Fire from the Ashes

<p class=ql-align-justify>To mark the 1985 fortieth anniversary of the A-bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the distinguished members of the Japan P.E.N. Center -- led by Kenzabur�� ��e -- planned and Readers International helped issue this first ever collection in English showing the tragedy of the A-bombs seen through Japanese eyes.</p><p class=ql-align-justify><br></p><p class=ql-align-justify> Now it is the 75th anniversary of the same catastrophic events and the state of world tensions today demands a re-issue of this classic volume so that a new generation of readers can experience first hand those tragic events and imagine their consequences in Japanese society for generations after.</p><p class=ql-align-justify><br></p><p class=ql-align-justify> The classic stories are here <em>The Crazy Iris</em> by Masuji Ibuse (masterfully translated by Ivan Morris) as well as the works by Tamiki Hara <em>Summer Flowers</em> and <em>The Land of Heart's Desire. </em>They were censored under the post-war American occupation but today are familiar to every Japanese schoolchild. </p><p class=ql-align-justify><br></p><p class=ql-align-justify>The volume also showcases important Japanese women writers of several generations like Y��ko ��ta Ineko Sata Ky��ko Hayashi and Hiroko Takenishi. Their stories touch on the especially bitter curse for women who were exposed to the radiation as young girls then were rejected by a traditional society because of their infertility.</p><p class=ql-align-justify><br></p><p class=ql-align-justify> These stories bring us the gift of great fiction -- they allow us to engage deeply with the past but also to imagine its consequences in an uncertain future.</p><p><br></p>