Fourteen Hours of Life

Written by Father of Keiji

This is a story written by a father who suddenly lost his beloved son from the atomic bombing. His son, Keiji, was a first-year student of Hiroshima First Middle School, who was so happy to be able to enter the school. He left early that morning for the center of Hiroshima City to work under the scorching sunlight.

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[Trascription]

On the day of the atomic bombing Keiji was as fine and healthy as usual when he left the house. I had no idea this would be the last time that I would ever see him that way. Keiji was working with his classmates and teacher. They were maintaining an evacuation shelter in an area behind the Hiroshima Municipal Office. His duty was to incinerate the garbage after it was collected.

As soon as the sirens rang out there was an intense light and the sound of a massive blast. A mushroom cloud then followed, with everything beneath it engulfed in flames and black smoke. Looking in what should have been the direction of Hiroshima, I realized, “Everything is burning as far as the eye can see!”

We could not just stay at home, watching this happen. We went into the burning city, searching for our dear children. The Hiroshima First Middle School had already been reduced to ashes, leaving the pitiful bodies of students lying all around. At this point we had never even heard of an atomic bomb or knew what such a thing was like, so we were just running around, searching in vain.

The next day, around 4:00 p.m., my beloved son suddenly came home. He was badly wounded and arrived on a stretcher, carried by a youth association from our village. Still, I will never forget that feeling of joy and happiness when we had him back.

However, because Keiji’s burns were so severe, his face was swollen and his skin was inflamed. He complained of a throbbing pain throughout his upper body, and his weak heartbeat was rapidly becoming worse. Clearly, he was in great agony. Right away we brought a doctor to treat him. We gave him the best possible care that we could while tending to him. But on August 9th, at 5:30 a.m., Keiji finally passed away quietly in his sleep, only 14 hours after he had returned home. He was just 14 years old.

Earlier, with faltering speech, Keiji had described what it was like at the time of the bombing. When the explosion happened, the students were all together with their teacher. But in an instant, everything went dark, and they couldn’t see a thing. After that, the group was completely scattered. Nobody knew where each other was. Among all of his classmates we heard not a single one survived. The mere fact that Keiji was able to return home, after all he went through, is amazing enough to us.

[日本語原文]

恵司（けいじ）は、原爆当日も、いつもと少しも変わらず、元気よく出ていきましたが、その元気な姿が最後になろうとも知らず、送りだしてしまいました。広島市役所裏手付近の疎開家屋の片付け仕事で、同級生と先生と一緒に作業しており、恵司は、整理した塵埃を焼却するのが任務でした。

間もなくサイレンが鳴り渡り、強い光とともにものすごい爆発音、続いて起こる白雲の下は一面大火災、黒炎立ち込めて、広島の町と思われる方向は、見渡す限り焼け続けているではありませんか。私たちはいたたまれず、燃える火の町広島に愛児を探しに行きました。広島一中は既に焼け尽くして灰燼（かいじん）となり、ところどころに同級生の無残な遺骸（いがい）が横たわっていました。被爆当時の模様を聞くことも知ることもできず、ただいたずらにあちこちと探し回り、走り回るに過ぎませんでした。

二日目の午後四時頃、突然、村の青年団のタンカに乗せられて、負傷し重体となった我が子が帰宅いたしました。その時の喜び、嬉しさは今も忘れられません。

しかし、恵司は強度の火傷で顔は腫れ、皮膚はただれ、ほとんど上半身全体が火傷で疼痛を訴え、かつ心臓の衰弱が激しく、苦悶の状が見えました。直ちに医者を迎えて手当てを施し、最善の努力を尽くして治療に看護につとめましたが、帰宅以来わずか十四時間で、ついに眠れるまま息を引き取りました。八月九日、五時三十分、行年14歳でした。

恵司は、とぎれとぎれに、爆発当時の様子を語りました。受け持ちの先生も生徒もみな一緒だった様子ですが、爆発の瞬間まっくらとなり、何も見えなくなったと言いますから、その時から一同の行動がみだれ、皆の行方がわからなくなったものと思われます。同級生中、一人の生存者あるを聞きません。（同級生の中で、生存者は一人も報告されていません。）その中にあって辛くも家に帰り着いてくれたことを、あっぱれであると思っています。