New documentary film being made on students killed in Hiroshima A-bombing
Apr. 15, 2017
by Kanako Noda, Staff Writer
Chieko Seki, 85, a Tokyo-based journalist, lost many of her classmates when they were tearing down houses to create a fire lane as mobilized students at the time the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Based on Ms. Seki’s account, Kazuko Matsushima, 44, is directing a documentary film on the theme of Hiroshima’s mobilized students. Ms. Matsushima, an interpreter and location shooting coordinator based in Paris, France, hopes to convey a message of nuclear abolition to the next generation of Japanese and French citizens by focusing on these young victims of the atomic bombing.
Ms. Seki, looking at a monument dedicated to the mobilized students, was captured on camera saying, “It was the hottest season in Hiroshima, and we were little soldiers.” Filming around Peace Memorial Boulevard in downtown Hiroshima was carried out between April 2 and 4.
Ms. Seki was a second-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural Second Girls’ High School. At the time of the atomic bombing, her classmates were working in the Zakoba-cho area (now part of Naka Ward) about one kilometer from the hypocenter. Because she wasn’t feeling well that day, Ms. Seki stayed home in Ujina (now part of Minami Ward) and was farther away from the blast, about three kilometers from the hypocenter. She survived, but almost all of her classmates were killed while working as mobilized students. Later, she interviewed their relatives and learned what 39 of these students did on that morning and how their lives ended. She wrote about this in a book she published in 1988, whose title bears the name of her school and class.
Ms. Matsushima is originally from Kurayoshi, Tottori Prefecture. One of her friends in Paris recommended that she read Ms. Seki’s book. The book left a strong impression and Ms. Matsushima, with a background in film studies at a university in France, felt moved to make a documentary that focused on Ms. Seki. Ms. Matsushima asked her to appear in the film last August and Ms. Seki agreed, saying that she was grateful for Ms. Matsushima’s interest in these young victims.
Ms. Seki’s book describes how the students tried to escape from the ferocious fire that resulted from the bomb blast and how the parents searched for their children out of the desperate desire to see them before they died. Through the human love depicted in Ms. Seki’s book, Ms. Matsushima hopes to make a film that can stir the empathy of people who have no previous knowledge of the subject.
Ms. Matsushima will gather further information and complete the film as soon as possible. France, where she has lived for some 20 years, is a nuclear power. She hopes to convey the horrors of the atomic bombing and find ways to discuss the issue with people who believe in the idea of nuclear deterrence.
(Originally published on April 15, 2017)
Chieko Seki, 85, a Tokyo-based journalist, lost many of her classmates when they were tearing down houses to create a fire lane as mobilized students at the time the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Based on Ms. Seki’s account, Kazuko Matsushima, 44, is directing a documentary film on the theme of Hiroshima’s mobilized students. Ms. Matsushima, an interpreter and location shooting coordinator based in Paris, France, hopes to convey a message of nuclear abolition to the next generation of Japanese and French citizens by focusing on these young victims of the atomic bombing.
Ms. Seki, looking at a monument dedicated to the mobilized students, was captured on camera saying, “It was the hottest season in Hiroshima, and we were little soldiers.” Filming around Peace Memorial Boulevard in downtown Hiroshima was carried out between April 2 and 4.
Ms. Seki was a second-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural Second Girls’ High School. At the time of the atomic bombing, her classmates were working in the Zakoba-cho area (now part of Naka Ward) about one kilometer from the hypocenter. Because she wasn’t feeling well that day, Ms. Seki stayed home in Ujina (now part of Minami Ward) and was farther away from the blast, about three kilometers from the hypocenter. She survived, but almost all of her classmates were killed while working as mobilized students. Later, she interviewed their relatives and learned what 39 of these students did on that morning and how their lives ended. She wrote about this in a book she published in 1988, whose title bears the name of her school and class.
Ms. Matsushima is originally from Kurayoshi, Tottori Prefecture. One of her friends in Paris recommended that she read Ms. Seki’s book. The book left a strong impression and Ms. Matsushima, with a background in film studies at a university in France, felt moved to make a documentary that focused on Ms. Seki. Ms. Matsushima asked her to appear in the film last August and Ms. Seki agreed, saying that she was grateful for Ms. Matsushima’s interest in these young victims.
Ms. Seki’s book describes how the students tried to escape from the ferocious fire that resulted from the bomb blast and how the parents searched for their children out of the desperate desire to see them before they died. Through the human love depicted in Ms. Seki’s book, Ms. Matsushima hopes to make a film that can stir the empathy of people who have no previous knowledge of the subject.
Ms. Matsushima will gather further information and complete the film as soon as possible. France, where she has lived for some 20 years, is a nuclear power. She hopes to convey the horrors of the atomic bombing and find ways to discuss the issue with people who believe in the idea of nuclear deterrence.
(Originally published on April 15, 2017)
