Who am I? Walls that hold war orphans August 13 19:06

The girl who became an orphan in the war was taken over by her foster parents when she was five years old, without knowing her parents. After that, I was blessed with work and family, but now I'm 74 years old, and when I get up in the morning, my tears spill out.

“Who am I? Who ca n’t die without knowing?”

74 years after the war. The woman went on a journey to fill her life void.

(Production Bureau Jun Tanaka / Rie Oishi, Network Press)

War orphans Family parents are blank

The female is Honoko Tanihira (74) who lives in Ebetsu, Hokkaido.

I grew up without knowing my real parents. The parental column of the family register remains blank.

The beginning of my childhood memory comes from a facility in Saitama Prefecture that protects war orphans. Later, at the age of 5, he was taken up by a foster parent and raised in Hokkaido.

All I was told was that I was orphaned by war. Given the struggles of adoptive parents who took over and raised them in the post-war food era, I could not hear about their parents.

"If you don't understand, you can't die"

Ms. Reiko went to college, became a teacher, and married at the age of 27. I was also blessed with children.
Later, when his foster parents died and Reiko was in his 70s, he began to watch war documentaries and dramas more than ever.

Remaining orphans for victims of the Battle of Okinawa, air raids, and atomic bomb survivors.

As I looked at the experience story, I came up with a thought.

“Who am I? Who ca n’t die without knowing?”

What I had thought I didn't need to know before has grown so much that I can't hold it down.

When waking up in the morning, some tears spilled for some reason. Last autumn, Reiko and her husband went on a journey to fill the memory gap.

The first time I saw

The first place I visited was an orphanage in Kazo City, Saitama, where I spent before being taken over by my foster parents.

Shortly after the end of the war, it was built by Christian missionaries to protect war orphans. The facility that I thought would have disappeared was still accepting children.

When I was shown the photos of the facility at the time, there was a young Reiko. I stared at the camera in the front row and only one person and both legs were exposed.

Reiko:
“At that time, my skin was so weak that I was always bare feet. I may not have worn my shoes because of itching.”

A single photo revived a memory I had forgotten.

The mother's name is also revealed

My name was also left in the list of children left at the facility. Next to it was written “Misa Sugaya (my mother)”. It was the name of my mother who I knew for the first time.

Reiko:
“Mr. Kajitani, this person is my mother. I've always wanted to know it, but I changed my mind to want to see it. It feels like I've returned to a young child.”

Around 90 years old if my mother is still alive. Ms. Reiko, who had grown up feelings she wanted to meet, went to the ward office in Setagaya Ward, where the address was written on the list. I tried to check my family register and resident card.

However, I was not able to provide information because there was nothing that could prove the parent-child relationship. Reiko, who could not give up, asked the mother's whereabouts with an actual address, relying on a map.

However, no one knew my mother whether I heard it or not. In Tokyo after 74 years, I could not get more information than my mother's name.

The impact of information disclosure

Reiko returned to Hokkaido and got some information that might lead to her parents. In the administration, there are records of the history of foster parents.

Reiko uses the information disclosure system to request records from the Hokkaido Agency. Some of them were released last December. There was an unexpected fact written there.

Some excerpts from the disclosed records:
“The mother of a war victim was unable to evacuate with an infant and she was evacuated to a safe place by a woman named XXX who looked at it. XXX seems to have been burned down due to the situation Talked about her situation after her husband reinstated, but it became a problem without being convinced XX XXX As a result of consultation with Aizumi Dormitory Saitama Prefecture Newly created Director of Asahikawa Child Guidance Center on July 30, 1964

That is the situation when I was separated from my mother. During the war, I found out that a sick mother couldn't evacuate from an air raid with a lion, and was thought to have been burned dead.

Reiko:
“Because I ’m living in exchange for my mother ’s life, it ’s a reality. I may be sleeping in the grave, but I really want to hold it.”

Reiko also told me about her unexpected feelings.

“There was a time in my mother's chest. It ’s good to have that feeling. I was able to feel that I had a parent.

I imagined from a little information, a scene with my mother. Rather than just knowing the name, it feels like my mother was there and I feel calm. Even if it is during an air raid.

I felt a little understood what it meant to fill the gap in life.

Black filled life blank

The document showed another shocking thing.

Another woman who looked at her mother and child was supposed to have raised her for more than two years after taking care of her. However, the woman's name was painted black and was unreadable. This is because the Dojo did not disclose it in terms of protecting personal information.

Who is this woman? Do you know anything about your mother? It seems that Reiko-san also tried to see the black-painted part in the sunlight to see even a single letter.

Reiko who wants to expand her imagination based on fragmentary information and fill her life. However, the barrier of personal information protection blocks such a small thought of war orphans.

Reiko:
"The country that made the war was a child who had been torn with his parents. I'm still in progress. It's not over. I don't want to forget it. `` Why is it ruthless to be painted black, and why can't I see it as a party, even though the public can read everything? ''

Takuro Hirota, who was consulted by Ms. Tomoko, said, “What kind of parents Ms. Yoko was brought up is the most fundamental in thinking about who she is, and knowing that is the constitution. `` It is a guaranteed right, and the woman who helped seems to have nurtured Reiko for the next two years before entering the institution, like a family, and the information should be disclosed. '' He spoke and promised support.

After that, Ms. Reiko went through a procedure requesting the Hokkaido Agency to disclose the black parts. In September, we will give an opinion at the jury.

“This is a“ neglect ”by the country.”

In this situation, Professor Haruo Asai of Rikkyo University, who is familiar with the postwar history of orphans, points out the lack of support for national war orphans.

Professor Asai:
“Providing parental information to war orphans is inherently the responsibility of the nation that caused the war. Despite this, it does not inform the orphans of their origin. It can be said to be a long-term neglect by the nation. As well as an institution that collects information and collects information about the child, and a consultation desk that supports orphans who want to know their origin. "

A war orphan who was left behind in postwar war. The number reaches 120,000. And children who were young at that time are celebrating their later years.

Even if you want to know your birthplace, the date of 74 years and the barrier to protecting personal information stand up, and it is difficult for one person to do so. It is hoped that people who have been deprived of their parents in the war and who have lived as much as possible after the war will not be forced to suffer like Reiko.