The Virgin Mary of Nagasaki; 8500 Christs

8500 CHRISTS by Taki Yuriko

So you see,
It was the Christian enclave,
Nagasaki's Uragami district,
Upon which the atomic bomb fell.
"It came because Kokura, the first target, was
clouded over."

"It came to beat the Soviet Union's entrance into the
war."
No, these are wrong. They are excuses.

The bomb was heavenly punishment,
And those killed were criminals, sinners.
So thought the wartime Japanese.

For 350 years,
The blood of martyrs had flowed.
Christian believers were all criminals,
Had always been traitors.
Until August 15, 1945,
Japan's god was by law
The One and Only Emperor.
So the Christians -
Praying continually for "World Peace"
Even after WW II had begun -
Were lawbreakers, evildoers.
These Christians believers,
Who even refused military service,
Were the traitors.

Uragami Catholic Church,
Japan's sole Christian holy place,
And the Far East's largest Catholic Church.
6000 at once could
Pray together inside.
8500, inside and outside, were
Praying for peace
When the bomb fell.

"It's because there were no taller building around"
No, no. Another excuse.
Those who died were
Criminals,sinners,
Chosen to die.

We pray to them who burned instantly
In that purgatorial fire,
The 8500 Christs
Who atoned for sins against humanity
Through their deaths.
We pray to a radioactive "Angel Bell"
We pray to a blasted Virgin Mary;
"May Uragami be earth's last atomic blast site".
"The very last", we pray.