Yasuaki Yamashita y la búsqueda de una cultura de paz: lecciones desde Nagasaki

On October 26, 2024, Yasuaki Yamashita, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, delivered a testimonial lecture at the Caja Real University Cultural Center of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí, situated in the historic downtown of the state capital. Approximately 200 individuals, ranging in age from three to ninety-two years, attended the event to bear witness to the lived experiences of one of the few remaining survivors of nuclear warfare. Yamashita’s narrative provided an invaluable opportunity for participants to engage with the concept of hibakusha, while offering critical insights into the living conditions, social organization, and strategies of resilience developed by survivors in the wake of nuclear devastation. The interview and subsequent lecture were conceived as part of a broader initiative to reinforce the imperative of fostering a culture of peace, foregrounding the role of firsthand testimonies—such as Yamashita’s—as fundamental to enriching collective memory beyond conventional historiographical and anthropological frameworks. Drawing upon Gandhian principles of nonviolence (ahimsa) and the pursuit of truth (satyagraha), the discussion rearticulated peace as an active pursuit of social justice, grounded in empathy and education. Furthermore, an interpretative analogy was proposed between Yamashita’s life story and the narrative of Hayao Miyazaki’s 2023 animated film The Boy and the Heron, offering a reflective lens through which to explore themes of resilience and reconstruction in the aftermath of catastrophe. This contribution thus seeks to embed Yamashita’s testimony within contemporary social memory and to advance the active promotion of a culture of peace.