A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

Travel Guide

Nagasaki

Once the home of Amaterasu, who has lived and experienced the horrors of Nagasaki and had the two people she loved most taken from her.

Living in America with husband Kenzo, this is the story of a woman forced from her homeland and trying to come to terms with the past.

When a visitor from this very different country and culture arrives on her doorstep so too does the past and the memories she would rather forget.
The author herself lived in Nagasaki and her words are poignant and touching of a time and place now sadly known for the infamous events which took place in 1945.

Amaterasu  says “Nagasaki still feels more real to me than this Victorian house”

Each chapter stars with a Japanese word and phrase, its meaning explained and is sprinkled with letters and diaries to show the authenticity of events and to bring the heart and soul of the city and its people into the spotlight instead of the bombs. This is a society where males dominate and always have done, where the chief deity in Japanese society is a goddess. In this society the emphasis is on cooperation between people, where there is a word for  the misery of loving alone and also a shame orientated society.

The bomb had severe consequences for many years and the repercussions of one day can have ripples across the years, the oceans and generations.