| ID Code | 3402-0011 |
|---|---|
| Artifact Name | Bag |
| Donor | Miyako Kawamoto |
| Receiving Date | 2005/04/08 |
| Size (W×H×D) (mm) | 310×140×40 |
| Distance from the Hypocenter(m) | 3500 |
| Number | 1 |
| Location | Koi, Kusatsu areas |
| Description | Miyako Kawamoto (formerly, Seki)was exposed at the Army Clothing Depot Branch in Koi. Unhurt, she walked all day to get near home in Dambara. There she reunited with her mother, Iso, who returned from her labor service project. Miyako and Iso, daily searched for her father, Kikumatsu, in the relief stations and corpse collection spots around the city. They never learned what happened to him. Iso soon came down with diarrhea and other A-bomb-related disorders, and died on October 22. This bag Miyako caried that day is the only gift Kikumatsu had given her. (from Miyako Kawamoto's account) In the year before the war ended, Japan was running out of everything. Most of the stores on Hondori were closed. One business that sold bags was only partially open. My father used his scant money to buy bags for my mother and me and handed them to us shyly. We were flustered but could hardly contain our happiness. We understood that he meant it as compensation. A long time antiwar activist, he had stayed out at night, run out of money, and burdened the family in other ways. I can't throw it away because it speaks of my father, the atomic bombing, and the Showa Period. |