Hiroshima : 70 Years After the A-bombing

Tsuneko Kanazawa, 88, who lives in the city of Higashihiroshima, has preserved her brother’s scorched military uniform and his wallet with war-era banknotes inside. At the time of the atomic bombing, her brother, Shoji, was working for the prefectural government, in the section overseeing farmland. On August 1, 1945, two weeks before the end of the war came, he was summoned to join the No. 1 Infantry Reserve Unit based in Motomachi (part of today’s Naka Ward). He was 17 years old.

On the evening of August 6, Shoji’s mementos were brought to his grandfather, Tsunetaro, then 82, by one of the soldiers in the Infantry Reserve Unit. This soldier was also from the village of Kodani, the grandfather’s hometown. Tsunetaro wanted to know more about the fate of his grandson, but the soldier died the following day.

Tsuneko was already married and living in the city of Kure. Her parents had previously passed away. Her mother-in-law had lost her son in the war, so Tsuneko hesitated, dreading the task of looking for her brother. But in early September, she went to Hiroshima. The city was in ruins, and it was impossible to find her brother’s remains.

Tsuneko’s grandfather died three years later. She framed her brother’s belongings and kept them by the Buddhist altar in her home. Every year on August 6, she visits the monument for the Hiroshima prefectural government employees who became victims of the atomic bombing, located in Kakomachi, Naka Ward, and touches his name, Shoji Kanazawa, inscribed on the plate. This is her way of seeking atonement as she has long regretted not setting out more quickly to search for him. She says that, by donating her brother’s effects to Peace Memorial Museum, she will miss having them with her, but she made this decision in the hope that many people will see them.

(Originally published on July 8, 2014)