| ID Code | 1201-0014 |
|---|---|
| Artifact Name | Sewing iron |
| Donor | Shigeko Yano |
| Receiving Date | 2005/04/15 |
| Size (W×H×D) (mm) | 340×40×20 |
| Distance from the Hypocenter(m) | 1800 |
| Number | 1 |
| Location | Misasa, Gion areas |
| Description | Sewing iron Shigeko Yano and her three children were exposed as they boarded a train bound for Kabe at Yokogawa Station. Though injured, they somehow made it to her family home in Toge. Shigeko's husband, Nisaburo, who was exposed and suffered a head injury at Tokaichi-machi, found his way there the next day. But Shigeko's mother-in-law, Ishi, who was exposed at home in Tenma-cho, disappeared. On the 8th, Shigeko and Nisaburo entered the city to search for her. They found her body where she had been trapped under the fallen kitchen wall and burned to death. On August 22, Nisaburo suddenly collapsed and died. The sewing iron was a treasured possession that one of her children was carrying for her that day. After the war, Shigeko continued both Japanese and western dressmaking to support her children. (from Ajisai, the self-published account written by Shigeko Yano) My mother-in-law was pinned under the fallen kitchen wall. What was left of her was about the size of a ball. ..... Our middle child began to complain that her face hurt. I made my heart inhuman and cooked my mother-in-law's flesh until it was charred. Then I painted it on the face of our child until it was black. Because my mother-in-law, no scar remains. She sacrificed her body for her granddaughter. |