Hiroshima document 1945: In diary that stops on August 5, girls’ school student describes daily life during war
Aug. 5, 2024
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Senior Staff Writer, and Ikumi Yorikane, Staff Writer
A previously unreleased diary that had been kept until August 5, 1945, by a first-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural First Girls’ High School (Prefectural Girls’ School; present-day Minami High School, in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward) who died in the atomic bombing, remains today. Before she was mobilized for building-demolition work to create fire lanes, she wrote in her diary, “Even though I have to work eight days in a row starting tomorrow, I’ll do my best with lots of energy.” And then the diary ended. The diary serves as a record of a life cut short by the war and the atomic bombing.
The diary was a keepsake in remembrance of Fujie Yoneda, who was 13 years old at the time. She began writing entries in her diary on April 6, 1945, the day of her school entrance ceremony, describing her daily life during the war, including about her classes, mobilized work, and helping out at home. Except for around 10 days in July, she wrote entries in the diary each day until August 5. On the following day, August 6, first-year students from Prefectural Girls’ School were mobilized to clean up demolished buildings for the creation of fire lanes in the Dobashi district (now part of Hiroshima’s Naka Ward), around 800 meters from the hypocenter. All 223 people at the worksite, including Ms. Yoneda, were killed.
After the war, her mother’s grief was so profound that her family hid Fujie’s diary, which vividly described her life, in the back of a closet. Kiyoshi, 70, the mother’s nephew and a resident of Hiroshima’s Asaminami Ward, inherited the diary. “I hope her diary can be of use in informing people about how disastrous the war was,” said Kiyoshi.
According to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in city’s Naka Ward, new confirmation of the existence of a diary kept by a first-year student at Prefectural Girls’ School who wrote entries until August 5 and was killed in the atomic bombing is rare in recent years. The museum has in its archives the original diaries of seven people, four of whom wrote entries until August 5.
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What happened to Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped by the U.S. military? In this series, we trace the events day by day based on A-bomb survivor testimonies and Hiroshima Document, an account that serves as a record of Hiroshima citizens’ experiences of the atomic bombing in 1945.
(Originally published on August 5, 2024)
A previously unreleased diary that had been kept until August 5, 1945, by a first-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural First Girls’ High School (Prefectural Girls’ School; present-day Minami High School, in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward) who died in the atomic bombing, remains today. Before she was mobilized for building-demolition work to create fire lanes, she wrote in her diary, “Even though I have to work eight days in a row starting tomorrow, I’ll do my best with lots of energy.” And then the diary ended. The diary serves as a record of a life cut short by the war and the atomic bombing.
The diary was a keepsake in remembrance of Fujie Yoneda, who was 13 years old at the time. She began writing entries in her diary on April 6, 1945, the day of her school entrance ceremony, describing her daily life during the war, including about her classes, mobilized work, and helping out at home. Except for around 10 days in July, she wrote entries in the diary each day until August 5. On the following day, August 6, first-year students from Prefectural Girls’ School were mobilized to clean up demolished buildings for the creation of fire lanes in the Dobashi district (now part of Hiroshima’s Naka Ward), around 800 meters from the hypocenter. All 223 people at the worksite, including Ms. Yoneda, were killed.
After the war, her mother’s grief was so profound that her family hid Fujie’s diary, which vividly described her life, in the back of a closet. Kiyoshi, 70, the mother’s nephew and a resident of Hiroshima’s Asaminami Ward, inherited the diary. “I hope her diary can be of use in informing people about how disastrous the war was,” said Kiyoshi.
According to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in city’s Naka Ward, new confirmation of the existence of a diary kept by a first-year student at Prefectural Girls’ School who wrote entries until August 5 and was killed in the atomic bombing is rare in recent years. The museum has in its archives the original diaries of seven people, four of whom wrote entries until August 5.
_________________________________
What happened to Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped by the U.S. military? In this series, we trace the events day by day based on A-bomb survivor testimonies and Hiroshima Document, an account that serves as a record of Hiroshima citizens’ experiences of the atomic bombing in 1945.
(Originally published on August 5, 2024)
