Will It Make Any Difference?
Dr. Takashi Nagai
Servant of God Takashi Nagai. His cause for canonization is in the process of starting. This appears to be the associated organization: https://www.amicinagai.com/?locale=en
Takashi and Midori, his wife, on their wedding day
Takashi and his two children in their hut after the bombing
The Books
Takashi Nagai’s famous book is The Bells of Nagasaki (長崎の鐘, Nagasaki no Kane, which you may be able to find in a library).
We highly recommend the book A Song for Nagasaki, which tells the Takashi Nagai’s life story.
The Song and Movie
Nagai’s book The Bells of Nagasaki was made into a movie and a very popular song with the same name. At the time, the Nagasaki train station would play an instrumental version as passengers disembarked.
In this video, someone has taken the famous song The Bells of Nagasaki from the movie The Bells of Nagasaki and overlaid it on a montage of clips from the movie. This was the only footage from the 1950 movie we were able to find.
This is the best translation of the song we have found:
The pain thinks sadly
On the blue and perfectly clear sky
On the world of the men and the tides
Wild roses live and die
For consolation and encouragement
The Bells of Nagasaki ring
My wife was summoned to heaven
She left and parted alone
On the chains of the rosary left in my body
My tears shine white
For consolation and encouragement
The Bells of Nagasaki ring
Revealing the sins of the heart
The moon of the late night went bright
On the posts of my poor house
The Virgin Mary shines white and sublime
For consolation and encouragement
The Bells of Nagasaki ring
This rendition is John Peter’s favorite version:
The Cathedral
Urakami Cathedral in October 1945, 2 months after the bomb. Note the obliterated surrounding neighborhood.
Urakami Cathedral before the bombing. The bell towers were completed in 1925, making this church the largest in the Far East.
A Pontifical High Mass in 1949 for the 400th anniversary of St. Francis Xavier’s arrival to Japan. The Mass was celebrated in the ruins of Urakami Cathedral.
The faithful accompany the relic of St. Francis Xavier’s arm (top left)
