Voices of the survivors of A-bomb

Hi there, I'm Mamoru, a staff member of J-Hoppers Hiroshima. Today I'd like to tell you a sad story, but it's something what we - people in Hiroshima - need to tell you.

I was born and grew up in Hiroshima. My grand mother is one of the survivors of the A-bomb in Hiroshima in 1945. Her sister was killed by the bomb, even now her ashes have not been found. My grand mother was always crying whenever she talks about that.

I'm the 3rd A-bombed generation.

Since my parents were a two-earner couple, my grand mother reared me, tenderly, until I was 6 years old. I had heard some stories from her of how terrible the injures from the bomb were and how she survived them like a nursery song.

Now she is 90 years old and still living, but she can't tell the stories of A-bomb anymore, she developed dementa 5 years ago. She forgets everything - even her name - and now she spends her days in peace and quiet in an asylum.

Only a few people are living to tell the tales of the horrible A-bomb now.

Recently I have read an article in a local newspaper. That was about "Voices of the survivors of A-bomb is now in web site". I found that this is what I should up load in this blog to show history of Hiroshima.

The web site is VOSHN.com (Voices of the survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki).







In this website, you can listen 9 voices of survivors with English subtitles, and can watch 18 movies of survivors. In the movies survivors tell stories in English by themselves.

This website was created by Itou Akihiko who died at age 75 last March. He compiled over 1000 voices of survivors traveling with a 13kg sound recording machine and to over 21 prefectures from Aomori to Okinawa for 8 years starting in 1971. I think this website is made from his devotion to leave messages for posterity.

I wish you could feel something about history of Hiroshima from this website.

[Voices of the survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki]
VOSHN.com