She Was 300 Yards From the Atomic Bomb Center - and Survived | Obon | Op-Docs
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- Опубликовано: 19 июл 2023
- In collected illustrations by survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, there are two striking pieces by Akiko Takakura, who was about 300 yards from the hypocenter. One shows a woman who is so thirsty, she is trying to drink black rain. Another shows a hand emitting blue flames.
When we met Ms. Takakura in 2012, we were surprised to find that her story offered a glimmer of hope amid all the horror. At just 19 years old, surrounded by catastrophe, she experienced a kind of affection from her father that she never received before. It was a small moment of happiness during unspeakable tragedy.
We asked ourselves how she had found peace with a world that had been so cruel to her. Did the secret lie in the moment when her father washed her hands after the bombing? What does an act of love in a moment of despair mean?
We lived with the voice of Ms. Takakura for the years it took to complete the animated film above. There were many moments when we wanted to walk away from this project, to close our eyes to the horror we were illustrating. Her voice urged us forward, asking us not to forget.
The illustrations by Ms. Takakura and other survivors inspired the visual style of the film. They were predominantly created by individuals who weren’t professional artists, who presented their stories in a raw and unfiltered way. They were saying: This is what happened to us.
There are few people alive today who saw the impact of the atomic bombing with their own eyes. When they’re gone, their memories and raw emotions go with them. We were lucky to be able to capture Ms. Takakura’s story, in her own voice.
Though there are thousands of stories of Hiroshima, the experience of a single survivor reminds us that there is only one possible human response: This should never happen again.
- Text and Film by André Hörmann and Anna Samo / www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/op...
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It is dangerous to have this generation leave us. They hold memories we don’t, memories that can stop us from failing again.
We can listen
@@alanwelsh1990it's a waste of energy going back/forth with someone who suggests civilians got what they deserved. you cannot correct a person who is lacking
@@alanwelsh1990 Look, we had a Republican in office at the time. We're doing our best to keep that from ever happening again.
@@alanwelsh1990 If you can't tell the difference between Biden Administration and bombing Hiroshima you shouldn't be allowed to vote
@@alanwelsh1990 see my previous response
the way it went from
"she said I'd live to 80"
to
" but she was already all limp"
sent a chill down my spine
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
― Ernest Hemingway
Japan would love it if we all just forgot about what they were doing during WW2.
@@mikey2toes966 The USA would love it if we all forgot what they did to the native Americans, and the African slaves, and the Japanese, and Koreans, and Vietnamese, and Iraqis, and "banana republics," and Cuba, and Chile, and Iran, and...
@@aluisious do you even live in America? Our favorite pastime every thanksgiving is to have that one relative or news story that is constantly reminded us about it. I believe ring wingers call that “woke” sometimes.
Shinzo Abe refused to even acknowledge it happened. Saying future generations shouldn’t have to apologize for the sins of a previous generations.
@@aluisious you should look up The Raping of Nanjing. What the Japanese did there was horrific. It is often referred to as the silent Holocaust cause the Japanese government refuses to acknowledge it happened. Even though there are photos and eye witnesses. Japan 100 years ago wasn’t the land of anime it is today.
@@mikey2toes966 Yeah, the live bayonet practice, the disecting while pilot is awake and aware, the eating of pilots livers, the head chopping, the starvation marches, the daily humiliation and abuse with torture, the raping of comfort women. Those zips got what they deserved.
Innocent civilians caught up in a nuclear blast is one of the most saddest things, and I pray nuclear weapons or anything as inhumane never be used again.
So, all of the soldiers at the time were guilty? Look, soldiers do NOT voluntarily involve in the war, they are forced to participate to the war. Thus, vast majority of them were innocent too.
@@mahmudraufozdol706 sadly so. Even today a large amount of russian conscripts did NOT volunteer for their war. WW2 would've lasted long and even more people would've been killed. It's a sad reality that an evil must be labelled necessary to prevent further evils from occuring.
@@mahmudraufozdol706 Forced by whom?
You're saying that now but I believe they are really necessary, they act as a deterrent for war. Can you imagine if the nuclear bombs were never developed how many more wars would have been fought how long those wars would have been. Of course the fear of nuclear annihilation always looms over our head but I'd rather us be safe than sorry.
@@Last_EnvelopeDoubt it, even if the command was given it wouldnt be followed
Focusing this story on the way the near-death changed her relationship with her father made this a million times more emotional than any mention of medical complications. This was harrowing and bitter sweet and felt so personal. Made me cry.
It feels as if loads of people sometimes take other people's existence for granted until they lose them forever.
It's amazing what seeing the people you love in danger can do to tough men. My dad was a career military man, and never showed much emotional at all. I went through a major depressive episode, and when I told him I wanted to die it was the first and last time of my life I have ever seen that man cry. His face contorted and a tear ran down his cheek and he begged me to stay. It's honestly one of very few reasons I didn't do it. You don't realize how deeply people can love you despite their stoicism, and I just couldn't leave him after learning that.
@@olivia1911 I hope u are better now
@@user-uz1xg1jp1m thank you, that's really touching to say. I'm feeling a lot better. It always gets better if you stick through it, even if it feels like a long time.
One brief statement… “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem “.
absolutely chilling. she was just having a normal day with her friend when her life suddenly changed forever without any warning. nobody expected it, and nobody deserved it. we can never let anything like this happen again
i think that was her sister...
@@xiaria usually if you are in good relations with your sibling it's just a good friend you talk to a lot except from the same mother 😭
It'll just repeat, unfortunately. Different weapons, different people. I know someone whose life was ruined when her husband and brother died in the Twin Towers, something they never deserved. I am waiting for Russia or Ukraine to take a large enough hit that the world will see as a new low. I don't want it to happen, but I have had a terrible feeling in my gut.
@@hummingbirdcake1902 "Take a large enough hit?" What makes you think it will happen to other people? It could be the United States, it could happen tomorrow. It could be you. It could be me.
@aluisious Seriously. Dude acting like Ukraine is the only one at risk
I wish my Grandma could be here right now to add her voice as this becomes more widely covered. She was 10 years old living in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. Despite all the horror she saw, she always held firm to the belief that regular people hold much more in common than they're led to believe- and never held a grudge against America, or Americans. She was a Hiroshima survivor, although ultimately a victim, and just wanted people to live happy and healthy lives.
I was young when she passed from a rare form of cancer, but I'll always remember how important keeping her family fed and happy was to her worldview. She saw the worst humanity could do, and came out with those beliefs, which certainly says something about their virute, and her strength of character. I miss her
Thank you for sharing
I'm glad she died naturally and not from atomic bomb. It makes me sick how these americans in comments say things like "it's deserved" or "they attacked us first"...
@@markofabecic6824 They mean to say their grandma didn't die naturally, but from cancer likely influenced by the effects of being in the radioactive environment left behind after the bombs. A lot of hiroshima survivors grew to old age before developing rare forms of untreatable cancer.
@@ambz-yb6zy Sorry I didn't make it more clearly. I meant to say she didn't die from explosion and heat
Please accept my deepest condolences.
It's easy to think no one can survive something like that, it's horrifying to realize that they do
Actually, there's no possible way she should have survived that explosion. She should have been vaporized. This story is a lie
So wonderfully written.
@@emmanuelmathews1718 A wonderful ruse maybe
@@debeb5148 definitely not ruse that people survive with their skin burnt off. Which is the most terrifying part
I think the way it works has to do with how air from the blast wave circulates in a building. There are zones where the air moves super fast, deadly fast, and there are other zones where the air is moving at a survivable, even gentle, speed.
My great grandmother survived WW2 living in Japan. She died last year in her 90s and never talked about her experiences.
Wow, I am glad she had a long life and family that cared for her. Hope you all healing.
My grandmother survived the Tokyo fire bombings, mentioned it once, never said anything else about it. She passed away a few years ago. As an adult I have so many questions but I feel if I had ever asked about it, she probably wouldn’t have said anything more
did she also tell you about the atrocities of the japanese army to southeast asians and its east asian neighbors as well?
@@lenaramoon4617 what an insensitive question. She clearly stated her grandmum did not talk about this. I hope people understood there is never winners on wars. Only loosers. We just loose our humanity
@@lenaramoon4617 The behavior of the japanese military,, relative to prisoners of war and non-combatants..particularly in China and Korea..had galvanized 1940's American's into holding the entire japanese race accountable...an attitude that started in small town America,, and went all the way to The White House..That exposed mainland Japan to hysterical danger..And once the bomb was operational,, Truman had a simple mindset...They surrender,, or they wouldn't walk this earth.
"War doesn't determine who's right, only who's left."
TAWOG references?
i cant even imagine being a 20 yr old happy go lucky gossiping with my best friend
and then EVERYTHING just gone so fast?
and seeing so many bodies of families and people burning up standing like that?
it would break me
even worse having my poor best friend die in my arms hours later...
i cant even wrap my head around any of that
I swear i had very bad nightmares after see this and i'm 18. Despite being an animation, captures very well the horror that day in hiroshima. That back of fire and destruction, streets and rivers filled with burning corpses, people literally melting alive with their skins and muscles looking like hot candles, families and people of all ages walking but melting without eyes... i can't imagine all of that in real life. I don't fear nothing more than a nuclear weapon, i would be probably crying like a child if i see one of that devil machine in front of me no matter if in my culture men must be strong and fearless.
@@octaviogutierrez9158 absolutely... this animation deserves many awards
Now imagine the koreans and chinese who died at the hands of imperial japan.... They were an evil force and they needed to be stopped. They supported hitlers efforts in destroying jews.
when her dad got mad at her in at first when she got her hands dirty, but after the bomb dropped he went to helping her clean her hands. that made me cry
This reminds me of Grave of Fireflies (火垂るの墓), an anime movie from 1988.
Wars do not have winners, only survivors.
I watched that movie over 20 years ago. To this day I can’t bring myself to watch even a clip of it. Too devastating.
However I do recall the little tin of candy the sister loved. I’m lucky to live in a city with an Asian market that sells those same Japanese candies. I adore and savior them and think of those lost on both sides when buying a new tin.
Wars do have winners. Part of preventing wars is understanding why wars happen, and wars happen because nations stand to gain from them. The Axis powers fought WW2 because they wanted more power, wealth, and territory.
@@kevinmathewson4272 All a matter of subjective opinion I suppose
@@arfyego0682It's actually not subjective at all. Power and money are the spoils of war and why they send folks like you to die. If you think it's anything else, even better for them that their meat shields are dumb
You should read the book The Raping of Nanjing. Japanese people would just love it if we all just forgot about what they did there. Far worst than the Atom bomb.
This was so beautiful, haunting, and important. Thank you to everyone involved for making this
This was beautiful, If you are westerner
@@cilgin-oyuncu I think they mean the story. Not the actual bombing being beautiful
@mitaka_78 Doesn't matter dude.
9,11 is also a beautiful day.
all of you are horrible people
Akiko Takakura’s remarkable survival and this presentation should be shared with our younger and future generations. This is how we might have a chance to stop another horrific event like this in humankind…
She also reminds us that in today’s society we might pass this stoic woman on the streets without ever knowing her story. We pass many senior citizens everyday and maybe rarely stop to think what remarkable life experiences they’ve seen over their lives.
It’s poignant how that fateful day in Hiroshima bought a father and daughter together, perhaps something good that came of something so bad…🕊️
Unfortunately, I don't think horror stops people from committing horror. Atrocities are justified by their perpetrators as being necessary to prevent greater suffering -- as was the case with the American narrative justifying the very use of the bomb, regardless of its own horrors. Something else must stop it. Only something outside our sensibilities.
My father used to show me the tragic pictures of victims in Hiroshima every summer in my childhood, which kinda traumatized me in that time, but now I appreciate it as a part ofimportant education. We only learn what we see... it's not about who was wrong during the war but about what we can do for the future generations.
We have a town killing bomb for them too in the future, dw. They'll get their share of destruction too
Not a factory, not an airfield, but a nuclear attack on a major city downtown. No one should be able to justify it without feeling guilty for a moment.
You do understand the city was full of industrial complexes, right? You also do understand that the regular war would've brought much more suffering and deaths? Saying that this was a mistake is a mistake itself.
It was a military post. Why do you think they didn’t bomb Tokyo?
The damage and horrors of the bombs needed to be displayed some how if it wasn’t used here eventually it would be used in a another city to display how brutal the bomb was this was needed for the world to be scared enough to fear the nuclear bomb
@@mr.frogster4398it really didnt. they were poised to win anyway. the bomb was a flex. absolutely unnecessary. we have to be honest about Truman and that decision.
@@marinebymistake there is an argument to be made that the war was already over. Japan's allies were lost or losing and it would only be a matter of time before Japan would surrender. Deliberately killing civilians is now a war crime and if the tables were turned, would you give up the fight if one of your cities was bombed?
This woman is a queen. She endured so much and was still able to find forgiveness in her heart. We need our elders to remind us of mistakes so the same ones don't get made.
You endured a lie and believed it
Yasss queen girl bossin'
Mistake? No the bombs weren’t a mistake , this ended the war that would have caused more deaths
@@Tylerf962 The war and what led to it was.
@@Tylerf962let’s not pretend these were soldiers these were the lives of innocent civilians. Thats what really ended the war. People were the targets.
Her description of the people dying in agony with the sound and smell, she still remembers 😭
Incredibly profound and beautifully done. And so topical, with the release of the Oppenheimer film. Thank you for creating this small, beautiful, heartbreaking masterpiece.🙏🏻💚💛
Interesting that you mention the Oppenheimer film. While the rest of world can see the movie, it hasn't been released here in Japan. I've lived here for 21 years. The only thing the Japanese know of WW2 are the atomic bombs and that they were victims. The people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki definitely were victims, but Japan even today refuses to recognize the harm and damage that they did to other Asian countries during the war. They don't even remember the fire bombings of all the major cities, only these two bombs. Interesting the legacy that this has left, and hopefully avoided any repeat of this scenario.....until mankind forgets and repeats history somewhere else.
@@rabbit251 Really appreciate your comment. As a second generation Chinese immigrant in the UK, I know all too well the horrors dispelled on the Chinese and South-East Asian community by Japan during their expansionist period and the pre- and during WW2 scene. I long to visit Japan one day, but the enmity between our two nations and our people has always held me back, especially when you hear about how often Japan attempts to deny its own war crimes and what they did. I presume it's partially due to the honour culture of the society and not wanting to admit what they did was wrong? Now most of the comfort women are gone...but still, I would like to visit one day. Violence of any kind is wrong.
i went to the hiroshima war memorial. there was so much suffering. it was an atomic bomb that caused black rain. all the people who survived had internal bleeding and wounds that didnt heal well. only at the end of the exhibit were there a few survivors who were able to marry and have children. many could not. there were recorded stories at the end of the exhibit that were translated. every recording of a survivor is so important. thank you for this story. we must not look away at war and atrocities that scar the lives of so many forever. she is a strong and rare survivor. wow. may she live the rest of her days in peace.
I can't remember the last time a short film impacted me this deeply. I watched it yesterday and all day I was seeing those dancing devil eyes. With so many mixed emotions attached, I can only imagine how challenging this was to complete. Bravo.
Watching this short movie while having lived in Hiroshima for the past 4 months really hits different. For some reason, I always try to avoid going to the Dome of the explosion when I visit the city center. Let me tell you that seeing this monument and walking in the Peace Memorial Park is always something I found highly disturbing. Each time I go there I always feel so incredibly sad. It’s like each time I go past it, the atmosphere feels really heavy. The museum also was really an experience like no other. It’s the only time I saw so many people silent or just straight up crying during an exposition (myself included ngl).
But yeah, Hiroshima is an interesting city for sure. When you see how the city has been rebuilt and the awesome nature close to it, it’s very easy to forget its troubled past. I think most people from the city don’t mention it that much, they’re really humble in their “duty of memory” usually which I find fascinating. For us Westerners, Hiroshima has a bad connotation in spite of herself. For people from the city, it’s just a normal city, and maybe it’s better that way.
Why did they name it Peace Memorial Park”?
It took nearly losing her for Akiko's father to realize the way he had been treating her was the wrong way to show he cared. It's sad that it took a bomb to make such a change even if for one brief moment in time.
Stories like this are why we need to look beyond the historical facts of what happened and instead use them as way to enter into the human stories behind the facts, not just accept the facts as the whole truth.
The Japanese people (mostly just their soldiers) did a lot of wrong in WWII, but they were human beings. I don't want to forget that and turn them black & white.
Rapists are human beings too, but they're openly dehumanized (and rightly so). Being a human being is no justification. Your human status can, and will be ripped from you if you are deplorable enough. It is not a status deserving to animals.
Nazis, murderers, racists, terrorists, they're all human beings too. Doesn't make them right
As the grandson of a survivor of the bomb, and first american born of my family, this has moved me to tears in such a strong manner. I grew up hearing about both sides of the conflict, from both my ojichan and my dad, as well as friends and their grandparents who were veterans of the Pacific theatre. My takeaway is always that, whenever you create a weapon of war, your creation is not only for the immediate enemy and need, but also for anyone that might come in the future, thus, war is nothing more than a cycle that demonstrates how foolish and blinded by hubris our race truly is. As Plato once said, the only one's to see the end of war are the dead.
The hand-drawn animation was so beautiful. I just saw Oppenheimer this past weekend, and while I don't think the film lionized its subject, it is still incredibly important to remind ourselves of the human cost of his invention.
There is a scene in that film in which an American war council meets to decide which cities to bomb, and the Secretary of War crosses Kyoto off the list because of "cultural significance to the Japanese people" and also simply because he and his wife happened to honeymoon there. It was so chilling - as if he was choosing a place to go on vacation, rather than a place to wipe off the map. The Japanese people were close to surrendering anyway, before the bombings. There was truly no need, and it is a stain on American history that our government did this to innocent people.
"The Japanese people were close to surrendering anyway". From what I understand, Japanese would go to the last man alive rather than surrendering. It took them not one fkin nuke, but TWO to actually surrender. They would never do it in normal circumstances.
It's hard to tell what was needed or necessary, even with hindsight, as firebombing in tokyo and osaka had already killed more civilians than the atomic bombs did. by that point the major industrial centers had been worn down, and by the reports of what was happening in the atolls and south east asia, sending troops onto any of the main islands might have ended up like a Vietnam village-by-village massacre. From the start of the meiji restoration and through past that time, the history of the region is fascinating as it is brutal
@@amyckan wasn't improvised, it's word for word from a transcript of that real conversation
Keep in mind that Truman and the administration knew that if the bomb wasn't used and Japan refused to surrender, a brutal land battle would have ensued with many fatalities - the families of these victims and public sentiment would have gone terribly against them when they ultimately found out that we actually had a weapon capable of ending the war prior to the land invasion. Another factor is that Russia was getting closer to seizing control of the region and the US wanted to have Japan surrender to us and not them. Yes, they considered to instead do a demonstration bombing but that option was ruled out for several factors. I do wish the bombs had never been used on cities and they could have instead found another way of bringing the war to an end.
What human cost? Money is the real king.
These women experienced something they never should have. I cried as a woman and just seeing their experiences as so pure before hand just is so difficult. Sending so much love
You should cry as a woman when you find out all the atrocities the Imperial Japan did. Rapes in East and Southeast asia, mutilation, etc. They had the bomb coming and they deserved it
Not you acting like men weren’t in the blast 💀
@@Noifsnobutsnococonuts-rj4kkthey never said that…
@@Noifsnobutsnococonuts-rj4kkperson A: “I like potatoes.” Person B: “So you hate tomatoes!?”
You are the reason why this world is the way it is. @@Noifsnobutsnococonuts-rj4kk
I'm glad that with each year passing, this despicable act is marked more and more as the war crime it was.
My grandma grew up in Kyushu during WW2 it’s between Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
She passed away last year at 91yrs old and she still never talked about her experiences or life in Japan.
I can only imagine 💔 not only were survivors ostracized but also the trauma of surviving something like this must be horrible.
Everyone in the United States who so flippantly tells us, this was ‘necessary’, needs to understand the horrors we inflicted upon innocent Japanese people, that still haunt them to this day. This is a call for every country to close its nuclear weapons program and commit to peace.
And when you actually research it, there is no real diplomatic justification in the first place. The emporer wanted to surrender as long as he was guaranteed protection, America said no because we wanted an unconditional surrender, we dropped 2 of these, then we accepted Japan's same conditions. They nukes didn't change anything.
The US have committed a lot of sins.What about Iraq?And the fact that a lot of Us citizens justify this makes me sick and want to puke.Fact remains that this will happen again and there's no stopping sadist American leaders from inflicting more and more damage in the name of excurting oil and resources.Most civilians are empathetic but not all leaders and militarians are and I strongly sympathize with the victims.Being an Indian,the unjust behaviour of the British during imperial rule makes me sympathize even more though I don't support what the Axis powers did either.
I do agree that Japanese actions against the Allied powers , including Pearl Harbor, and many Southeast Asian countries aren't justified either.
You can thank nuclear weapons for the reason you and I exist in the longest and most peaceful period in history. The disarmament of nuclear weapons would be in direct contradiction to the 'commitment to peace" you call for...
War sucks for everyone. The Japanese had to face the horrors of the atom bomb, true. Meanwhile the citizens of Nanjing, Korea and most of South East Asia had to face the horrors the Japanese inflicted on them.
Please don't make it about "the poor Japanese citizens 🥺". Citizens of every nation involved in a war suffer, that's a given.
There's no justification for the use of the atomic bomb on Japan. However, surely you must realise that if not during World War II, the bomb would've been built eventually anyway? (And undoubtedly used).
@@cartozzzTV Remember, two wrongs never made a right. Just because one side decided to engage in war crimes doesn't mean the other is justified in doing so either. All are guilty. And although the citizens of the rest of Asia would not mind so much about the bombs, but must remember that it is citizens who are suffering from the bomb and not those who inflicted the war crimes in the first place. Surely you believe the firebombing campaign on Japan is also unjustified right?
It is always innocent civilians who has to pay the price of a war 🙏
I saw Oppenheimer recently and came to a few conclusions: 1) The bomb was dropped on people who were neither fighting or lived in a war zone, 2) The Nazis escaped the bomb, and 3) World War 2 is even more horrific because of what happened to civilians, not just soldiers.
Yes that last fact is often overlooked. There were far more civilian casualties during WW2 than military ones. It is projected that 60-67% of WW2 dead were that of civilians
I think the people of Nanjing would look that the Atom bomb as karma for what the Japanese did there.
@@mikey2toes966yes, that's how a complete story matters
Why aren’t you holding to the Japanese to the same standard as the Germans?
@@mikey2toes966Right, 99% of people in these comments choose to be willfully ignorant to that atrocity.
So utterly heartbreaking
No matter what you think of the building the bomb in general, we can all agree that dropping the bomb was an unspeakable crime against a humanity
The bombs*
No we can't. Continuing the regular war would've brought much more suffering and deaths. Would you rather see your brother/father/husband go to Japan and die there instead of using these bombs? I don't think so.
Without consequences for those responsible and their acquaintances
@@marinebymistake They could have dropped the bomb on Tokyo harbor killing far less people and showing their power
@@persoro4015Japan still didn’t surrender after the first bomb killed thousands. Dropping it into the harbor would’ve achieved exactly zero.
Wow. War should be avoided at all cost for the benefit of the living as well as for the dead.
Our track record would give us some pause,1 out of 50 wars we learn a bit about human condition👋
I can't imagine the horror of living through this and having this haunt you for the rest of your life
I’ve seen so many people online be so apathetic to bombing and say such disgusting things I wish they’d all watch this it’s so terrifying but so SO insightful
They're all millennials trying to be "edgy."
its the same reason the nazis found camps easy - because you put people in a room and don't look as you gas them - you drop a bomb on civilians and avert yours eyes. its the way weapons of war allow humans to pretend they aren't complicit in violence.
I feel like they’re either 8 yr olds or maladjusted adults with mental issues. Don’t let them get to you.
This video and story isn't even real. Don't know what you're trying to prove. If you think someone could really survive a nuke that close, you're sad
@@Shewas-kathybates Maladjusted adults with mental issues? Better not support the trans ideology lol
I went to the museum of this and everyone was crying there
The depiction of dread and people in this animation is amazing, shows how terrifying the nuclear bomb was.
This truly shows the horror of war. The necessary bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was an avoidable tragedy that would never have happened if not for the choices of the Japanese military leadership to continue fighting to the last man.
your right
War? You mean the american mentality, right?
White Light. BlackRain is a great film/documentary. Shows what the survivors suffered. The girl killing herself in front of a train was very upsetting. “Living is hard but surviving is sometimes even harder.” Something like that. It was quite profound.
I'm speechless! This is so touching, so sad, so hard and yet so thought provoking to watch. I hope human kind never go to that kind horror again! May all them that persished rest in peace!
I really loved this short film, its animation is beautiful but so haunting, it feels like been there on that day.
It made me cry, to just think the horrors she saw that day
This deserves an Oscar
I’d be remiss if this doesn’t win.
i started crying watching this.....this is hauntingly beautiful and important..we must remember the casualties of war s in the past and make sure we dont repeat this again..I hope all these people who passed away are happy wherever they are....
Beautiful animation. Placed me in the seat of absolute empathy for those in history we often see as just collateral - I hate to admit that, but that just is the case for those who have never lived this experience.
Wow. This is so powerful. So disturbing. Seeing from a survivor's pov and in the way it was presented..
This hit me so much harder than I was expecting. Beautiful work by everyone involved
if you were caught in the fire ball you'd be vaporised and lucky. but if you weren't killed instantly you either drown, burn, suffocate or bleed to death if not develop cancer from the fall out and radiation poisoning, the fact shes still alive is both fate and traumatising... seeing all the bodies dead or dying and being one of the survivors would take a toll, this isn't even mentioning the mental toll and self harm and addictions as well as suicides committed by those who survived... "in war there's no winners, only the victims that survived are left to be eternally traumatised"
I was gonna say that this isn't real, but go ahead and think that lmfao
The mother of my husband’s best friend was at the train station near ground zero, and she too survived. She is still with us, and we cherish her.
Wishing you all the best!
Very touching! I was watching it during breakfast and could hardly swallow at times. I wish people learn from history, sadly they don’t.
75 yrs old now,observation is mostly correct...we seem like we're headed towards...☮️
The U.S has done so much harm to the world. As a Latin American girl, the consequences of what they did to our countries through the Condor Operation is still felt today. We're still looking for the missing men, women, and children in Argentina, Chile, Peru, etc. Surprisingly enough, I have never seen any english speaking media talk about it.
It'd be the same if you were in charge lol
The animation in this was incredible, truly kudos to those who worked on this.
I’m speechless. This was incredibly done.
if anyone wants to know the music that played in the radio and at the end its called "yume wa mijikashi" by yayoi tanaka.
THANK. YOU. ❤❤❤
Intresting, thanks
As a Japanese I thank all of you, NY times, the excellent creators, for enabling to share this together... FYI, let me cordially add some notes; 1) Obon is the time when our ancestors are said to come back home to join us during mid Aug each year. 3:09 shows an eggplant with 4 pieces of sticks in it as a cow, on which ancestors ride and go slowly back to their world (while we also prepare a cucumber with sticks as a horse, wishing they can come quick to us riding on it), 2) 8:57 These figures remind me of 鬼火 "Demon Fire" quite literally here, and 3) 10:08 black rain after nuclear bomb was highly radioactive, affecting even the survivors ...
Extraordinary and deeply moving piece. Thank you.
this was so horrifying, but also beautifully illustrated. thank you for sharing.
Thank you NYT for making this. We must never forget this.
This hurts me to the core. A cousin of my mother's was in the plane that followed the one that dropped the bomb. I was born years later on August 6. Ironic. That has made my feeling of inner guilt even worse.
Those bombs free my country of japs occupation. You should be proud instead of feeling guilty.
i’m sorry for you ❤
Beautiful and terrifying. Her story is immaculately captured. Nuclear weapons are a scourge upon humanity and should all be destroyed.
Haunting story. Thank you for telling and showing.
Absolutely breathtaking. Thank you.
Thank you for telling her story.
Life is beautiful but humans always find ways to destroy that beauty.
Even through horror and tragedy, many survivors, just like Akiko, found forgiveness and learned how to forgive those who caused their pain.
Let this presentation be a haunting reminder for the present and future generations. The past and those who carry those memories of the past should never be forgotten.
Impeccably narrated and animated!
Incredible form and pace of story telling, thank you for sharing...
🥺🙏🏾 the trauma they must've endured I'm sorry poor spirits
Tell that to the victims of the South Pacific that they enslaved and murdered wholesale just like the Nazi.
@@alanwelsh1990civilians are not responsible for actions of their country.
@@n6rt9sthe civilians and the soldiers were all incredibly loyal to their country. The soldiers were committing unspeakable acts on the daily while their family’s back home are consumed by the propaganda
@@alanwelsh1990Even so, no one deserved to die like that. Sure, you could say that the bombing was necessary, but it is still extremely tragic how so many people died.
@@alanwelsh1990the random ordinary people didn’t deserve it? You wouldn’t drop a bomb on the Chicago suburbs after a dude from there shot someone. Civilians shouldn’t’ve been brought into any war.
My grandmother survived the WW2 in Korea. She saw all the horror that Japanese soldiers brought to her home in her lifetime. I’m saying this to remind what was happening around Japan, that it wasn’t just Japanese people who suffered during this period. Yes, it was no doubt a horrible act to drop nuclear bombs in Japan but Japanese government is to blame for killing millions of people all around Asia before this happened. Colonising Asia clearly wasn’t enough for them and the civilians ultimately paid the hefty price.
100%. Unfortunatly the bombs we used against the civilians in japan had no affect on bringing in end to japan's atrocities. Japan's was trying to get the Soviet Union to mediate negotiations with the US, with their main priority with surrendering was keeping the emporer alive, but they also wanted try to keep the emperial government and stuff like that. In an earlier draft of the Potsdam Declaration, the emporer's safety was garaunteed, but ths was edited out last minute. After the nukes, Japan asked to keep the emporer as a condition to their surrender, and the US accepted.
There’s no justice in dropping bombs on people who never got to decide on anything about the war. In all sides of the war, ordinary people were made to pay when the elite few should have.
This is very overlooked, nobody talks about it
Europeans were as bad as the Japanese, but the Western media and classes made sure to minimize the horros of colonalism in Asia. While amplified the Japanese ones
yeah. my late great-grandparents used to witness all the horror Japanese soldiers did in our country as well. I wasn't 'lucky' enough to hear it directly from them because they passed away before I was born. I heard this from my mom. it's the then Japanese govt's fault that their civilians must 'pay for the price'..
This should have won best animated short in academy awards
Beautifully done. I don't remember the last time I cried. This made me cry.
Tender story. Thank you for this!
They should show this to High School children, ensuring that the message of the atrocity is gotten across, no one should have to be subjected to that!!! If only we spent and invested as much on the worlds welfare!!! 😢😢😢
This was incredibly insightful, horrifying, and touching all at once. Very good 👍
Thank u to the team that finished this project and published it here.
This was incredibly well made. Kudos to André Hörmann and Anna Samo, and everyone else who worked on this. I also want to especially thank Christoph de la Chevallerie for that haunting and immersive sound design.
My god the animation and storytelling for this was... Haunting.
I have never seen ONE eye-witness-story like this were they reflect on what THEY had done to deserve such a punishment from the skies(!) And THAT is the worst thing about this tragedy!
You are a miracle. Thank you for sharing your story.
The animation and narrative is great, for a sad sad subject like this, really helped, thanks.
God bless this woman and her outstanding courage. I wish humans didn’t start wars.
Truly, there are no words. I felt her story in my body and heart.
the way this shows C-PTSD so simply
Thank you for this.
this was so heartbreakingly powerful
When i saw the thumbnail i knew the artstyle was based on the illustrations portraying victims of the nuclear bombings. Nobody should ever survive a nuclear blast, especially the bombs we have to this day. Being in the radius of those bombs mean certain agonizing prolonged death, and its even worse if something from your body melts-off, most likely your skin
This was extremely powerful. I have no words at this moment. 🙏
Thankyou for sharing this
There was absolutely no reason for us to have done this to another group of people. No one deserved to suffer like this. Akiko-san, we will do well to remember your family, your friends, and you so that this never happens again.
Eek. It's extremely tragic. But I think you should probably have a good hard look at the difficult history before making such blanket statements
@@ems4884nothing justifies this horror, NOTHING. you should really think about it, because you could be an accomplice of future horrors, just being a part of a mass who thinks something like this is necessary
@@ems4884 japan said they wanted to surrender but only when the emporer's saftey was gauranteed, we ignored them and nuked 2 civilian cities, then we accepted their CONDITIONAL surrender afterwards. On top of that, murdering the subjects of an evil regime has proven to not have any affect on ending that regime's wars, because they usually dont really care about their people if they are conscripting them into combat.
@@user-pn3mw7rx1s That wasn't their only condition for surrender. They wanted to keep the Emperor as the supreme figure head, to keep the government the way it is, and for war criminals to be indicted. These were the additional conditions for surrender, but doing so would be a huge injustice to the millions who perished at the hands of Japan. That being said, I don't think the bombs were necessary to secure an unconditional surrender. The Allies could have placed a large blockade around Japan to accomplish our goal, but there were more motivations behind the use of nuclear bombs especially because of the US's soon-to-be-enemy Soviet Union.
@@rithvikmuthyalapati9754 those were things they wanted but they were actively trying to negotiate, with the emporer's safety being the highest priority and the thing they wouldnt back down from
"War demands sacrifice of the people. It gives only suffering in return." -Frederic C. Howe
You also can't stop war
This was extraordinarily moving.
Beautiful....thank you....
This is very scary.... Pray for world peace
This is a story that is essential to tell.
the story is mortifying but the animation is just incredible, I could watch a whole series made with this style
That animation art style is amazing
Pure art. I wish I could meet you and hug you dear Akiko. You are strong and your story gives me a will to live. I wish no one had to suffer like this.
This is so horrifying and sad at the same time 😔
Devastating. Best wishes to Ms. Takakura
this animation is actually a masterpiece