You Are There… Graphic History Series.
Historical Backdrop
By August 1945, Japan was a nation crumbling under the weight of war. Cities had been firebombed, food was rationed, and schoolchildren were drafted to clear firebreaks. Yet Hiroshima — a port city of about 350,000 people and a regional military headquarters — had been strangely spared from the heavy bombing that had flattened Tokyo and Osaka. Rumors spread that the Americans were saving Hiroshima for something special. Our subject is Akiko Tanaka, a 20-year-old bank clerk at the Hiroshima Branch of the Bank of Japan, located about 300 meters from what would become the hypocenter. She bicycles to work each day along the Ota River. On the morning of August 6, she will wake up to what she thinks is just another hot summer Monday.
August 6, 1945 — 06:30 hours — Tanaka family home, Ushita district, Hiroshima
You wake on a thin futon laid over tatami mats. Cicadas are already screaming outside. Your mother kneels at the small wooden stove, boiling barley with a few grains of rationed rice. The morning is hot. You roll up your bedding and place it in the closet. You wear your monpe — baggy work trousers — and a white cotton blouse. You eat quickly. There has been an air raid alert during the night, but the all-clear sounded hours ago.
August 6, 1945 — 07:15 hours — Streets of Ushita, bicycling toward the city center
You ride your black bicycle south along the Ota River. The river sparkles. Schoolgirls in dark blue uniforms sweep streets. Older men in civilian defense armbands trim trees. You pass long lines of women and children with rolled bedding — they are tearing down homes to make firebreaks against firebombs. You wave at a neighbor. The morning is already very hot. The sky is a deep clear blue with only a few high clouds.
August 6, 1945 — 07:31 hours — Aioi Bridge, central Hiroshima
The radio loudspeakers on the poles announce the all-clear. A single American plane was reported but has flown away. You cross the famous T-shaped Aioi Bridge. Streetcars rattle past. Soldiers in khaki march in formation across the bridge. A photographer with a box camera takes a photo of the river. The rising sun reflects blindingly off the water. You smell the river, charcoal smoke, and morning miso.
August 6, 1945 — 08:05 hours — Bank of Japan, Hiroshima Branch
