Etching in mind the A-bomb experiences, Part 5
Jul. 2, 2010
by Tomomitsu Miyazaki, Kunihiko Sakurai, Masaki Kadowaki, and Aya Kano, Staff Writers
Sixty years have passed since the atomic bombing [this series was originally published in July and August 2005] and the average age of the A-bomb survivors has risen to over 73. Opportunities to hear their stories in person are now diminishing. The survivors feel pressed for time in their quest to convey the experiences of the bombing to younger people, who themselves are overwhelmed by the challenge of grasping these experiences and handing down the memories of the A-bombed cities. In this series, the Chugoku Shimbun explores efforts to pass on the A-bomb experience to future generations as the difficulty increases in step with the age of the survivors.
In the photo, the boy stands facing away from the camera. His hair is cropped short and he stands in a white shirt darkened with stains. He wears gaiters on his legs. Some medicine is being applied to his arm.
This is one of only five photos taken under the mushroom cloud in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. The boy appearing in the photo is Akira Kutsuki and the image was captured at the west end of the Miyuki Bridge in the heart of the city. He was a first-year student at Hiroshima Municipal Junior High School (now Motomachi Senior High School).
"It makes me even more curious because we can't see the expression on his face." Rie Kutsuki, 38, a junior high teacher in Ono-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture, pointed to her uncle, the boy in the photo.
Akira's older brother searched for him through the burnt ruins of the city. His mother, finding a pointed stone at the front door, believed it was somehow a sign of her son. She offered the stone to the Buddhist alter in their home. Later, when his mother saw the photo, she noted the head, slightly pointed, and the ears, slightly larger than most, and affirmed: "I'm certain this is Akira." His father located the people who also appear in the photo to learn Akira's whereabouts.
But Akira went missing, leaving only the image of his back in the photo. What was he looking at? Where did he go after this? Even today, his fate remains unknown.
Akira's older brother is Rie's father. Since his passing in 1985, the remaining members of Akira's family, including Rie, no longer mention him with the same frequency. They now seldom visit the memorial to the students of the Hiroshima Municipal Junior High School, although the family used to visit it every year.
Still, the figure of the boy in the photo lingers in Rie's mind. To her, his back is trying to communicate something to her.
The years have passed. Rie met Akira Ishida, 73, also a resident of Ono-cho and a schoolmate of her uncle, in the summer of 2005. For three years, Mr. Ishida has tried to trace the routes his friends took after the blast, by speaking with their families.
"Are any of my uncle's classmates still alive?" Rie asked Mr. Ishida. "No, they've all passed away," he replied.
Taking up a pen, Mr. Ishida began drawing a map which covered the area where buildings were being dismantled in Koami-cho, Naka Ward to create a fire lane, the work site of the first-year students of the Hiroshima Municipal Junior High School, to the vicinity of the Miyuki Bridge. If the boy in the photo is indeed Akira, he would have walked toward the east, crossing two rivers to reach the Miyuki Bridge, a distance of three kilometers. If he was able to make it that far, why did he abruptly then disappear?
Mr. Ishida laid down his pen. "I don't really know what happened to him," he said. "But I believe the boy in the photo is Akira. If he was walking toward his house, he was headed in the right direction. Anyway, his mother is certain that the boy in the photo is her son."
Rie and Mr. Ishida went on to the memorial for the school which stands on the bank of the Tenma River, near the site where the students had been mobilized. Mr. Ishida took out a wooden box from beneath the memorial. Inked on eight wooden boards were the names of 373 victims. The call of the cicadas split the summer air.
Rie touched the name "Akira Kutsuki" with her fingers. Her uncle was surely in this spot on that day. He must have then fled the raging fire and headed for home, eventually reaching the Miyuki Bridge. When Rie's one-year-old daughter is grown, she would like to visit the memorial with her. But what will she tell her?
The silent back of the boy in the photo--now that the members of the Kutsuki family who were familiar with those days are all gone, Rie is at a loss as to how she can learn more about him.
(Originally published on July 29, 2005)
The mystery of the silent boy
Sixty years have passed since the atomic bombing [this series was originally published in July and August 2005] and the average age of the A-bomb survivors has risen to over 73. Opportunities to hear their stories in person are now diminishing. The survivors feel pressed for time in their quest to convey the experiences of the bombing to younger people, who themselves are overwhelmed by the challenge of grasping these experiences and handing down the memories of the A-bombed cities. In this series, the Chugoku Shimbun explores efforts to pass on the A-bomb experience to future generations as the difficulty increases in step with the age of the survivors.
In the photo, the boy stands facing away from the camera. His hair is cropped short and he stands in a white shirt darkened with stains. He wears gaiters on his legs. Some medicine is being applied to his arm.
This is one of only five photos taken under the mushroom cloud in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. The boy appearing in the photo is Akira Kutsuki and the image was captured at the west end of the Miyuki Bridge in the heart of the city. He was a first-year student at Hiroshima Municipal Junior High School (now Motomachi Senior High School).
"It makes me even more curious because we can't see the expression on his face." Rie Kutsuki, 38, a junior high teacher in Ono-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture, pointed to her uncle, the boy in the photo.
Akira's older brother searched for him through the burnt ruins of the city. His mother, finding a pointed stone at the front door, believed it was somehow a sign of her son. She offered the stone to the Buddhist alter in their home. Later, when his mother saw the photo, she noted the head, slightly pointed, and the ears, slightly larger than most, and affirmed: "I'm certain this is Akira." His father located the people who also appear in the photo to learn Akira's whereabouts.
But Akira went missing, leaving only the image of his back in the photo. What was he looking at? Where did he go after this? Even today, his fate remains unknown.
Akira's older brother is Rie's father. Since his passing in 1985, the remaining members of Akira's family, including Rie, no longer mention him with the same frequency. They now seldom visit the memorial to the students of the Hiroshima Municipal Junior High School, although the family used to visit it every year.
Still, the figure of the boy in the photo lingers in Rie's mind. To her, his back is trying to communicate something to her.
The years have passed. Rie met Akira Ishida, 73, also a resident of Ono-cho and a schoolmate of her uncle, in the summer of 2005. For three years, Mr. Ishida has tried to trace the routes his friends took after the blast, by speaking with their families.
"Are any of my uncle's classmates still alive?" Rie asked Mr. Ishida. "No, they've all passed away," he replied.
Taking up a pen, Mr. Ishida began drawing a map which covered the area where buildings were being dismantled in Koami-cho, Naka Ward to create a fire lane, the work site of the first-year students of the Hiroshima Municipal Junior High School, to the vicinity of the Miyuki Bridge. If the boy in the photo is indeed Akira, he would have walked toward the east, crossing two rivers to reach the Miyuki Bridge, a distance of three kilometers. If he was able to make it that far, why did he abruptly then disappear?
Mr. Ishida laid down his pen. "I don't really know what happened to him," he said. "But I believe the boy in the photo is Akira. If he was walking toward his house, he was headed in the right direction. Anyway, his mother is certain that the boy in the photo is her son."
Rie and Mr. Ishida went on to the memorial for the school which stands on the bank of the Tenma River, near the site where the students had been mobilized. Mr. Ishida took out a wooden box from beneath the memorial. Inked on eight wooden boards were the names of 373 victims. The call of the cicadas split the summer air.
Rie touched the name "Akira Kutsuki" with her fingers. Her uncle was surely in this spot on that day. He must have then fled the raging fire and headed for home, eventually reaching the Miyuki Bridge. When Rie's one-year-old daughter is grown, she would like to visit the memorial with her. But what will she tell her?
The silent back of the boy in the photo--now that the members of the Kutsuki family who were familiar with those days are all gone, Rie is at a loss as to how she can learn more about him.
(Originally published on July 29, 2005)
