Documenting Hiroshima of 1946: April, New students enter school
Apr. 8, 2025
by Maho Yamamoto, Staff Writer
In April 1946, entrance ceremonies were held at schools in the city of Hiroshima. At Hijiyama National School (now Hijiyama Elementary School in Minami Ward), each class of the first-year students had their photo taken and began their school life.
Hiroko Yoshida, 85, a resident of Higashi Ward, was then 6 and lived in Ozu-machi (now Minami Ward). She went to school for the first time accompanied by her grandmother, as her mother had given birth to her younger brother in February. Ms. Yoshida had been exposed to the atomic bomb at home. Although her family was safe, her neighbors died one after another almost every day, and their bodies were taken on a two-wheeled hand cart. “Though we had the entrance ceremony, we were not in a happy mood,” she said.
The school, located about 2.8 kilometers from the hypocenter, was partially destroyed by the atomic bomb but resumed classes in the fall of 1945. An orphanage was set up there until February 1946, and repairs of the school were carried out in stages. There were about 50 students in different circumstances in her class. Some of them had lost hair, and others were wearing patched socks.
The school had 1,460 students in total as of the beginning of the academic year 1946. “I felt strongly that many students had lost their composure and hope, and lacked spirit,” said a teacher, according to a magazine published in 1958 in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the school. There were no textbooks or other study materials. Students were sprinkled DDT, an insecticide, over their heads to remove lice during class. Singing, accompanied by an organ, was the only thing that appeared to be a lesson.
“Above all, we were hungry,” said Ms. Yoshida. They would go out to pick horseweed, and teachers would make dumplings using it. When there was no food, they would gather in the shade in the schoolyard and endure the hunger, trying not to consume energy. Around the end of the first term, one of her classmates died, and she attended the funeral.
Hiroshima First Middle School (now Kokutaiji High School), the school building of which was completely destroyed and burned down, held its entrance ceremony in the auditorium of Oko National School (now Oko Elementary School in Minami Ward), with 300 attendees. Kanzaki National School (now Kanzaki Elementary School in Naka Ward), which also lost its school building, resumed classes in March, but students actually went to nearby Honkawa and Funairi national schools.
(Originally published on April 8, 2025)
In April 1946, entrance ceremonies were held at schools in the city of Hiroshima. At Hijiyama National School (now Hijiyama Elementary School in Minami Ward), each class of the first-year students had their photo taken and began their school life.
Hiroko Yoshida, 85, a resident of Higashi Ward, was then 6 and lived in Ozu-machi (now Minami Ward). She went to school for the first time accompanied by her grandmother, as her mother had given birth to her younger brother in February. Ms. Yoshida had been exposed to the atomic bomb at home. Although her family was safe, her neighbors died one after another almost every day, and their bodies were taken on a two-wheeled hand cart. “Though we had the entrance ceremony, we were not in a happy mood,” she said.
The school, located about 2.8 kilometers from the hypocenter, was partially destroyed by the atomic bomb but resumed classes in the fall of 1945. An orphanage was set up there until February 1946, and repairs of the school were carried out in stages. There were about 50 students in different circumstances in her class. Some of them had lost hair, and others were wearing patched socks.
The school had 1,460 students in total as of the beginning of the academic year 1946. “I felt strongly that many students had lost their composure and hope, and lacked spirit,” said a teacher, according to a magazine published in 1958 in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the school. There were no textbooks or other study materials. Students were sprinkled DDT, an insecticide, over their heads to remove lice during class. Singing, accompanied by an organ, was the only thing that appeared to be a lesson.
“Above all, we were hungry,” said Ms. Yoshida. They would go out to pick horseweed, and teachers would make dumplings using it. When there was no food, they would gather in the shade in the schoolyard and endure the hunger, trying not to consume energy. Around the end of the first term, one of her classmates died, and she attended the funeral.
Hiroshima First Middle School (now Kokutaiji High School), the school building of which was completely destroyed and burned down, held its entrance ceremony in the auditorium of Oko National School (now Oko Elementary School in Minami Ward), with 300 attendees. Kanzaki National School (now Kanzaki Elementary School in Naka Ward), which also lost its school building, resumed classes in March, but students actually went to nearby Honkawa and Funairi national schools.
(Originally published on April 8, 2025)
