The Six Survivors...
Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura
Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura is a tailor’s widow. Her husband was in the army and dies in war. She has three children and takes them to a safe area in response to every warning. She is deeply tired because of all the running around. Her house is about three-quarters of a mile away from the blast.
Before the Bomb
Early in the morning Mrs. Nakamura hears a siren warning. Before she takes her children to a safe area, she talks to one of her neighbors and decides not to wake her children and take them to a safe area. Instead she decides to let her children sleep and if she hears a more urgent warning then she would wake her children. While her children sleep, she watches her neighbor tear down his home to help clear fire lanes.
During the bomb
Mrs. Nakamura’s house shakes to bits.
Shortly After the Bomb
She goes to undig her children, who are covered by the bits of their house. They are unhurt and she puts blouses, shoes, helmets, and overcoats on them. When she gathers them together she drops her ‘sole means of livelihood’, her sewing machine, into a cement tank. She runs outside with her children and her neighbor suggests that they go to Asano Park, an estate on the outskirts of the city which was designed an evacuation area by the Kyo River. At Asano Park, her and her children are given water. Her and several others begin to vomit because of the water, which was from the riverbank. After awhile Mrs. Nakamura and her children go to the Novitiate. She then eventually finds out that her mother, brother, and sister were all dead.
Years After the Bomb
Mrs. Nakamura faces tremendous poverty and difficulty for a long time. She ends up working for thirteen years at a mothball factory, and when her son, Toshio, begins working to support his family, she is finally able to retire. Once her children marry and move away, Mrs. Nakamura lives off her pension. In 1975, 30 years after the bomb, a new law is passed, allowing her a monthly allowance.
Before the Bomb
Early in the morning Mrs. Nakamura hears a siren warning. Before she takes her children to a safe area, she talks to one of her neighbors and decides not to wake her children and take them to a safe area. Instead she decides to let her children sleep and if she hears a more urgent warning then she would wake her children. While her children sleep, she watches her neighbor tear down his home to help clear fire lanes.
During the bomb
Mrs. Nakamura’s house shakes to bits.
Shortly After the Bomb
She goes to undig her children, who are covered by the bits of their house. They are unhurt and she puts blouses, shoes, helmets, and overcoats on them. When she gathers them together she drops her ‘sole means of livelihood’, her sewing machine, into a cement tank. She runs outside with her children and her neighbor suggests that they go to Asano Park, an estate on the outskirts of the city which was designed an evacuation area by the Kyo River. At Asano Park, her and her children are given water. Her and several others begin to vomit because of the water, which was from the riverbank. After awhile Mrs. Nakamura and her children go to the Novitiate. She then eventually finds out that her mother, brother, and sister were all dead.
Years After the Bomb
Mrs. Nakamura faces tremendous poverty and difficulty for a long time. She ends up working for thirteen years at a mothball factory, and when her son, Toshio, begins working to support his family, she is finally able to retire. Once her children marry and move away, Mrs. Nakamura lives off her pension. In 1975, 30 years after the bomb, a new law is passed, allowing her a monthly allowance.
