From:
[email protected] (Gary S. Trujillo)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,soc.culture.japan
Subject: Hiroshima Survivors' Accounts (16 of 16) [was Re: Universal Peace Day]
Date: 4 Aug 90 21:17:43 GMT
Organization: gst's 3B1 - Somerville, Massachusetts
90/07/30 11:30:49 SYSOP HIROSHIMA_WITNESS_No.5-3
Yoshito Matsushige was a 32 year old cameraman for the Chugoku
Newspaper at that time. He was at his home in Midori-cho,
2.7kilometers from the hypocenter when the A-bomb was dropped. He
walked around the city right after the bombing and took five
photographs which have become important historical documents.
Matsushige: I had finished breakfast and was getting ready to go
to the newspaper when it happened. There was a flash from the
indoor wires as if lightening had struck. I didn't hear any
sound, how shall I say, the world around me turned bright white.
And I was momentarily blinded as if a magnesium light had lit up
in front of my eyes. Immediately after that, the blast came. I
was bare from the waist up, and the blast was so intense, it felt
like hundreds of needles were stabling me all at once. The blast
grew large holes in the walls of the first and second floor. I
could barely see the room because of all the dirt. I pulled my
camera and the clothes issued by the military headquarters out
>from under the mound of the debris, and I got dressed. I thought
I would go to either either the newspaper or to the
headquarters. That was about 40 minutes after the blast. Near the
Miyuki Bridge, there was a police box. Most of the victims who
had gathered there were junior high school girls from the
Hiroshima Girls Business School and the Hiroshima Junior High
School No.1. they had been mobilized to evacuate buildings and
they were outside when the bomb fell. Having been directly
exposed to the heat rays, they were covered with blisters, the
size of balls, on their backs, their faces, their shoulders and
their arms. The blisters were starting to burst open and their
skin hung down like rugs. Some of the children even have burns on
the soles of their feet. They'd lost their shoes and run barefoot
through the burning fire. When I saw this, I thought I would take
a picture and I picked up my camera. But I couldn't push the
shutter because the sight was so pathetic. Even though I too was
a victim of the same bomb, I only had minor injuries from glass
fragments, whereas these people were dying. It was such a cruel
sight that I couldn't bring myself to press the shutter. Perhaps
I hesitated there for about 20 minutes, but I finally summoned up
the courage to take one picture. Then, I moved 4 or 5 meters
forward to take the second picture. Even today, I clearly
remember how the view finder was clouded over with my tears. I
felt that everyone was looking at me and thinking angrily,"He's
taking our picture and will bring us no help at all." Still,I had
to press the shutter, so I harden my heart and finally I took the
second shot. Those people must have thought me duly cold-hearted.
Then, I saw a burnt streetcar which had just turned the corner at
Kamiya-cho. There were passengers still in the car. I put my foot
onto the steps of the car and I looked inside. There were perhaps
15 or 16 people in front of the car. They laid dead one on top of
another. Kamiya-cho was very close to the hypocenter, about 200
meters away. The passengers had stripped them of all their
clothes. They say that when you are terrified, you tremble and
your hair stands on end. And I felt just this term when I saw
this scene. I stepped down to take a picture and I put my hand on
my camera. But I felt so sorry for these dead and naked people
whose photo would be left to posterity that I couldn't take the
shot. Also, in those days we weren't allowed to publish the
photographs of corpses in the newspapers. After that, I walked
around, I walked through the section of town which had been hit
hardest. I walked for close to three hours. But I couldn't take
even one picture of that central area. There were other cameramen
in the army shipping group and also at the newspaper as well. But
the fact that not a single one of them was able to take pictures
seems to indicate just how brutal the bombing actually was. I
don't pride myself on it, but it's a small consolation that I was
able to take at least five pictures. During the war, air-raids
took place practically every night. And after the war began,
there were many foods shortages. Those of us who experienced all
these hardships, we hope that such suffering will never be
experienced again by our children and our grandchildren. Not only
our children and grandchildren, but all future generations should
not have to go through this tragedy. That is why I want young
people to listen to our testimonies and to choose the right path,
the path which leads to peace.
This has been testimony by Mr. Yoshito Matsushige.
--
Gary S. Trujillo
[email protected]
Somerville, Massachusetts {wjh12,spdcc,ima,cdp}!gnosys!gst
