Unleashing the Beast: How Wings to the Tiger Soared to New Heights in Week 23
Tiger with Wings: A Commentary on the Atomic Bomb Trials
By Kazuhiro Murakami, Professor, Faculty of Law, Meiji University; Director, University Archives Center/Library Director
Published: 2024.09.06
New costumes and props on display from Tuesday, September 3rd. The photo shows the yellow dresses worn by Tora-chan and Yumi-chan, and Yone-san’s suit!
The 23rd week of the drama began with the sudden death of lawyer Kumono Rokuro (Tsukaji Takemasa), who was set to begin oral arguments in the atomic bomb trial. Following Kumono’s last wishes, Todoroki and Yone assisted Iwai and took charge of the defense.
The character of Kumono Rokuro is modeled after real-life lawyer Okamoto Shoichi, who believed that the dropping of the atomic bomb was an indiscriminate attack prohibited by the 1899 Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land. Okamoto argued that the use of the atomic bomb caused unnecessary suffering and was a violation of international law. He appealed to the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, their surviving families, and lawyers in the area, but only a small number of people agreed to support his cause.
In the drama, the preparatory procedures for the trial are set to end on November 19, 1959, and the first oral argument is scheduled for February 8, 1960, as in historical fact. However, Okamoto died on April 5, 1958, a year before the preparatory procedures ended.
The expert witnesses requested by the plaintiffs and defendants in the drama differ from those in real life. The actual expert witnesses were Yasui Iku, a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, and Tabata Mojiro, a professor at Kyoto University, who stated that the dropping of the atomic bomb was “inhumane, indiscriminate bombing that violates international law.”
The judgment in the atomic bomb trial was unusual in that it postponed the main text and instead read out a summary of the reasons for the judgment. The conclusion of the judgment stated that the dropping of the atomic bomb was a violation of international law and called on the Japanese government to take measures to provide relief to the victims of the bomb.
An excerpt from the actual judgment reads: “…the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as indiscriminate bombing of defenseless cities, should be deemed to have been illegal acts of war under the international law of the time.”
The judgment also stated that the Japanese government should take responsibility for providing relief to the victims of the atomic bombings, but noted that this was not the responsibility of the courts, but rather the legislative and executive branches of government.
Five years after the ruling, the “Special Measures Law for Atomic Bomb Victims” was enacted in 1968, and more than 25 years later, the “Atomic Bomb Victims Assistance Law” was finally enacted in 1994. The significance of the Atomic Bomb Trials in paving the way for relief for atomic bomb survivors is great.
In addition to the atomic bomb trial, the 23rd week of the drama also depicted Torako’s menopausal disorder, Yuri’s dementia, and Nodoka’s graduation from the English department of Meiryū University. Umeko also received her dango certification from Katsuraba.
Correction: In my review of the 22nd week, I wrote that 75 women had passed the bar exam as of 1956. However, the correct number is 70. I apologize for the mistake.