News

by Takako Jitoku, Staff Writer

Shinichi Tetsutani, known as the owner of the tricycle donated to and displayed in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Hiroshima’s Naka Ward), was killed by the atomic bomb when he was three years old. On August 5, his niece, Yoshiko Konishi, 42, Minami Ward, will start the activity to tell the story of her grandfather, who continued to mourn Shinichi, hoping people would understand the many years of suffering that the atomic bombing brought to the family of the victims.

Shinichi was playing on a tricycle in front of his house in what is now Higashi-hakushima-cho in Naka Ward, about 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, when the atomic bomb exploded. His younger and older sisters were found, but as a skeleton. Ms. Konishi’s grandfather, Nobuo, could not cremate his son, who groaned “Water, water…” until his last gasp, and buried his body in his garden, where it remained for 40 years. Ms. Konishi grew up seeing Nobuo offer water and incense to Jizo, the guardian deity of children and travelers in Buddhism, in the garden every morning until his death in 1998.

It was a recorded TV program she watched again that made her decide to tell and pass on the feelings of her grandfather. Nobuo was at a loss for words and shed tears quietly in the video, which broke her heart. His sorrow came home to her after she became a mother of three, which gave her the push to begin the activity.

“I am not confident that I can speak well,” Ms. Konishi said. When her grandfather dug up Shinichi and the tricycle in the presence of his relatives in 1985, Ms. Konishi was just four years old and has only hazy memories. She never heard about Shinichi directly from her grandfather, maybe because he did not want her to see his tears. Even so, she keeps telling herself, “Eventually, I would become the only person who could tell about my grandfather, who always thought of Shinichi.” She also asked Toshinori, 74, her father and Shinichi’s younger brother, about Nobuo, and uses what she learned from him in her story.

She also got a push from her friend. Miki Makino 41, Fuchu-cho in Hiroshima Prefecture, lost her grandmother, who had entered the A-bombed city shortly after the bombing. Ms. Konishi consulted Ms. Makino for advice, and they formed a group and called it "Watashibito" in the hope that "the memories will be passed on to younger generations.”

She will make her debut on August 5 at a music event, “Natsuyoi Hitotsunagi – peace of the world,” (cooperation fee of 1,000 yen required) held at Uminos Spa & Resort in Okimi-cho, Etajima-city. Her speech, titled “The story of my grandfather who lost his children in the atomic bombing,” will begin at around 11:00 a.m. Ms. Konishi said, “It is my sincere wish that the baton of memories surrounding Shinichi be passed from me to the next person.”

(Originally published on August 4, 2023)