Memories of that summer and heavy paintings August 6th 7:49

that summer.

The sky in Hiroshima was bright blue.

The atomic bomb exploded 600 meters above the ground.

It took away many futures in an instant.

77 years have passed since that summer.

Minoru Ozaki, that war.

family at that time.

friends from that time.

I continue to draw my hometown at that time.

It's "to complain".

(Hiroshima Broadcasting Station reporter Shintaro Matsui)

Ninety-year-old Minoru Ozaki stood 1.2 kilometers from the hypocenter with steady steps.

Otemachi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City.

This is the place where 13-year-old Ozaki was bombed.

Then, I quietly and slowly looked up at the sky that connected me to the memory of that day.

"It was fine that day too. Yes, it was fine. It was a summer sky." Even

if the hands of the clock move forward, that summer, August 6th, at 8:15 a.m., will never come from Mr. Ozaki's memory. I won't leave

1945

_

August 6.

On that day, Mr. Ozaki waited for the warning to be lifted and hurriedly ran toward the school on the south side of the city.

Many of my classmates were mobilized for building demolition work (the work of dismantling buildings to prevent the spread of fire), and it is believed that they were working within one kilometer from the hypocenter.

Mr. Ozaki was selected as a swimmer at the school, and was determined not to be late for practice starting that day.

He will be scolded severely by his upperclassmen if he is late.

It was such an era.

However, as a result, I was able to move away from the hypocenter even a little.

Minoru Ozaki:

"If you think about it, it's fate. If it's true, I'll be exposed to the atomic bomb in the same place as my classmates. They'll die. More than 100 of my schoolmates who were evacuating buildings died. I ran fast and escaped from the hypocenter. ”

and 8:15 am.

"When I was running, people would stop and look at the sky and say 'parachute,' 'parachute.' When I turned around...it wasn't fireworks. The sky was full of yellow rays."

The exploded atomic bomb dyed the blue sky with rays of light in an instant.

Mr. Ozaki instinctively covered his face with his hands and fell down on the ground.

"It's pitch black darkness. Silence, not a single sound. Really silence. I thought I was dead. Oh, I'm dead. Dying doesn't hurt or itch."

"How long has it been? It's lasted about a minute or two. Little by little, my hands move. Gradually I see things... Oh, I'm alive. I can't die even if I think that, can't I just die?"

Due to the explosion of the atomic bomb, the temperature of the ground surface around the hypocenter reached 3000 to 4000 degrees.

The faces of many people walking from the city were as black as ash and swollen from burns.

I had my arms out in front of me and my skin was hanging down.

Everyone was shoving their faces into the fire tanks for water.

Mr. Ozaki was so dry that his throat was burning and he asked for water.

Mr. Ozaki suffered severe burns to his legs, arms and the left side of his face from the heat rays.

In particular, the burns on his face caused the skin to melt and his neck and face to stick together, leaving his face tilted.

(The redness on my face didn't go away even when I was 40 and 50.)

Then, for about a month, I was laid naked in a facility that houses survivors of the atomic bombing.

He has melted skin and can't move his mouth.

I survived while the soldiers in the camp treated me and fed me rice porridge.

"It was a boarded-up facility with no walls. I don't remember ever drinking water. I was all alone, getting thinner and thinner, and weighed about 25 kilograms. I'm not in a condition to live long. I didn't have the energy."

Mr. Ozaki was from a family of seven, including his parents, older sister, younger brother, younger sister, and grandmother.

His father was in Manchuria as an electrician when the atomic bomb was dropped.

His sister was mobilized to a nearby factory.

My younger brother went to the evacuation site to avoid the war.

The only people left at home were my mother, my sister, and my grandmother.

His mother, Itsue (37 years old), his younger sister Sachiko (8 years old), and his grandmother Masa (65 years old) are believed to have been near his home, which was about 500 meters from the hypocenter. It's been 77 years and still no contact.

“My mother was an elegant and dignified person. You want me to live longer? If there hadn't been an atomic bomb."

After my injuries healed, I repeatedly dug up the burnt-out area around my house.

Mother's clues, her sister's whereabouts, grandmother's testimony...

But nothing came out.

77 years have passed since that summer.

Even at the age of 90, I don't have anything left by the three of them, except for their regret.

“Near my house. I dug and dug. nothing"

I lost everything and had to give up on going to junior high school.

I had no choice but to work to live.

In my resume for the Japanese National Railways employment examination, I falsified my age of 13 years old to be 15 years old.

Because I could only work from the age of 15.

I was desperate to support my life with my sister and brother who were left behind.

It was the best choice a 13-year-old boy could make to live the day.

I worked many different jobs until I got married.

My marriage partner was the daughter of a plumbing company next door to the transportation company I was working for at the time.

She became close to her as she saw each other on a regular basis.

Mr. Ozaki is 20 years old.

His wife Yoko was 19 years old.

"He was short, but he was cute. He was the prettiest person in the neighborhood. People told me that I wouldn't be able to have children if I was exposed to radiation from the atomic bombing, so I had given up on getting married. Besides, I had a red mark on the left side of my face." I was miserable myself.”

Yoko didn't mention the red mark on the left side of her face when she got married.

From the age of 35, I worked at an automobile company and worked until retirement age.

However, it was a temporary employee, not a full-time employee.

The study that I couldn't do even if I wanted to, the casual daily life with the friends I lost, and the frustration of not having an academic background.

If I could go to school...

If I had a family...

If the atomic bomb hadn't been dropped...

Until now, I have swallowed many "taraba" and worked hard to raise Yoko and 7 children.

Yoko, who was with her for nearly 70 years, died three years ago at the age of 86.

“It was said that if you were exposed to the atomic bombing, your life would be short. What makes me happy is that I was blessed with children, and all of my children are healthy and live a serious life. He was a friendly person. I want to say 'thank you'."

Finished working for a company and started painting pictures of war

At the age of 65, I finished working for a company, and at the age of 77, I started drawing about that war.

I came to want to leave behind what I saw, what I experienced, what I felt, and the truth of history for future generations.

"I want everyone to know about the past. There were things like this. There were things like that. I'm not good at drawing, but it's the easiest thing to understand. I wonder if the will take advantage of it."

Mr. Ozaki has donated more than 90 paintings he made to the Atomic Bomb Museum.

Ozaki's paintings are not limited to the tragic situation of the atomic bombing.

The modest family happiness that existed at that time.

Memories of the time spent together with friends.

The nostalgic townscape of Hiroshima, where I was born.

I draw everyday life that was taken for granted as far as I can remember.

Many people with names who were alive at that time appear there.

Among them, there are many pictures of former classmates.

The class leader who was a hard worker with a strong physique.

A friend who was popular in Class 1 and was called "Pare" after Haruo's "Haru".

Happy memories of singing into the setting sun with his neighbors.

He depicts the everyday life that was going on even during the war.

"The atomic bomb didn't just take away living creatures. It took away the heart and culture of Hiroshima. It had greenery. I want people to know that it was a pleasant and beautiful city." I don't want to brag, but this is Hiroshima, which our great-grandfathers and grandfathers worked hard to build

. If you don't mind, I'd like to leave behind the fact that there was such a beautiful town.

Mr. Ozaki is determined to continue drawing that war as long as he can stand and walk.

I met Mr. Ozaki for the first time in March this year in order to be interviewed.

Since then, I have visited his home many times to hear his story.

In mid-July, in order to write this article, I visited his home to confirm something.

<Out of the 90 or more pictures you have drawn, which one is the one that you feel most strongly about?>

>

Mr. Ozaki answered instantly.

This is a picture of Itsue-san, Sachiko-san, and Masa-san.

"I don't have a single relic. I don't have any relics. I don't even have a family. I don't know where it happened. Everything was lost in the atomic bombing. I wanted to sue.No matter who I asked who was to blame, there was no one to answer.There must have been many people who suffered from the atomic bombing, but they died and I can't even sue them.This is my living testimony.This is me. It's the heaviest picture among all the pictures drawn by

77 years have passed since that summer.

The many wrinkles on Mr. Ozaki's face seemed to be filled with proof that he had worked hard since the atomic bombing.

Even now, Mr. Ozaki continues to advocate that history should never be repeated.

NHK Hiroshima Broadcasting Station Reporter

Shintaro Matsui Joined the station in

2005.

After working in the sports news department and the network news department, he covered sports and A-bomb survivors at the Hiroshima station.

On weekends, he sweats as a youth baseball coach.