The Hiroshima Boy by Akiko Mikamo
The Hiroshima Boy by Akiko Mikamo
As the soldiers lifted me from the floor, my father's eyes locked with my own.
For just a moment, I thought I saw a shadow of sadness across his face. But it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, replaced with my father's look of perpetual determination. "You'll find me at the hospital," I said to him. He made no response to this. "Be well, Shinji," he replied to me. Shinji Mikamo, a teenager, is on the roof of his house, working with his father, when there is a blinding flash. When he regains consciousness, he is severely injured, burned all over his body, and buried in the rubble of a building. Somehow, his father manages to pull him out, and together they begin to search for help. They were - it turned out - only 1200 metres away from the centre of the explosion. The Hiroshima Boy tells the story of Shinji and his father's journey through Hiroshima as they come face to face with the utter destruction of the city and meet neighbours, friends and strangers enduring unimaginable agony. Running from an enormous fire engulfing their neighbourhood, they reach the banks of the Kyobashi River. But the water provides little comfort, and the scenes they find there are devastating. For the next four days, they roam, searching for food, water and refuge in excruciating pain. Eventually, they reach a village outside Hiroshima City, where Shinji is able to be transferred to a hospital. But to do so he must leave his father, not knowing whether he will ever see him again..
My Thoughts
This is such a powerful and moving true account of one boy’s survival after the bombing of Hiroshima as told by his daughter.
It is not an easy read , but you would not expect it to be . However, amidst all the darkness and unbelievable tragedy there are moments of hope and light.
For me this is a story that needed to be told in order to bring some semblance of closure to Shinji. The vast majority of us who will come across,and read,this harrowing account will not have had any idea as to the depth and horror that was faced after the bombs were dropped and I sincerely hope we never will.
This is one of those accounts that has you questioning the behaviour of humanity against each other. I am not going to go into the ins and outs of the cruelty shown by the opposing sides during the war as this is an account of what life was like for Shinji afterwards and how it affected him for the rest of his life. This is a boy who was so close to giving up, and it is a testimony to his courage and determination to work through the horror and the pain in order to come through to the other side and secure a future for himself.
As I said at the beginning this is a difficult book to read , however, it should be a book that is read and I cannot imagine how Akiko must have felt hearing her father’s memories as she wrote them down for him and created the book.
Shinji's daughter Akiko helped to compile his account of the Hiroshima bomb. The experience of growing up in the aftermath of that traumatic event prompted her to pursue a career as a therapist focusing specifically on empathy in family settings and across cultures. in 2011, she co-founded the San Diego Worldwide Initiative to Safeguard Humanity, which organised an annual Peace and Humanity day taking place on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb. Dr Akiko speaks English and is very enthusiastic about promoting the book.
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