Did the mistranslation of a single word lead to the dropping of 41 kilotons of atomic bombs on Japan at the close of World War II? That’s the question that Huntington High School sophomore Haileigh Smith researched for her National History Day project before presenting her findings through an award winning website.
Ms. Smith captured first place in the individual website category of Huntington High School’s National History Day contest. The teenager will now advance to the Long Island regional finals. Visit https://site.nhd.org/34390723/home to view the teenager’s spectacular website.
“My topic was about the Japanese word ‘mokusatsu’ and how it’s mistranslation contributed to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Ms. Smith said. “Essentially, United States President Harry S. Truman sent the Potsdam Declaration to Japan, calling for its unconditional surrender. He warned the Japanese that should they reject the declaration, he would bring ‘complete and total destruction’ upon them. Not yet having a definite response, Japan’s Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki decided to respond to the Potsdam Declaration with the word mokusatsu, which can translate to both ‘treat with silent contempt’ or ‘find wisdom in silence.’ To the Japanese, this meant ‘no comment.’ but to the United States, the word was translated as a rejection. Not long after, the United States proceeded to drop atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
An exceptional student academically, Ms. Smith is also a splendid athlete, playing in the Blue Devil volleyball, fencing and softball programs. The teenager is a member of the high school’s Key Club chapter, volunteering to make the community and world a better place.
This marks the second consecutive year that Ms. Smith developed an award winning website.
Her project last year was titled “Wendell Smith: The Fight for Racial Equality on and off the Field.” The website tells the story of one of the most unique members of the writer’s wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in upstate Cooperstown.
“I am very proud with the way my project turned out this year,” Ms. Smith said. “I was able to find numerous books and papers written about my topic, as well as uncover the cultural and political influences that contributed to the misinterpretation. I’m glad that I chose to do a project on a miscommunication, as opposed to efficient communication, because I feel as though it gave both myself and the reader an opportunity to speculate on what might have happened had efficient communication been successful.”
