Sorry. That note sounded bossy and indignant and entitled. He didn't even manage to put a please in anywhere.
Moments like this, when a shared value of the peaceful pursuit of knowledge links people in a way that cuts through their fear and hostility, these moments give me some hope for humanity.
That would seem to be the Hallmark Card version. I imagine it was only "saved" as it would have been of potential military value. Recall that in addition to dropping two atomic bombs on them, the Americans displayed a stunning lack of empathy with the Japanese people and were bombing the hell out of the Japanese civilian population for months. I have a hard time imaging out of this context any warm feeling of "peaceful pursuit of knowledge" would have motivated any American naval officer, who trained as a scientist stumbled across this laboratory during America's subsequent military occupation of Japan. posted by three blind mice at 3:46 AM on September 18, 2012
Katsuma Dan explains here to an American friend the circumstances of the note, which were somewhat less urgent than what one would think, as he had discussed the matter with an American officer before posting the note. Dan seems to have had a nice sense of humor. In any case, the note was published some time later in Time Magazine so it was remarkably efficient. posted by elgilito at 4:30 AM on September 18, 2012 [2 favorites]
Katsuma's version of how that note came to be written: They yelled at one another, the interpretor making more or less disconnected translations, but nobody was listening.
The note exemplifies the curious notion that not everyone was consumed by violence, hatred, or suspicion. That's a good thing to know. Lots of our histories forget to mention it. posted by mule98J at 12:07 PM on September 18, 2012
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:38 PM on September 17, 2012