Abstract
This paper reconsiders the thought of Nagai Takashi (1908-1951). It takes up his own thoughts and his critique of Takahashi Shinji's "Urakami Holocost discourse," focusing on his engagements in the campaigns of the Sino-Japan War and his occupational exposure as a radiologist as significant moments for his understanding of the deaths from the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. Nagai understood the contingency of life as "the providence of the divine Father" after experiencing combat seventy-two times and returning from the border zone between life and death. On the other hand, he did seek the purpose of death from his fear of "dying like a dog (Inu-jini)." Besides, he accepted his own imminent death as a martyrdom for science after suffering from leukemia because of his occupational exposure to radiation, and being told he did not have more than three years of life left. This also opened the way for his acceptance of the sacrifice of those who died from the dropping of the A-bomb. At the end of this paper I discuss the essence of his "Urakami Holocaust discourse" and found that Nagai tried to discriminate the border between life and death through consolation for the souls of the dead, and to encourage the survivors to rehabilitate and renew their lives after the nuclear bombing.
