| Description |
Mobilized outside of the city at the time of the bombing, Junko Nakahara (then, 18) became worried about her mother Hatsuyo (then, 46) when she heard news of the destruction of Hiroshima. She immediately returned to the city to search for her, but the heavy fires in the area of her home blocked her return. Finally able to reach home the following day, she was overjoyed to find her mother uninjured, though the neighborhood was completely razed by fire. Hatsuyo began suffering symptoms of radiation sickness a few days later but, after hovering on the brink of death for some time, made a miraculous recovery. Junko found this paperweight of hers in the burnt remains of her house and kept it as a memento. |
