Isano Tanabe was exposed to the A-bomb 1.2 km from the epicenter. She was 26 years old. She ran through fire and was hit by black rain. She still suffers from A-bomb disease.
【job at the time of exposure】
I was unemployed. Until one month before the bomb, I was a lathe operator in a war plant.
【reason for being in Hiroshima】
My mother-in-law was ill and asked us to come because she needed help. I came to Hiroshima on August 1st. But she soon got better. I went on the 1st and she was better in 3 or 4 days so we decided to take her back to the countryside. On the morning of the 6th, we were ready to go, but my father-in-law was in the civil defense unit and women's groups those days had to work on demolition for evacuation.
【moment of explosion and the tragedy immediately following】
Just then, a 5th or 6th grader came running over saying ""there's something wrong."" ""What's the matter?"" I asked. She said: ""We can hear a B29."" ""It couldn't be a B29. The alerts were just called off."" Then just as I said: ""Okay then, you and your friends can come in our house to play,"" there was a sudden FLASH. ""There you go, they've dropped a fire bomb. Come on inside!"" I said, and the moment I stood up, it felt as though I had been stabbed in the chest with a hot knife.
That's the last thing I remember.
I don't know how much time had past, but the next I knew, I was in a dark, quiet place. I tried to move, but I couldn't. ""This is strange. Where am I,"" I thought as I felt around. Then I touched something slimy and disgusting. I panicked and touched my face. It was completely swollen. The flesh on my cheek had peeled. My father had told me to hurry home because if a B29 dropped a bomb, my face would become a mess and my mouth would split and my ears would shatter. My father had been right, I thought. My head felt like sandpaper. I was greatly injured and trapped. In my grogginess, I was apologizing to my father and my mother.
My daughter was saying, ""Mama, help me, I'm scared."" ""I'm not alone,"" I thought, and searched for her with my hands. She was very close to me. ""Oh she's alive,"" I thought. And my younger one, Atsuko. I wondered where she had gone to. But I couldn't move. I stretched my arms and legs. Then I felt a cute pair of hands rubbing my legs. Oh thank goodness. She's alive, too. Then she screamed: ""Help! Help!"" Hearing that, my mother-in-law got down on her hands and knees and made a big hole for us. When the hole was big enough, I could see that my daughter, the one who is still alive, was in rags and covered with red dirt. Her wounds wouldn't bleed. They were all sticky. She was cut all over. I said; ""Grandma, hurry. Help us,"" and she did. My younger daughter was not injured, but Grandma lifted them both out. I could see that my clothes had turned to rags.
My breasts were sagging. Just hanging there. My heart sank. I knew this was the end.
People saw fire nearby and I was told to hurry up and get out because the house was going to burn. ""Then Grandma, take the children to a safe place,"" I said. Over and over again, I screamed: ""Take them and run to a safe place, PLEASE!"" The house was burning badly and my mother-in-law, she started to cry. Through her tears, she shouted; ""Can't you climb out of there?!"" ""I can't leave you here alone. Shall the 4 of us burn to death then?"" Hearing that, I don't know how, but I climbed out.
【while escaping】
We fled towards Tera-machi, but then we saw fire in that direction. It was too dangerous so we decided to go to the Hirose River. We crawled over broken roofs. We couldn't walk, so we had to crawl for our lives. We just stuck our necks out, screaming in unison; ""Help us! Help us!"" But there was nothing anyone could do. We got as far as the river bank and it was full of injured people. You couldn't hear cries for help. They were all barely alive.
I looked in the river and it was full of dead bodies, all the way up Hirose River and into the river at Nakahiro. They were all charred, naked and bloated. Their arms and legs were straight. It's hard to explain. You wouldn't think they were people. They looked like logs rolling around.
Along the river road there were burnt people with barely anything on. Their skin was hanging. Long, like this. Many of them, with their skin stripped off of their backs, were muttering something as they walked in rows. We followed behind them, thinking we would cross the bridge to Nakahiro, but the middle of the bridge had collapsed in fire. Under that, a civil defense man was making a raft. The shore was crowded with people sticking their heads in the water. I held my daughter up high and shouted; ""Help, help!"" Then the civil defense man said; ""That child is dead. Leave her and climb on by yourself."" ""She's alive, help!"" I said, over and over again. I pleaded. Finally, he helped her. When we finally got up onto the raft, I sat beside my daughter. She vomited blood and wasn't able to move after that.The raft was a living hell in itself. Sparks, or rather, fire balls came pouring down, one after another. Many jumped into the river to avoid the heat. Some died. Anyway, it was hell.
【afflicted family members】
The raft was filled with injured people. Water, water, water. After awhile, immersed in water. I looked over and Atsuko was very pretty. She opened her eyes wide. ""Atchan, Atchan,"" I said and with her eyes open, she was like this for awhile, but then she died without even smiling. ""I am so sorry, Atsuko-chan. I am so sorry."" There was nothing I could do but to hold her tight. I thought my death was near. I didn't even have the strength to cry. As that was happening, big black raindrops started to fall. I wrote Atsuko Tanabe on a name tag and put it on her so it would be visible. ""I'm so sorry. I'm coming right back for you,"" I said, before I fled. Well, everything was burnt to the ground for as far as you could see. Dead bodies everywhere. It was beyond words. I climbed through those corpses.
【post-war health symptoms】
It was an unimaginable lifestyle. Thankfully, I returned home after having been in critical condition for 3 months. I was able to go home, but pieces of glass kept coming out of my head. There wasn't one happy day. I felt so bad that I couldn't go back for my daughter. Being alive was miserable. I wanted to die. I just hated being alive. I just hated looking in the mirror. I hated it all so much, but my brother got fed up with me being sad all the time. ""A person's face isn't everything. You have a lot more that you need to care about. You have parents, a husband and a daughter. Cheer up."" He wasn't angry or scolding me, or even encouraging me. But in the end, I conceded.
【daughter's memorial rites】
When I got a little better, I went to receive her ashes. Then the priest handed me two sets; ""Your mother, and your daughter."" ""My mother is alive,"" I said, ""I'll just take this one."" But I really have no idea whose ashes they are. I care for them dearly though, because I know that my daughter is enshrined somewhere. It's hard to explain how I felt at the time.
【a new baby daughter】
On August 15th, 1948, I gave birth to a baby girl. She was adorable, just like the daughter I lost in the atomic bomb. Until then, I was lonely every day, but when she was born, the house became bright again and we were happy. She grew for 4 years without once getting sick, until one day she suddenly had a very high fever. That's funny. And today is A-bomb day I thought, and carried her on my back to the hospital. The doctor said it's probably a cold and not to worry, so I took her home and put her in bed. At night, her stomach bloated and she vomited blood. I worried and had the doctor come to the house. He came, but said he couldn't figure it out. He gave her a shot and went home. After watching her for awhile, she opened her eyes wide and said: ""Mama where are we?"" ""This is your home, Etchan."" ""It's so pretty,"" she said with a big smile. Then she closed her eyes, never to open them again. It was just like by the river when I was saying ""Atchan, Atchan."" It was just too much. At least I was happy that she was able to say, ""It's so pretty.""
【illness in the family】
After our regular check-ups, the doctor called and said; ""Don't be alarmed, but your husband has lung cancer."" Well of course I was alarmed. The whole family felt bad. ""What is it, he said?"" ""You might have lung cancer."" ""If you do, let's fight it together,"" we said. Being the stubborn man that he was, his response was; ""Never mind. I have two lungs. I can live on one."" He didn't make it. He died on February 6th. My mother died on June 6th. My daughter, her grandmother and her father all died on the 6th.
【support to stay alive】
I thought if I could do this, what little influence it may have, for world peace. A lot happens when I'm active. I need to be of help. I'll live one day longer, if that means I can pray for the souls of the deceased to rest in peace. In order to pray for them, I need to be alive for them. I will continue to pray for peace, I'm sure. There's a lot involved in daily life, my health. But if I can do good for people, even a little. At home too. When my daughter goes out to work, I try to help with housework.
Perhaps I wouldn't be alive if I was alone. So I need to help others too.
【health anxieties from the A-bomb】
At first, I was worried for my daughter. Before she got married. Being in the bomb and all. She has actually been refused marriage before. So if my grandchildren get married, I'm not going to their weddings. Not with all these scars. People might ask; ""Could those scars be from the A-bomb?"" Then I'd cause the families trouble and embarrassment.
【anger toward the atomic bomb】
It was none other than an inhumane, cruel act. Then and now alike. At the time, we didn't know that it was an atomic bomb. We found out 10 years later. Around 1956, only after Bikini. Until then we thought it was a fire bomb and didn't know about aftereffects or anything. We were made to believe that being unhealthy was our own fault. I can't tell you how often I thought I was dying. That type of thing must never be used. In any country. This is really something that if forgotten, the world will be in trouble. I want to shout out loud and clear. The atomic bomb must never be used. Ever.
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