For those that don’t read my LJ or don’t have access to it… I was in Kyoto, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan from 25 November through 12 December to accompany one of our short term travel courses. It was a good, bad and humbling experience in many ways. Kyoto’s leaves were turning and this brought many tourists out to the temples and natural areas of the prefecture.
While in Kyoto, where it was more of a welcome to Japan, get settled have a bit of fun kind of schedule than our coursework schedule we had a chance to visit multiple temples and famous areas in Kyoto and Nara. Nara was fun because of the deer that roam about in the park area and the way in which they chase you for food!
This mean bastard actually chased us around and headbutted me right in the arse!
Not all of the deer running around were mean and crabby, for instance this adorable little fawn who tried to beg for food but her mum wouldn’t let us get too close.
After the fun and scenic views of Kyoto and Nara we headed off to Hiroshima
to begin the real work on our trip. The purpose of the course was to look at the ethics of using the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
We spoke with Hibakusha Dr. Hida (atomic bomb survivors), who told us of the living hell, that was the aftermath of the bomb and how he treated those who had fled to the mountains to look for help, and others who died while they stood by helplessly not understanding why the people were dying with such odd symptoms or so quickly. Dr. Hida is the last Hibakusha who is living that is a medical doctor.
toured the museum and heard lectures from a True Pure Land Buddhist reverend (Rev. Koji) on their take on the bombing. In the photo below our professor,Dr. Yuki Miyamoto translates his lecture to us.
Part of our work was to look at the artwork done by survivors of the bombing, and that is one thing that really tore my heart in half. To see the depiction of such hell on earth done by people 10, 20, 30 even 50 years later and to see the clarity that the event still has for them is horrifying. I don’t think I could live through something like that and retain my sanity. The photo below is of a famous painting done by a survivor who was a professional artist, who did this one painting only… the figure in the upper right hand corner is Amida Buddha who weeps yet looks angry at the destruction below.
Hiroshima wasn’t all just lecture and learning. On the last Sunday there some of us went to Miyajima, where the great O’Torii gate in the sea is located.
we did have a group dinner at Otis the last night in the city, as a way to release any stress that may have come from first hand contact with such a heavy topic. 
Then we were off to Nagasaki the next morning. I’ll finish up with Nagasaki in a follow up post.
Published by cypheroftyr
Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker..
She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr.
She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021.
Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.
Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press)
Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.
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