1. Asako Mizutani was on a train bound for Kure, her hometown, when a bright light suddenly enveloped her. She was 19.
2. Pregnant, she roamed the streets in a daze.
3. Little did she know, that the effects would be frightening, even for her baby, cradled in her womb.
4. My child was born in December, so I guess I found out I was pregnant in March or April. Because it's 40 weeks.
5. It's when I noticed, so I think it was in April. Then taking that into consideration, well by August I suppose I wasn't showing very much.
6. When I was married, I moved to Otake. Nothing much happened there until July 1st, 1945. There was an air raid in Kure. Everything was destroyed.
7. So my family came to stay with me for a short period, but then went back to Kure, as they didn't want to burden me. For the time being, they were living in a borrowed air raid shelter.
8. Around then, I don't know if it was the shipyard or the navy itself, but someone started building triangular barracks. Like large doghouses. There were lots of them lined up. We lived in one of them.
9. I was in Otake, but I was concerned about how my family in Kure was living, so decided to visit.
10. I was able to get a ticket for August 6. I think the train left at around 7. I got to the station in time to catch that. I remember thinking ""it's going to be a hot day,"" when we stopped in Hiroshima.
11. I hated the heat, so I wasn't feeling good about it getting hot, but what could I do? I took things to wipe myself with, out of my first aid kit.
12. I had a bag over my shoulder, with pieces of linen, handkerchiefs, something with my blood type written on it and so on.
13. So there I was, sitting in the train at Hiroshima Station. I saw people that must have been severely injured standing on the platform, in the train, wearing air raid hoods. But I hated the heat.
14. They wore those hoods, long sleeves and even running shoes and socks. When the bomb exploded, there was a huge flash and I didn't know what was going on, but I dove under the seat like everyone else.
15. Where I was sitting was a box seat for four, but since I was the only one sitting there it was relatively easy for me to slide under the seat.
16. When it got a bit quiet, I started to feel sick, so I slowly slid out from under the seat. There was a thin film of smoke, it seemed.
17. The station platform was awfully quiet, so I decided to get out of the train. When I did, the entire area was a totally different atmosphere. Mind you, I had no idea of the extent of the bomb then.
18. I decided anyway, to get out of the train and found that the station had absolutely been flattened. I walked away from it to find people, who had already been burnt, walking slowly along.
19. Well the platform was a mess, if I may say so, with people here and there, moaning and screaming, asking for water and complaining of pain. That's what I heard most.
20. And when I went outside, I felt hot, so I took out a cloth to wipe my face. Although I had been inside the train, this cloth was all black. With that much dust, you can image how strong the blast was.
21. Then I saw a child who had just come out of an air raid shelter, calling for her sister. No, she was calling for her mother. I guess she never found her. She went walking the other way.
22. Then another child came out complaining about how painful his hand was. The skin on his hand had peeled off and was hanging. There was nothing I could do but say, ""Keep your fingers together.""
23. And he asked where the first aid center was, but I didn't know. I said to ask someone else. So what I saw at Hiroshima Station was just a streetcar burned red.
24. And people hanging onto the strap hangs. Or rather, hanging off of them. It was morning, so I guess the streetcars were filled with commuters.
25. And they're trapped underneath too, begging, ""Help, help."" But there was nothing I could do.
26. I just happened to be at Hiroshima Station by chance. If I hadn't been able to get a ticket that day, I never would have been exposed.
27. And another thing. The trains were all stopped of course, so I was stuck. I couldn't go in either direction.
28. When I inquired, I was asked, ""Where were you going?"" so explained and said that I was headed for Kure, to see my family.
29. I was asked where I lived. I told them I lived in Otake, because my husband was with the Otake Naval Infantry at the border of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi. Then one asked me what I wanted to do.
30. I said I wanted to go home to Otake. They told me that a bridge going in that direction had been burned down, making it impossible for a woman to cross, so that it would be wiser to go toward Kure.
31. I think it was nearly 4 p.m. by then, in the evening… well, early evening.
32. I was obviously pregnant and someone kindly suggested that I should get going towards my destination as soon as possible. I agreed and started walking. I don't know how far I walked. I don't remember.
33. I didn't know my way around, but was told that if I got myself to a certain place, a truck would be taking the wounded out of town. I was told to keep asking directions.
34. The area was barren, but I finally got to where the trucks were. Someone glared at me and said, ""this is for the injured. You're not hurt. You walk.""
35. [heading for the station]
36. I followed people who were trying to get away on foot and realized that I was the only one wearing shoes. Everyone was barefoot and their clothing was burnt and looked like hanging seaweed.
37. The burnt had hair like, oh it's difficult to explain. I could tell it was a powerful bomb, but I never knew that I would still have concerns after this much time. Anyway, I headed for the station.
38. I kept on behind the evacuees. I got to a station and on a train. I don't remember if it was Mukainada or Kaitaichi station. I think it was Kaitaichi because it went straight on to the Kure Line.
39. It must have been around 6. Someone said the train's leaving and so I got on and went to Kure. Kure Station was also burnt down. I had to ask directions there, too, and finally got home at around 7.
40. The first thing my mother asked me is where I came from. I told her Otake and she said that there was a flash and a big bang towards Hiroshima that morning that everyone is calling Pikadon.
41. So she kept asking me how I got there and I explained the details. I don't think she believed me, but at least she was glad that I had gotten home in one piece.
42. That night, I slept in the triangular soldier's barracks alone. It was summer so there was a mosquito net. Then some hibakushas started floating around the net.
43. That really scared me. I quickly covered my head with my summer blanket but it didn't help. They kept showing up. I was so scared I couldn't sleep. I still remember that well.
44. After that, from the morning of the 7th, I started to get diarrhea. It was very bad for a few days. I spent most of the time in the toilet. There was no paper, so we used to crumple newspaper to use.
45. Of course after a while, my bottom was raw and painful. But of course I had to wipe myself. This went on for about a week.
46. Then on the 15th, the war ended, but before that, on the 12th or 13th I believe, my husband came from the naval depot in Otake. He bought me a ticket and I went back by train while he took the ship.
47. What I saw in Hiroshima on my way back was dead bodies here and there, all piled up. They were covered with oil and being burnt. The smell was horrendous. It's not like broiling fish.
48. I remember thinking how miserable they must be, not dying a human death and not being buried like a human. I couldn't help but think how lucky I was, even though I had been exposed myself.
49. Back in Otake, hibakushas continued to be carried to schools and auditoriums and members of the women's groups went to care for them.
50. They came to our housing as well, asking us to help with nursing, so I went. I think it was about the end of August. I'm not exactly sure, but it was around then.
51. The woman who lived across the way told me that the situation was bad. That there were children with maggots and I remember thinking that people don't get maggots. She told me it was true.
52. So it was my turn the next day and I went. Being a school gymnasium, there were many entrances. The boy she had been talking about was near the entrance I took.
53. The gym had a wooden floor and two tatami mats were laid down. So the only height was the height of the tatami mats and there were two.
54. A family of five slept on those mats. The father, mother and three children, one of whom was about 4 or 5. The child's arms and legs must have been as thin as chopsticks, or so it seemed.
55. This child was calling, ""sister, it hurts."" Well I was 20 at the time but I was young, so he called me sister and told me he was in pain. I asked where? And he said here, his forehead. I saw maggots.
56. He kept complaining of the pain so I carefully removed his bandage and his forehead was covered in squirming maggots. I don't know if it was from the burns or the maggots, but his skin had peeled.
57. The maggots were moving, making the pain worse, so I got a washbasin and shook the maggots off of the bandage. While I was carefully putting it back on, the maggots in the washbasin multiplied.
58. I washed the bandage with disinfectant many times, because there weren't any new bandages to exchange it with and there was no medicine. Nothing.
59. After rinsing the bandage I had to check carefully to see that the maggots were gone. Then I just put the bandage back on.
60. I heard later from someone who went maybe three people after me that the child was dead. I felt sorry for him. He was the only person who died that I had taken care of.
61. Rice balls were given to us for lunch, because we were there all day. They were made with very soft rice that looked like maggots. I knew it was a waste, but I couldn't bring myself to eat it.
62. The war had ended and my husband had to take care of post-war things so we stayed in Otake until September 5. After that, we returned to my husband's home in Mie.
63. We stayed one night in Kyoto on the way back, where I saw Americans. They were tall. I remember hiding behind my husband's back. It was frightening to see so many tall, thin people around the station.
64. [after-effects]
65. For the first little while, I had completely forgotten that I was a hibakusha. Then there was what they called a hibakusha check-up at Mie University.
66. At the time I guess my oldest daughter, the one I was pregnant with when I was exposed to radiation, was in kindergarten or grade one. I took her with me.
67. Today, the Mie University Hospital in Tsu is very grand, but in those days it was very small. So I went and got my blood tested. They took a sample from my ear and said I was fine.
68. But I was told that my daughter's blood did not clot easily and so to be sure never to let her cut herself. She was at the age where all she wanted to do was play so I had to follow her everywhere.
69. [my message]
70. Perhaps our stories aren't very much, but I hope that by continuing to talk about the horrors of nuclear weapons, children will never have to experience war.
71. So the entire world, no longer the country of Japan but the entire world must be one country where there is no war. People must stop being selfish and stop thinking only of themselves.
72. I'm hoping that people will be able to look out for others. If you have this much, how much of that can you share? That's how I hope the children will learn to think, to create a future with no wars.
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