From Naoetsu To Cowra, With Love and Respect
      By Akihisa Hasegawa
      Translated into English by Toshiro Abe
            I attended "The Gathering for Peace" held at the Peace Memorial Park on August 15, 1997, and prayed for the souls of the deceased Australian POWs and the executed guards of Naoetsu Camp. After one week of the assembly, as one of the members of the JASJ group also including Mrs. Yoko Ishizuka, I visited Cowra. It was a very valuable experience for me. I didn't go to war myself, but I could understand what the war was really like through this experience.

            In Australia, Mr. Rod Yates took very good care of us. He accompanied us on our trip from the beginning. First we visited Mr. Jack Mudie in the suburbs of Sydney. We were entertained warmly in the living room of his house, from where we could enjoy the view of the lake.

            Mr. Mudie looked very fine and healthy, and we couldn't believe our ears when we heard that he was 90 years old.  I realized that his energy and his vitality had enabled him to survive the hard days in Naoetsu POW Camp and for 50 years after the war. In the living room I found a Sensu, a Japanese folding fan, was displayed beautifully on the shelf. It was a gift from JASJ in 1995. When I saw it, I felt Naoetsu was much closer to Australia.

            The next morning Mr. Yates drove us about 400 kilometers all the way from Sydney crossing the Blue Mountains to Cowra, the main destination of our trip.  We were astonished that his car was a very old Japanese Isuzu car, with the odometer showing 310,000 km and with the engine made by Matzda.

            We arrived at Cowra at last, after night had fallen, and the stars of the Southern Cross, which I had never seen before, were shining brightly in the southern sky. Anyway, we were in time for the evening meeting in Cowra. We were excited to meet Mrs. Ishizuka and Mr. Nishizawa, who had already come to Australia earlier than we had.  We met a lot of other people from Japan there: members of the Japan Australia Society from many parts of Japan, the peace movement group in Japan, and the documentary film production group for taking pictures of Cowra POW camp site. They were all friendly and enthusiastic.

            The next day it was clear and fine. We visited the cemetery for the Japanese POWs in Cowra first. Mrs. Ishizuka offered floral tributes to the memorial graves of Australian guards and Japanese POWs who died on the day of the breakout.  I was moved to hear that this was the 4th time for Mrs. Ishizuka to visit Cowra. I realized that she was devoting herself to international friendship and exchange between Japan and Australia.

            　in front of Peace Bell
             at the Peace Bell

          　
            After that, we visited the Cowra POW Camp Site, the Cowra Japanese Garden, and The Peace Bell.  During our visit, we met a man who worked as a guard of the POW camp when the Japanese POWs escaped from the camp. We also met the former Mayor of Cowra who appealed to the citizens saying "Let us turn our hatred to love," and devoted himself to make the war cemetery in Cowra for the dead Japanese soldiers.  Both of them are very old, but we could feel their strength and wisdom as people who survived the war and knew what the most important thing was for all of us.

            at Japanese Garden in Cowra
             at Japanese Garden

            We also had a chance to observe the International Youth Forum for Australian and Japanese high school students. We were impressed and pleased to see the younger generations discussing and exchanging their ideas freely and ardently.

            The tragedies and deep sorrow of the POW camp both in Naoetsu and Cowra are being healed little by little fifty years after the war. I believe no one would have wanted this more than those who perished in the war. During the war, people fought against their enemy and killed each other. It seems to me that the masses who dies are an appeal against the foolishness of wars among the countries and/or nations. I think we, the generation that didn't experience the war, are responsible to accept this appeal for peace with our whole heart.

            My visit to Cowra made me realize that we can share the same thoughts and feelings across the countries, time and distance. I will never forget this experience for the rest of my life.