Masaaki Tanabe

A child affected by war

How a 7 year old boy was affected by the bombing of Hiroshima caught
my attention, I wanted to learn more. That is why I have chosen
Masaaki Tanabe as my research topic.

I wanted to find out three things. Firstly, life for Masaaki before the
bomb. Secondly, the day the bomb hit Hiroshima and the horrific days
afterwards. Thirdly, what has become of Masaaki Tanabe. Most of my
information is from the internet, and discussions with people who have
visited Hiroshima in more recent years.

Masaaki Tanabe lived with his mother, father and younger brother. He
was a direct decedent of a samurai warrior of Hiroshima. They lived in
a luxurious house with a tiled roof, tamati-matted floors and sliding
wood and paper doors. Their house was built next to the industrial
promotional hall which the children thought was the best playground
there ever was. Masaaki rode his tricycle in the gardens, and slid down
the hand rail of the spiral staircase with his friends. Beside the hall was
a park where they loved to play hide- and- seek and catch insects and
dragonflies. Masaaki loved to jump into the river from the nearby
bridge. The children loved the summer days and the freedom they
enjoyed.

At 8:15am on the 6th August, 1945, the bomb nick named ‘Little Boy’
was dropped on the 400 year old city of Hiroshima. The bomb was
three metres in size and weighed four tones. Little boy exploded 580
metres above the city. The Uranium atom bomb created a blinding
fireball that blazed like a small sun and had a temperature of more
than a million degrees Celsius at the centre. The fireball caused a
shockwave vaporizing tens of thousands of people and animals, it
melted buildings, cars and turned the 400 year old city to dust.
Masaaki was at his grandparents home 40klm west of the city, when
he returned two days later he found his home was dest Masaaki Tanabe
lived with his mother, father and younger brother royed and his mother
and baby brother dead. His father an elite officer in the imperial army
had been on horseback at Hiroshima headquarters and had been
critically wounded. Masaaki and his father went back to the
grandparents but his father die Masaaki Tanabe lived with his mother,
father and younger brother d only 9 days later. Masaaki quotes’ usually
hell is something people only see, but I touched and smelled Hell, and I
will take it to heaven with me.’ Masaaki still finds it hard to talk about.
The days, months and years after the bomb have been a struggle for
all the children of Hiroshima. Masaaki Tanabe is one of many thousands
of children left without family, their homes and their neighborhoods.
Amazingly life continues and for Masaaki that meant living with his
grandparents. Eventually he married and had his own children, but the
memories never go away. For decades Masaaki could not return to the
industrial hall which has been renamed the A-bomb Dome. Recently he
has faced his fears and has returned to the place where his mother and
baby brother perished. If you visit Peace Park you might see his face
holding back tears amongst the crowds of tourists.
Bibliography
www.buzzle.com/editorials
www.hiroshima-is.ac/survivors
Talks with Mr. K Hill and Mrs. K Verrell by Naomi
Verrell