Arata Osada - Children Of The A-Bomb: Testament Of The Boys And Girls Of Hiroshima

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Text originally published in 1959 under the same title.

Pickle Partners Publishing 2015, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publishers Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Authors original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern readers benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

CHILDREN OF THE A-BOMB, TESTAMENT OF THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF HIROSHIMA

(English Version)

Compiled by

DR. ARATA OSADA

Translated by

JEAN DAN

and

RUTH SIEBEN-MORGEN

Illustrated by

MR. & MRS. MINORU KUROKI

Contents

4th grade boy. 4 years old in 1945.

On that sixth of August I wasnt going to school yet. At the time, I was playing in front of the public bath near home. Then Sei-chan said, Please go to the garden and pick some flowers. So I was on my way to get them. All of a sudden there was a big flash and I was scared and tried to go back to the house. And all of a sudden a lot of needles got in my eyes. I couldnt tell where anything was. When I tried to go toward the house I bumped into the front door. When I opened my eyes everything was darkish. Then Grandma rushed out with Keika-chan on her back. I followed Grandma. We went toward our bomb shelter.

My younger big sister was already inside the shelter so the four of us huddled together. Then my older big sister came running in and we huddled together again. That older big sister was old enough so that she had already gone to work at a bakery; our mother had already died from illness.

Father, who had been working with the Volunteer Labor Group, came back and was looking to find where we were. When she heard him, my big sister went out and took Fathers hand and led him to the shelter. Father was burned all over above his hips. When Sister and the other people saw it they were all scared. A stranger spread some oil on his body for him.

In my heart I thought, Thank you.

After that we went away to Fuchu in the hills. In a broken temple we put up a mosquito net and we lay down there. We stayed here for a long time. After a while other people began to go back to their homes so we went home too. When we got back we found that the glass was all broken, the chests were all toppled over, the family altar was tipped over, the shoji were torn, the roof tiles were broken and the plaster had fallen off the walls. We all helped to clear it away and laid Father there. After about sixty days, in the middle of the night, Father called to Grandma and said he wanted to eat a sweet potato. Grandma said, All right, and cooked the sweet potato.

Father, the potato is ready, she said and looked at him, but he didnt answer. I touched his body and it was cold, and he was already dead. Dear Father, dear Mother, good-bye.

* * * * *

5th grade girl. 5 years old in 1945.

At that time I was only five so I dont remember all the things that happened very well. However, Grandfather has told me various things so I will write those together with the things I remember myself. Since that time six years have already passed and now I m a big girl. Im in fifth grade and Im eleven years old. Since my house was at Togiya close to the place where the bomb fell, my mother was turned into white bones before the family altar.

Mother is now living in the temple at Nakajima. On the sixth of every month Grandfather and I go to visit Mother. But no matter how much I try I cant remember how Mother looked. All I can see is the Memorial Panel standing quietly there. Every time I look at it tears come to my eyes. I think Mother can see me. Mother must be so pleased to see how big Ive grown. Grandfather said that Mother is happy to see me. Every time I go I take Mother some pretty flowers and some incense. Then we leave Mother, and Grandpa and I go home.

On the sixth of August this year it will be the seventh anniversary of Mothers death. At home Grandfather is telling everyone that he will have a splendid service for her. Its already six years since Mother died. When I think that for all those years I havent been able to talk to Mother, I feel so sad that I can hardly bear it. When I see the mothers of my classmates I suddenly feel so lonely that I want to cry. However I think that I am really happy, because I have a very kind and gentle grandfather, grandmother, uncle and aunt. Also, every day when I go to school my teachers kindly teach me my lessons, I play with my friends, and going to school is the best fun.

Since Grandfather was burned at the time of the A-bomb he had a recurrence of a former illness and he has a great deal of trouble now. Grandfather is sixty-seven now. Every day I pray that Grandfather and Grandmother will live a long time.

* * * * *

5th grade girl. 4 years old in 1945.

When I was still about five or six it was during the war. Every time when I went to the store to buy fireworks the air raid siren used to blow. So I always used to hide in the closet. It always seemed to happen that way. My father was an air raid warden and no matter how busy he was he put on a black uniform and went out. Every time my father went off to the air raid I felt terribly lonely. However, I thought this was better than if he went to war. We were just about to eat breakfastwe were just about to put our chopsticks into our mouthswhen the siren blew and maybe it was just stopping blowing or maybe it wasnt, when that terrible atom bomb fell.

Just as we saw a bright flash there was a loud bang and I almost fainted. It was such a loud noise that it was really frightening. That time my father didnt go out to the raid. When the bomb fell, cushions and things came falling from the second floor. I caught them and tried to get outside but I couldnt get out. When Father went out some broken glass fell and stuck in his back; Father picked this glass out by himself and helped us get out of the house. Grandmother in the end collided with a post and died. She was really a kind good Grandma. Mother, while she was trying to rescue a child who lived next door, touched poison and died rather a long time later. When we tried to cross the trolley tracks they were so hot that I jumped back. When we came to the river there was a man who was really suffering; he was black all over and he kept saying, Give me water, give me water! I felt so sorry for him I could hardly bear it. People were in the river drinking the river water. An air raid warden was saying, You mustnt drink the water. He was saying it but people didnt pay any attention to him and lots of people kept going into the water and dying.

Many little children were crying, Im hungry! Thats because they hadnt had their breakfast before the bomb fell. I was hungry too. But I was a big girl so I didnt cry. They gave out rice balls and everyone got two. After that we slept one night there at the edge of the river.