Tōge Sankichi, Give me back father…
1 media/toge-father-poem_thumb.jpg 2020-06-10T21:35:30+00:00 Max Mitchell 5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69 9 2 Tōge Sankichi’s famous “Give me back father Give me back mother . . .” poem (1951) appears with the title “Preface” (Jo) in Atom Bomb Poetry Collection. plain 2020-06-14T22:17:18+00:00 1951 The Association for Preservation of Literary Materials of Hiroshima photograph Max Mitchell 5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69This page is referenced by:
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Give Me Back Father
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Poet Tōge Sankichi’s most famous poem in Atom Bomb Poetry Collection does not use the words “atom bomb.” The first stanza of this poem reads: ‘Give me back father Give me back mother / Give me back the old people / Give me back the children (Chichi o kaese haha o kaese / toshiyori o kaese / kodomo o kaese).
In the second and third stanzas, the speaker demands the return of humanity and enduring peace—presumably an ideal of peace that existed in the pre-nuclear age. Although the city did not experience air war until the morning of August 6, 1945, Hiroshima and all of its residents had experienced the extreme demands of Total War during the years that lead up to that day. The power of Tōge’s poem lies in the urgency and emotion evoked by the straightforward use of apostrophe, repetition and economical language. The themes of loss and separation would have resonated with many readers so soon after the World War.
