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• 1 2020-05-26T15:13:27+00:00 Inscribing the Cenotaph 2 plain 2020-06-14T16:09:02+00:00 The cenotaph inscription reads “Please rest in peace. The mistake will not be repeated.” Peace Park, Hiroshima. Debates arose about the inscription, as it used the passive voice and did not acknowledge Japan’s own role in the world war and colonialism. Shikoku commented, “I recall that, as part of the controversy over the words on the cenotaph, some people objected that the inscription makes sense for the perpetrators of the bombing but not for those who suffered its effects, and that it should be changed to ‘we will not allow the mistake to be repeated.’ . . As someone who lost close relatives in the atomic bombing, I initially struggled with the inscription. Eventually, I accepted it; now I believe that there is no other suitable wording. The only thing any human being can do is to bow to the spirits of those who fell victim to this concluding act of a foolish war and promise to never again repeat a mistake like that, whether we are hibakusha or not, Japanese or American.  . . “