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by Minami Yamashita, Staff Writer

On August 3, 1954, Hoshi wa Miteiru (in English, ‘The stars are watching’), a collection of personal accounts written by bereaved family members of the 353 students at Hiroshima First Middle School (present-day Kokutaiji High School) who died in the atomic bombing, was published. Masayuki Akita, president of the Association of Bereaved Families of Hiroshima First Middle School, expressed his feelings in the book’s preface. “Our voices may be low and weak, but our poignant appeal will surely serve as a stepping stone to peace,” Mr. Akita wrote.

In April, the association had privately published Tsuioku (‘Recollections’) a collection of more than 80 written accounts. “My son, Ichiro, is gone, but I can still hear his voice singing ‘Icchu, Icchu, Icchu [shortened name of First Middle School] in my ears,” indicated one account. “Lying in bed, I dreamed only of you, watching the fires burn bodies night after night.” The collection drew a strong response and caught the attention of a publisher, which selected 33 accounts for inclusion in the later publication.

The company also changed the title, drawing inspiration from the account of Toshie Fujino, who had lost her son, a first-year student, in the bombing. She wrote in her account, “I came to believe that his soul soared to heaven, became stardust, and now silently watches over us every night, hoping such a tragedy will never happen again on this earth.”

Most students died in atomic bombing

The school building of Hiroshima First Middle School, located in Zakoba-cho (in Hiroshima’s present-day Naka Ward), around 900 meters from the hypocenter, was completely incinerated. Most of the first-year students, who were out helping with building-demolition work nearby or waiting in preparation at school, were killed in the bombing.

All members of a group of third-year students who were headed to demolish buildings throughout the area of Koami-cho (in Hiroshima’s present-day Naka Ward) also perished. Mr. Akita’s oldest son, Koso, who was 14 at the time, was one of those who died. His parents searched for and found him at a factory in the area of Koi (now in the city’s Nishi Ward) where he had fled. “I’m sorry, father. I’m sorry, mother,” he had said to them, before passing away on the morning of August 7.

The Association of Bereaved Families of Hiroshima First Middle School was formed the year after the atomic bombing. Mr. Akita was appointed to serve as president of the organization, which involved bereaved family members gathering to share memories of their sons who had died. According to the Chugoku Shimbun published on July 26, 1963, Mr. Akita proposed, “While we still have time, let’s write down the reality of things and make a book out of it.” The personal accounts they collected over the course of around two years came to a total of 250,000 Japanese characters. In the same newspaper article, Mr. Akita stated, “Hoshi wa Miteiru represents a kind of grave in the heart of the association.” He himself wrote about how, “The image of a First Middle School cap on a badly burned head remains vividly in my mind to this day.”

Residents of Tokyo gaze intently at display

Many residents of the Tokyo metropolitan area gazed intently at the personal belongings and portrait photographs of first-year students at Hiroshima First Middle School on display in a bookstore window in the Ginza area of Tokyo. The display was designed to commemorate the book’s release. On August 7, 1954, the Chugoku Shimbun reported about how, “With the reaction to ‘the Bikini Atoll disaster,’ there was unusually strong interest” in the event. Earlier in March, the Japanese fishing boat the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon No. 5) had been exposed to radiation fallout from a hydrogen bomb test conducted by the United States, fueling a growing movement to ban atomic and hydrogen bombs.

Afterward, bereaved families at a number of schools published their own collections of personnel accounts. Ryuto (‘Floating lanterns’) was put out in 1957 by Hiroshima First Municipal Girls’ High School (First Girls’ School; now Funairi High School), and Natsugumo (‘Summer clouds’) was released in 1973 by Hiroshima Jogakuin Girls’ High School.

Mr. Akita also directed his energies into establishing a Buddhist Kannon statue in memory of the mobilized students, which was erected in 1966 in the area of Ote-machi (in Hiroshima’s present-day Naka Ward), near Peace Memorial Park. He passed away in 1975 at the age of 80. His second son, Shoyo, 73, a resident of Hiroshima’s Minami Ward, recalled, “My father, who was usually strict, would invite bereaved family members to our home almost every day. What stood out to me was the way he would speak with them, smiling and drinking Japanese sake.” Carrying on his father’s wishes, he republished Hoshi wa Miteiru in 1984.

(Originally published on March 2, 2025)