The Dead Bodies Piled up in the Cistern The Black Burnt Corpse of a Woman Clinging to Her Baby
Because I was at school, I was separated from my parents at the time of the bombing. The next morning, on the 7th, I left at 7 a.m. to cross over the mountains and return to the remains of my house that had been burned down. There were hardly any human shadows to be seen on the burnt area in front of my eyes. The first time I had seen a burnt corpse was this day, when I saw them piled high within a cistern in my hometown. It was then, that I saw 40-50 U.S. soldiers on the street and witnessed this strange something that made me cringe. When I looked closer, I realized that the corpse of a woman who had been holding a baby was standing upright on one foot, looking as if she had been running!
I wonder, who exactly was this person? This atrocious vision still remains clear in my mind to this day.
- Drawing / Yasuko Yamagata (17 at the time of the bombing, 46 when she drew this picture)
Approx. 1,200 m from the hypocenter, in front of Hiroshima Central Broadcasting Station, Kaminagarekawa-cho (now, Nobori-cho)
August 7, 1945, around 8:00 a.m.
