(c) BitShock.org TEAM
What historical event
occurred on August 6, 1945?
l don't know. Do you?
l'm bad at history.
l don't know.
l don't know.
l don't know.
l don't know.
Do you?
We don't know.
Something important
happened?
An earthquake?
For a very long time,
l was afraid
to talk about
my experience.
Why did l survive?
l was so close
to ground zero
l've come to realize
the reason l'm alive
is to tell people
what happened,
so they'll understand.
A popular magazine
asked me
to create a comic
about my life.
The response
was so great
the editor asked me
to turn it into
a full-length project.
That's how ''Barefoot Gen''
got started.
The bright flash.
We were hit by the blast.
l was 6 years old.
l remember it so well.
lt had such a huge
impact on my life.
l remember every detail.
lf l had to recreate it
as a movie set, l could.
At the time,
l was 10 years old.
And l was 9.
Our orphanage
had about 20 babies.
We were the oldest kids,
so we had to help
with the infants--
washing and folding
the diapers.
We were friends
before the bomb.
Since we were
little, right?
We grew up together.
Our bond
comes from eating out
of the same pot everyday.
l was in the first grade
when the war began.
The war dominates
every single memory.
l really don't have
any happy memories.
All l remember
is the fear
and the running
and hiding.
The memory of
being with my family
has faded away.
l carried this pain
in my heart
that l couldn't
talk about.
Even now,
l can't say
my sister's name aloud.
lt hurts too much.
l was 1 3 at the time.
No one was allowed to
see the emperor's face.
He was considered
a descendant of God.
At school, there was
a portrait of him.
We would bow
and pay our respects.
That was
the Japanese way.
l was 20 years old.
l was a university student.
As men,
lt was our duty
to go to war--
to die,
to fall like petals
off a flower--
that was our destiny.
The army was in Hiroshima,
so whenever the soldiers
passed us
we had to bow to them.
The air was full
of patriotism.
Bravely, l left my hometown
and went off to war.
ln 1945, l was a doctor
at Hiroshima
Army Hospital.
At the start of
the war with America
many Japanese
were excited
believing that
we were winning.
But then...
their sons began dying,
one after another.
Mothers and wives
began to feel
an increasing anxiety
as the war continued.
Though the government kept
saying we were winning,
the people realized
Japan couldn't win.
Even as kids we understood,
we were losing the war.
Any fool could see it.
We didn't have anything.
We needed everything.
We didn't even have shoes.
How could we win the war?
Lets see, at the time,
l was 8 years old.
During the war,
Japan confiscated all of Korea's rice.
So there was nothing
for Koreans to eat.
They had to come here
or starve.
That's how l encountered
the bomb.
There was a slogan
that said:
''Desire nothing,
until we win the war.''
Everyday, combat
planes flew over,
but we just
continued playing.
Each airplane had
a particular sound.
l could tell the difference.
Everyday,
from morning to night
we heard air raid sirens,
but Hiroshima
wasn't bombed.
l wasn't afraid.
Even when
the B-29s flew over,
l would just say,
''Oh, there's an airplane.''
Hiroshima was fairly safe
until the atomic bomb.
On the day of the bomb,
the air raid
siren sounded,
but then it
was cancelled.
So everyone came out
and went on with the day.
l was 14 years old.
l was digging out
an air raid shelter
in preparation
for a possible attack
so we'd have
a place to hide.
l was 16 years old
at the time.
l worked at
the post office
sorting and
delivering the mail.
At that moment,
l was on my bicycle
about to deliver a letter.
When l woke up
that morning
l was already
late for work.
l had to get back
to the hospital.
l'd just arrived
at school.
and l realized
l'd forgotten my books.
At 8:15, l'd just
arrived at school.
and l was changing
my shoes.
Since we were Catholic,
we were at church.
We had just
given confession.
My mother was on
the second floor
putting the laundry
on the clothes line.
Downstairs,
my older sister
was getting ready
for school.
My father was
also downstairs
reading the newspaper
before he went to work.
My little brother,
Susumu
was 4 years old.
He was sitting
by the front door
playing with
his toy boats.
We were eating and suddenly
we saw the flash!
Everything was
enveloped
in this enormous flash.
People talk about the flash
and the thunderous sound.
l didn't hear anything.
The light streamed in
and filled the room.
Suddenly,
we felt the blast
and were thrown
into the air.
We tumbled
hit the wall.
Then l passed out.
l was buried
under the house
and knocked unconscious.
The heat blast
knocked me down.
l flew through
the house.
l knew l was
flying because
l could see the floor
moving below me.
l flew 150 feet,
past a field, over a road
and into a rice field.
My mind was blank.
The only thing
l knew was
l had to find
a safe place.
Those who saw
it up close,
they all died.
Few people saw it as l did
from a safe distance.
Out of nowhere,
a bright red circle
of fire formed.
A ring.
A white cloud formed.
lt grew huge
and kept expanding
until it
touched the ring
and turned into
a ball of fire.
Everyone calls it
a mushroom cloud.
But it wasn't a cloud.
lt was a pillar of fire.
A huge pillar of fire.
l woke up
and looked around.
l saw an incredible sight.
People with their
eyes hanging out.
People who were
completely burned.
Their skin was shredded
and hanging off
their bodies.
''Please help me,
please help me!''
they cried out.
People with no arms,
no legs,
their intestines
spilling out,
brains spilling out
of their crushed skulls.
And near ground zero,
there were black,
carbonized bodies
burned beyond
recognition.
People in
unimaginable states.
So many dead.
One woman was
carrying a baby.
The baby
had no head.
l was so scared
The woman said,
''Give me water!''
l felt paralyzed.
What could l do?
l was 10 years old.
l had to take care
of my sister.
So l left the woman
and went to
help my sister.
At our orphanage,
there were a lot
of little babies
Most of them
died instantly,
crushed when
the building collapsed.
Although some were
alive for awhile,
they did not survive.
My sister
had passed out.
l tapped on her head
and yelled at her
until she came to.
She started crying
for our mother.
Mommy, help us!
Mommy, help us!
We huddled together,
calling ''Mommy!''
We cried for help,
but no one came.
From under the rubble,
my father cried for help.
My sister was already dead.
She was crushed to death
when the house collapsed.
My little brother
was trapped
under the house.
Flames swallowed
our house.
My little brother
was screaming,
''Mother! lt's hot!
lt's so hot!''
You could hear him
as he died.
My mother told my brother,
''l will die with you.''
Luckily,
a neighbor came by
and pulled her away.
He said, ''Please,
Mrs. Nakazawa,
you can't die with them!''
We walked out
onto the playground
lt was a sea of fire.
All Hiroshima was burning.
There was no escape,
except to the river.
The flames were
jumping at us
so l put my head
underwater.
The river was full
of dead bodies.
We stayed there
and watched
the city burn.
When the hysteria
died down,
l realized my skin
was dangling
off my arm
and the clothes on
my back were gone.
l said, ''l'm burned''
With all my might
l tried to get up,
but l couldn't stand,
much less walk.
Someone carried me
on his back
and laid me down
under a tree.
All around me,
people were dying.
They told us their names.
and asked us to
contact their families.
Then they asked
for water
and they died.
The children were crying.
Even though their
parents were dead,
they still cried
for their mothers
''Mama,
please give me water!''
Then they'd fall over
and suddenly
they were silent.
That's how l killed
two people.
l gave them water
and they died.
You can't drink
it that fast
when you're completely
dehydrated.
The body gives out.
But l didn't know that.
As l was getting the water,
black rain started falling.
lt covered everything,
turning everything black.
Of course, we didn't know
it was radioactive.
l wanted water
so badly,
but l couldn't speak.
When night came,
it drizzled.
So l licked the water
off the tree and fell asleep.
The next morning,
there was no one alive
around me.
Back then,
during the war,
we had water tanks
for putting out fires.
One after another,
people piled in
to escape the fire.
The tanks were
stuffed with bodies.
l can't describe
what l witnessed.
l don't have the words.
lt's like,
when you burn
a fish on the grill.
That's what they
looked like
to me, as a child.
The boy's face
was swollen.
His eyes were gone.
His body was
completely burned.
His skin was shredded
and falling off.
l couldn't believe
it was my brother.
We used a wooden door
for a stretcher
and looked for help.
My mother tried
to comfort him.
My brother
was fortunate because
he got to hear
my mother's voice
before he went
to heaven.
l found the bones
of two people--
my mother
and my grandmother.
Also, my older sister.
My older brother disappeared.
My other brother too.
My little brother
and a little sister
and one more brother.
l'm the only one who lived.
We were all Catholics.
Ours was the biggest
Christian church in Asia.
How could they
drop the bomb on us?
lf there's a God...
lt was difficult
to identify the bodies.
As we searched,
we cried, ''Mommy!''
l saw two burnt bodies,
not too far away.
l saw that one of the bodies
had holes where
the eyes should be
and one gold tooth.
My mother had one gold tooth,
so l knew it was her.
''Hurry, l found her!''
l yelled to my sister
My sister said,
''l'm too scared!''
l said, ''Come here now!''
So my sister ran over
Together we looked
at the body
We reached out
and said, ''Mommy!''
Before our eyes,
it crumbled into ashes
This happened 60 years ago.
But l'll never forget it.
''Mommy!''
The only things that moved
in Hiroshima were the flies
circling over the dead.
A godforsaken place
covered with dead bodies.
At first, you feel
completely overwhelmed.
Then you become numb
and you can't feel anything.
One after another,
they died.
At first,
hardly anyone survived.
We needed to make room
for those who could
be saved.
l walked among
all the dead bodies
looking for someone
who was alive.
Our faces were swollen
and bandaged.
No one could recognize me.
My mother was looking for me
but there were
so many people.
She walked through
the entire place
whispering my name
in people's ears.
Finally she found me.
This is what l looked like
after they took off
the bandages
and the bleeding stopped.
l regained consciousness.
You see my burned
and infected body.
They had to pull
the bandages
off and on regularly.
The pain was so intense,
l'd pass out.
The worst thing
was the maggots
eating my flesh.
That was pure hell.
The patients
in the hospital
both the adults
and the children
would hear the nurses
coming down the hall
and as they approached
everyone would beg
to be killed.
lt hurt so much.
l lay in bed immobile
for 21 months.
l developed wounds
from the bed sores.
Also on the side
of my face.
These are my ribs.
You can see my heart beating
between the ribs.
The heat rays melted my arm
and my skin was hanging down.
My back was burned
all the way down.
lt hurt everywhere.
They ripped the gauze
off my back,
l tried to bear the pain
but at that moment
l started yelling at them
to kill me.
Everyday, the pain
was unbearable.
All l could think about
was dying.
The doctors were clueless
about how to treat me.
They still don't know.
After a year and a half,
l left the hospital.
They drove me
to the train station.
The station was crowded
with people.
Suddenly, they noticed
my burnt face.
They all stared
at me with horror.
l didn't have the
courage to stare back.
l just looked down
and cried.
l hid in a corner
until the train arrived.
l cried the entire
When l got home,
l wouldn't leave the house.
l wouldn't go outside, ever!
l was very stubborn about it.
l told my mother
that l would rather die.
As l cried, my mother
looked away.
She just ignored me.
When my crying
turned into a whimper,
she swooped in
next to me.
She said, ''lf it makes you feel better
to cry, then cry all you want.''
''Mommy will be by your side
no matter what happens.''
l think it was her love
that saved me.
But then
people who should've been
getting better
came down with
''atomic bomb disease.''
No doctor had
seen this before.
l had a high fever
but there was
no treatment for it.
On the outside,
people looked normal
but they were very lethargic.
l'd collapse,
lose consciousness.
Everything became blurry
and l'd faint.
There were many
strange symptoms--
hair loss, bleeding,
purple spots.
People said that we
had some kind
of contagious disease.
No one would
come near us.
So many health problems.
l would bleed from my ass,
from my gums.
My liver swelled up.
My kidneys stopped working.
A life of sickness.
Tens of thousands got sick.
And they were dying,
left and right.
We didn't know what it was.
For a doctor,
it's frightening
not to know
what you're treating.
My sister, Kuniko, was 1 3.
Her gums were bleeding.
All of her hair fell out.
Her body was covered
with purple spots.
She was writhing in pain.
After the bomb,
she seemed fine,
so we didn't understand
what was happening to her.
Then she died.
lt was me who convinced
my parents
that the family should
be together in Nagasaki.
A few months later
they were dead.
My siblings never
got to try chocolate
and the other
wonderful things of life.
l truly wish
l could have died,
instead of them.
l felt so much guilt.
l wanted to kill myself.
My sister stopped talking.
l told her, ''Hang on,
Life is worth living.''
But she missed our mother
and fell deeper into despair.
She jumped in front
of a train going at full speed.
l just couldn't go on.
So l went
to the train tracks
and stood where
my sister had stood.
l heard the train whistle and waited
as the train rushed towards me.
But l became afraid
and jumped aside.
l realized
there are two
kinds of courage--
the courage to live
and the courage to die.
My sister had
the courage to die.
Me?
l chose the courage to live.
Even if l'm alone,
l still want to live.
l don't hold a grudge.
Japan lost the war.
But how do we live tomorrow?
What do we eat?
The basic things.
How do we survive?
We didn't know
about radiation.
We called it ''pika don.''
''Pika don'' was like
a dirty word for the bomb.
And the ''pika don'' people
became the untouchables.
We were treated like dirt.
But we still had to eat.
We stole corn
from people's fields.
We didn't know everything
was irradiated.
The only things
l didn't eat were
cats, mice and humans.
There were no mice.
The cats were too quick
to catch.
The humans, well,
we wouldn't.
Besides, they were covered
with maggots after 3 days.
We found a way to survive.
When l felt like giving up,
which l often did,
l'd remember
l was Catholic
and suicide isn't allowed,
so l'd better
just suck it up.
Our shelter was a hole
on the side of a mountain
with water dripping on us.
lt was hard to stay dry or sleep.
ln front of our shack they built,
an airstrip for the Americans.
There were skeletons
all over the area.
So when they
built the airfield,
the bones were
crushed into dust.
When the Americans came,
we were scared to see
all the jeeps.
But they were kind to us.
They gave us chocolate
and chewing gum.
ln no time,
we were yelling,
''Hello, hello.''
We were just kids.
l asked them, ''Why?''
''Why did you
kill my family?''
''Why did they
deserve to die?''
Of course they didn't
understand Japanese.
They just smiled at me.
''Give them back to me,''
l shouted.
lt pains me
to think
we were guinea pigs.
The American doctors picked
us up at school and put us in jeeps.
We went into a room
and stripped naked.
lf you had purple spots
or diarrhea they examined you,
but they didn't treat us.
Even though
we survived,
we couldn't live
or die like human beings.
ln Nagasaki, the government
did nothing for the survivors.
The streets were
full of orphans.
We had no housing or food.
Children were
killing themselves.
Something needed to be done.
Friends l met
at the hospital,
people hurt like me--
burned, disabled,
with missing limbs.
We talked about
our problems
and decided to
form an organization
for survivors.
We proposed that
since Japan started the war,
it should
take responsibility
for the victims
of the bombings.
That's what we wanted.
We were angry
at the government.
So we became activists.
The death and destruction
was horrible,
but sometimes
it's harder to survive.
Most survivors look
fine on the outside,
but they live with
the bomb everyday.
Other people can't
begin to understand
what they go through.
ln Japan, if people find out
you're an atomic bomb survivor,
nothing good will happen.
They face discrimination.
They can't get jobs.
lf they get married,
they could have
deformed children.
My wife is also a survivor.
Thank God,
our children are normal,
but it could show up later.
What about
my grandchildren?
l still worry.
The bomb is still
with me.
l've had 6 miscarriages
because of it.
l had abnormalities with
my reproductive system
and was told
l couldn't have children.
l've had so many tumors.
One turned out
to be colon cancer.
They found tumors
in my pancreas,
tumors in my thyroid,
tumors on my back.
They seem to
pop up everywhere.
Their children,
boys or girls,
will face obstacles in marriage,
if people find out.
This is the reality
even today.
l'm already 72 years old.
lf you ask me, they're just
waiting for us to die.
Soon, the Japanese government
won't have to worry about us.
For a long time,
l didn't want
to think about it.
l avoided anything
related to the war--
newspaper stories,
television shows,
lt's over 60 years
since the bomb.
lt still haunts me.
l can't forgive myself
for what happened
to my brother
and sister.
Not a single day goes by
that l don't think of them.
''l'm sorry, l'm sorry.''
My bones are so
thin and brittle,
they'll break if
l cough violently.
l've shown you
my wounds
because l want
you to know
this can't
happen again.
lt's painful
how people react
when they see me.
l can't change
what happened.
lt doesn't matter
how much l cry,
my body will
never be normal.
l must accept this
and be part
of the world.
Since Japan lost the war,
the U.S. Occupation force
wrote our constitution.
Article 9 of
the constitution says:
''No navy.
No army.
No air force.
No weapons production.''
lt's an extraordinary
document.
No matter what,
we must protect it.
All this pain we carry
in our hearts
and in our bodies,
it must end with us.
(c) BitShock.org TEAM