Alumni of A-bombed school hold last school reunion
Nov. 23, 2010
by Kentaro Yamamoto, Staff Writer
On November 21, alumni of Ote-machi National School held their last school reunion at the Hiroshima Prefectural Culture Center. Ote-machi National School was once located in the heart of the city of Hiroshima, but the school building was flattened by the atomic bombing, which led to the closing of the school. Alumni reunions have been held over the past half-century, but because the former students are advancing in age, this has been deemed the final reunion.
Twenty-seven alumni, in their 70s and 80s, took part in the gathering. They rejoiced at meeting one another again, clasping their hands together, exchanging compliments on how well they appeared. The number of participants declined to just one-fourth of the turnout in the 1980s, when the reunion counted the highest number of participants since the first reunion was held in 1959. The alumni took photos to commemorate their time together and sang their school song. Afterwards, they offered a silent prayer to console the spirits of their teachers and schoolmates, who perished in the bombing.
According to the “Record of the A-bomb Disaster,” the school was located about 1.1 kilometers from the hypocenter, and the school building was devastated by the blast. Among the students, 35 were killed and 181 went missing or could not be contacted. Meanwhile, at least 580 students avoided direct exposure to the bomb because, among other reasons, some had been evacuated earlier as a group.
Masako Iseki, 77, attended the final reunion and caught up with four of her classmates. She was exposed to the bomb in the Tsurumi-cho district, about 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, where she was working as a mobilized student. She was squatting to pick up a roof tile when the atomic bomb exploded. As a result, she escaped the direct impact of the bomb’s thermal rays. She said, “I’m really grateful for the reunion, as it gave me the chance to reunite with old friends.”
In addition to the advancing age of the alumni, the members of the reunion’s organizing committee are now in poor health. Both factors led to the ending of such reunions. The alumni, however, confirmed that they will continue to hold a memorial service at the site of their lost school in the Ote-machi district on August 6 of each year.
(Originally published on November 22, 2010)
On November 21, alumni of Ote-machi National School held their last school reunion at the Hiroshima Prefectural Culture Center. Ote-machi National School was once located in the heart of the city of Hiroshima, but the school building was flattened by the atomic bombing, which led to the closing of the school. Alumni reunions have been held over the past half-century, but because the former students are advancing in age, this has been deemed the final reunion.
Twenty-seven alumni, in their 70s and 80s, took part in the gathering. They rejoiced at meeting one another again, clasping their hands together, exchanging compliments on how well they appeared. The number of participants declined to just one-fourth of the turnout in the 1980s, when the reunion counted the highest number of participants since the first reunion was held in 1959. The alumni took photos to commemorate their time together and sang their school song. Afterwards, they offered a silent prayer to console the spirits of their teachers and schoolmates, who perished in the bombing.
According to the “Record of the A-bomb Disaster,” the school was located about 1.1 kilometers from the hypocenter, and the school building was devastated by the blast. Among the students, 35 were killed and 181 went missing or could not be contacted. Meanwhile, at least 580 students avoided direct exposure to the bomb because, among other reasons, some had been evacuated earlier as a group.
Masako Iseki, 77, attended the final reunion and caught up with four of her classmates. She was exposed to the bomb in the Tsurumi-cho district, about 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, where she was working as a mobilized student. She was squatting to pick up a roof tile when the atomic bomb exploded. As a result, she escaped the direct impact of the bomb’s thermal rays. She said, “I’m really grateful for the reunion, as it gave me the chance to reunite with old friends.”
In addition to the advancing age of the alumni, the members of the reunion’s organizing committee are now in poor health. Both factors led to the ending of such reunions. The alumni, however, confirmed that they will continue to hold a memorial service at the site of their lost school in the Ote-machi district on August 6 of each year.
(Originally published on November 22, 2010)
