| ID Code | 3102-0030 |
|---|---|
| Artifact Name | School trousers |
| Donor | Satsuki Mikami |
| Receiving Date | 1966/08/06 |
| Size (W×H×D) (mm) | 800×550 |
| Distance from the Hypocenter(m) | 1400 |
| Number | 1 |
| Location | Tokaichi, Nakahiro areas |
| Description | “Mom, you must not cry. I knew we students could not survive such a great war… Mom, do good to other people …” He took his last breath before completing his message. School trousers Donated by Satsuki Mikami Exposed at Nakahiro-machi, 1,400m from the hypocenter Naoki Mikami, a first-year student at Municipal Junior High School, was exposed to the bomb in the schoolyard where he was attending the morning assembly. Though severely injured, he managed to reach his home, told his mother about what had happened, and passed away four hours later. From the notes of his mother Satsuki Mikami (summary) I think it was before noon. Naoki came home, gathering all his strength to say, “Mom.” He had nothing but his underpants on, and was bleeding from his shoulders and back. His hair was completely burnt. His facial skin was also hideously burnt, leaving a pitch-black lump on his nose. The skin of his hand was peeled off to the nails, hanging as long as 15 centimeters. His appearance was too dreadful to be seen twice. I took him to a first-aid station and had him treated, but all we could do was wait for his death. Naoki said, “I want to eat something.” When I fed him a big tomato, blood gushed out from his mouth. I still vividly remember the color of the blood, much redder than the tomato. Having difficulty breathing, he repeated that he wanted to go home. Exhaling distressfully, he said, “Mom, you must not cry. I knew we students could not survive such a great war… Mom, do good to other people …” He took his last breath before completing his message. We held a wake for him, though we couldn't even prepare an incense stick. I don’t know how to express what I felt the next morning―it was different from loneliness―but I still can’t forget that feeling. I lay beside him until about noon on the 8th. We cremated his body, and carefully picked up the bones the next morning. I didn’t even shed a tear at that time. I clutched the funerary urn to my breast, brought it home, wrapped it in a white cloth, and put it on the cupboard. It was that moment that my tears burst forth. I cried and cried as if all the moisture in my body had changed into tears. |