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| KUBO Mitsue（KUBO Mitsue） |
| Gender |
Female |
Age at time of bombing |
16 |
| Recorded on |
2005.12.3 |
Age at time of recording |
76 |
| Location at time of bombing |
Nagasaki(Direct exposure Distance from the bombing hypocenter:1.4km) |
| Location when exposed to the bombing |
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Nagasaki Weapon Factory Mori-machi Factory(Mori-machi, Nagasaki City [Current Mori-machi, Nagasaki City]) |
| Status at time of bombing |
High school or university student |
| Occupational status at time of bombing |
Nagasaki Prefectural Nagasaki Girls High School |
| Hall site |
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims |
Dubbed in English/
With English subtitles |
With English subtitles |
KUBO Mitsue, 16 years old at the time. I was in the fourth year of the Nagasaki Prefectural Nagasaki Girls High School. I was forced to work at a weapons factory. While I was working, suddenly, there was a flash of light that stung my eyes, a ground-shaking noise and a bomb blast. I was crushed by the collapse of the factory and stuck. When I was rescued, I saw a mother holding a charred baby. I felt a strong feeling of sorrow and sadness.
When my friend Chi, a daughter of my landlady, and I got to the train station, she stopped and told me that she didn't want to go to work today. And she went back to her home. Come to think of it now, that was good for her, since her factory was damaged much more badly than mine.
Soon after I arrived at the factory, an air-raid siren went off. I ran up the stone steps on the slope as fast as I could to the air-raid shelter. The shelter for girl students was on the top of a mountain. It took a long time to get to it on foot. Running up the hill on the stone steps, I was in a great deal of agony. Then my friend came up to me and whispered in my ear, "A new type of bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and it apparently explodes in mid air." "Hiroshima has been completely destroyed." Hearing about that bomb for the first time, I was terrified. And a few hours later, that bomb, exploded above our own heads. We could never have guessed such a thing would happen. And we kept talking about how terrifying that new bomb was. Soon after, the alarm was cancelled and I went back to the factory.
When we got back and continued with our work, I saw an unexplainable light flashing. Then I heard a sound, which sounded like multiple lightning blasts at the same time. The bomb blast came with it. It was much, much louder than the sound of a storm. With the sound, at the same time a typhoon-like wind hit me. I was blown away at that second. I got slammed onto the ground, and passed out. Then I heard screams of little girls calling for their mothers, "Mama, help!" I was awakened by those screams.
The debris of the collapsed building was on top of me. There was so much of it that I couldn't move. As I moved my hand, I felt something sticky. I touched my head fearing that it was blood. and it was my blood dripping from my wounded head. I thought I was going to die there but I told myself that I must live, and I mustn't die there. I struggled for life, using all my strength to move my body. Then, a small light flashed down a hole that had just been made. I raised my head and managed to crawl out of there.
A middle school boy student came running up to me and said "Do not cry." "There is a clinic by the entrance, hurry and get yourself treated!" I recognized his face, but I had never talked to him. The fact that I wasn't alone gave me confidence. I was glad to meet someone I knew. We went to the clinic, but there was nothing there. There was nothing left standing. All I could see was just a wasteland filled with rubble.
I had never seen hell but for a second I thought this might be how it looks. There were people with burnt skin hanging from their bodies, and of course, bodies lying all around too. Those with burnt skin couldn't move so all they could do was to crouch down. That was truly a sight from hell. From under a crushed rooftop, someone was screaming for help, but no one could. No one could save others. Everyone was trying to save themselves.
I met HASHIMOTO-san while I was escaping in the mountain. She was the one who had told me in the shelter about the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. We held hands, and kept running in the mountains. Then, we have heard the roar of an airplane again. We were terrified, thinking that all we had been through might happen all over again. We ran, crying "I'm scared, I'm scared!" Then we came out on a farm. Holding each other's hands, we were wandering left and right. In the middle of the farm, there was nowhere to run and hide. Then, a boy with a Japanese national flag tied to his head called to us from behind a bush. He said "It's safer here, come!" We hid near him in search of a safe place and waited until the noise went away. After that, we followed him.
He went into a forest. So did we. Inside it was cool, so I felt good but, we could see Nagasaki City burning from above. Pillars of flame were shooting up from many places. Then gradually, the entire city was covered in fire. A half-naked man who also came running into the forest was staring at the city with his arms crossed, shouting, "The war will be lost!" We had to go somewhere, so we left the bush. Then I met another terror,
【a line of injured people】
I came across a crowd of people walking in line. They had terrible burns and their melted skin was peeling off, barely still hanging on from their shoulders. So they had to keep their arms up high to avoid their skin touching the ground. It must have been painful. In the line, there was a pitiful mother walking with her charred baby in her arms. There were also people among the bushes and on the hillside who probably walked to get here to survive. They were whispering, "Please, can I have some water?" in voices that could hardly be heard. Their hands were reaching out for water but we were in the mountains so we could not give them any water. In my heart, I apologized and started walking down the mountain.
We were desperate as we walked into town. HASHIMOTO-san's house was nearby, so we went to her house first. My house was at Junin-machi, which wasn't too far from town, so I told her that I could go alone but she replied, "I will walk with you to your place." She kindly went with me to Junin-machi. By the time we got there, it was already dark outside.
When I finally got back to my room, the landlady was very happy to see me. She told me that she was glad that I came back ok. Her daughter Chi had gone back home on her way to work. She said "I was worried sick. Chi came back, but when TAKENO-san didn't make it back, I didn't know what to do." My birth name was TAKENO. My landlady said in relief, "I was so sorry for your parents." Chi was also happy, and she apologized to me for going back home alone.
That night because of nausea, I could not even eat rice gruel. The landlady gave me a pickled plum, and that was really nice. I had tea and two of those pickled plums. From that afternoon, I only had pickled plums and tea for about a week. I still eat that whenever I'm not feeling well. Those plums saved my life and I feel grateful.
【Going back to my home】
My family home was in Miiraku（now Goto-city), and I found a ship which would take me back there. I was so happy when I got on board. There were several other people on that ship. I had an uncle, who lived in Tomie City (now Goto-city), the port before my home. I asked a person getting off there to tell him that I was on this ship, and so, when I arrived at Miiraku, my mother was waiting with a large rice ball, actually made of wheat because we didn't have rice back then. It was 4 km distance from the port to my house. "My mother was covered in sweat. In the hot weather, she had run all the way to come to get me." I had been starving then, and while I was eating, I kept saying "Delicious, delicious!" I still cannot forget that taste.
【Health condition after that time】
One week later, I started to have nausea again. My hair had fallen out, and for some time, I had a mild fever. Now I realize it was atomic bomb sickness. These symptoms continued for about a month. There was no information from school, so I spent my time resting to get better. I went back to school around the end of October and I could study from the beginning of November, I was behind a few months, so I had a hard time catching up.
【Message that I would like to pass down】
War is caused by human beings. Atomic bombs are also made and used by human beings. The bombs took the lives of many many human beings. If human beings cause war, then we human beings have equal power to stop it. I want to stop war no matter what. One by one, we are powerless, but if we get together, our power will be great. With it, we must secure peace and abolish nuclear weapons, and make a world without war. We must remember the terror of atomic and nuclear weapons. I fear that when we, the atomic bomb victims, get too old, there will be no one to tell our stories, and that people will forget about the atomic bombing. We mustn't forget. We must never start a war.
Caption: Masaharu Kanda
Director: Craig Smith : Kishio Sakamoto
Coordinator: NET-GTAS(Network of Translators for the Globalization of the Testimonies of Atomic Bomb Survivors)
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*Many more memoirs can be viewed at both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Memorial Halls.
*These contents are updated periodically.
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