A statement on the release of the English edition of Records of the Nagasaki Atomic Bombing and Wartime Damage

Since 2006, the Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims has engaged in a project to translate the first volume of the revised critical edition of Records of the Nagasaki Atomic Bombing and Wartime Damage into English. Considering the literary importance of this work, it was deemed necessary to examine and discuss the English wording used to translate specific terms related to the atomic bombing, the wartime situation, historical conditions and cultural aspects, as well as that for proper names of governmental bodies or institutions of the day. For this purpose, an editorial committee composed of noted experts from Nagasaki was inaugurated in 2010, from which time work proceeded in a steady and deliberate manner.

While it took until 2014 to complete editing work on the translation for the entire volume, which exceeds 700 pages in its Japanese form, a desire existed to see the material released to the public at the earliest possible date. It is seventy-three years since the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, and the rapid aging of any survivors still able to speak about their experiences has made the transmitting of such information to the world ever more important.

Accordingly, our Memorial Hall began provisionally releasing sections of the material that the editorial committee had finished examining and editing. Now, however, all editing work has been completed and the work is being released in its entirety.

It must be emphasized here that the possibility exists that further corrections will need to be made in order to improve the appropriateness of the wording. We request your understanding on this matter.

In addition, we would like to express our sincere hope that readers of this newly-released material will provide us with their valuable insights and impressions.

 

March 2018

Masanobu Chita
　Director
　The Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

The Committee to Review the Translation of Records of the Nagasaki Atomic Bombing and Wartime Damage
　　Chairman:
　　　Hideo Tsuchiyama,
　　　Former President of Nagasaki University

　　Board members:
　　　Brian Burke-Gaffney
　　　Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Architecture at Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science

　　　Mariko Mine
　　　Associate Professor of the Division of Scientific Data Registry at Nagasaki University’s Atomic Bomb
　　　Disease Institute

　　　Noboru Tasaki
　　　Lecturer at the International Student Center of Nagasaki University