S. House of Representatives to vote for
legislation on global warming.
Dr. Thomasson received her
Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and her medical degree from Wayne State
University. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at Oregon Health
Sciences University. She is a staff physician and resident educator at Portland
State University.
For more information about
PSR, please visit www.psr.org .
Martin
DonohoeÕs Photograph by Carolyn Brunett
Martin Donohoe, MD, FACP,
is one of the contributors to the chapter on the medical effects of the atomic
bombing of Hiroshima. Dr. Donohoe serves on the Board of Advisors of the Oregon
chapter of Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR) and is Chief Scientific Advisor to Oregon PSRÕs Campaign
for Safe Foods.
Dr. Donohoe has taught
courses at UCLA, UCSF, Stanford, OHSU, Clark College and Portland State in
medical humanities, public health, social justice ethics, womenÕs studies, and
the history of medicine. He writes and frequently lectures on medicine and
social justice issues in public health.
He is the creator of Public
Health and Social Justice, a resource of slide shows, articles, and syllabi
that can be found at http://www.phsj.org/.
Dr. Donohoe practices
internal medicine with Kaiser Permanente and teaches Community Health at
Portland State University. He received his BS and MD from UCLA, completed his
internship and residency at the prestigious Brigham & WomenÕs Hospital,
affiliated with Harvard Medical School, and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical
Scholar at Stanford University.
For more about the work of
the Oregon chapter of PSR, visit http://www.oregonpsr.org/
.
Sok-Hon
HamÕs Photograph by Norman Thorpe
Copyright
1973 by Norman Thorpe. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Sok-Hon Ham (1901-1989),
who wrote the foreword for the first Korean edition that is excerpted in this
book, was one of the 20th centuryÕs most powerful voices in Korea and in Asia
for democracy and non-violence. For his dedication to non-violence and his
commitment to his people and his own conscience, many call him the Gandhi of
Korea.
One in seven victims of
Hiroshima was of Korean descent—many brought to Japan as forced laborers.
When a friend gave Sok-Hon Ham the original Japanese version of the book to
read, he was awed by the tragedy, beauty, and power of OkudaÕs story. He
decided to translate it into Korean, but loaned his copy to another friend, Hyung Kyoon Cho, who began a translation of it even as he read it
through the first time. Thus, Ham and Cho together arranged for ChoÕs
translation to be published, and when it appeared in Korean in 1983, Sok-Hon
Ham contributed a preface to the Korean edition. Excerpts from that preface are
included in this English translation.
Sok-Hon Ham was twice
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and is well-known internationally among
members of the Society of Friends (Quaker). HamÕs religious affiliation shifted
from Presbyterian to the Non-Church Movement (the denomination of Sadako Teiko
Okuda, with whom he was acquainted), to formally identifying himself as a
Quaker. His religious and philosophical beliefs came from his complementary
integration of Christianity with Taoism and other Asian philosophies, leading
to his conclusion that Òall religions, in the final analysis, are oneÓ (Sok-Hon
Ham, in ÒKicked by GodÓ, 1969, translated by David E. Ross).
Ham was imprisoned by the
Japanese, then the Russians, and again by South Korean President Chung-Hee Park
for firmly though gently standing up for what he believed. He has continued to
be greatly respected by people across a wide spectrum of political,
philosophical, and religious beliefs.
In addition to honors such
as the nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, in October 2000 Ham was
posthumously honored by the
Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) as a national
cultural figure. He left a legacy of over 20 books as well as many other
writings.
For more information,
please visit the Ham Sok-Hon Resource Site: http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/HSH_index.htm.
Copyright Pam Vergun, 2007-2008, all rights reserved.
Unauthorized distribution and copying strictly prohibited
without the express written permission of Pam Vergun.
Website Creator: Pam Vergun
Illustrations by Mia Nolting; Web Contributor: Jim Wilson
www.a-dimly-burning-wick.com