Japan's
Post-War Recovery Homer's farewell address upon leaving Japan in 1950
(delivered in Japanese) |
 |
It is natural that,
when one comes to the end of one phase of his life, he stops to look back and
reconsider the past before he turns his face to the future. I should like to tell
you of some of the thoughts that come to my mind as I think back over the past
three and one-half years. During
the time that I have lived in Japan, I have received many impressions. But the
thing that stands out the clearest in my mind is the difference between the Japan
of 1947 and the Japan of 1950. |
Homer with Seigi Tanaka,
his daughter Michiko, and Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita Electric
Company (Panasonic). Tokyo, Japan; June 1947 | |
| | The
country soon after the war was something like a flower whose stem was broken.
The flower laid in the dirt, it had lost its color, and it was withering. The
ground around the flower was dry and contaminated with poisons that gave the plant
no life-saving sustenance. |
| | But
soon the situation was changed. The bed soil was dug up and done away with. A
new foundation was laid. This one was composed only of pure, wholesome, invigorating
substances. And the flower, because it inherently is strong and healthy, responded
to this treatment. Where before it was broken and lifeless, now it stands upright
and firm, and it is radiant. This is the flower of the Japan of 1950. |
|
| | Who
was the gardener who made this magic? To whom must thanks be given that the flower
lives today and will live for many centuries yet to come? The Master Gardener
was none other than the Japanese people themselves. It was their own work, your
own work and devotion, that has brought about the marvelous transformation that
has occurred during these past few years. | |
| | It
will always be a matter of great joy to me that it has been possible for me to
have been so intimately associated with you and others in Japan who have brought
about this miracle. The impressions and the influences that Japan has given me
will remain with me always. The friendships that I have made here, especially
in the communications industry, will be enduring ones. | |
| | One
of the saddest and most difficult things in life is for friends to say goodbye.
It is often said that when friends part, each leaves a little bit of himself with
the others. There will be much of you that I will have to cherish. And, when I
leave, there will be much of myself that will yet remain in Japan. | |
| | ©
Homer Sarasohn 1950 | |
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