Tokyo 10-year-old boy tells stories of atomic bomb survivors

NHK

2 days ago

A 10-year-old boy from Tokyo is among the people who are telling the stories of atomic bomb survivors in Japan.
Fifth-grade elementary school student Hosoi Soshi is the youngest person to have passed a screening for the role of talking about the suffering of hibakusha, as such survivors are called. He is a volunteer for a non-governmental association dedicated to promoting peace.
Hosoi has been hearing the experiences of a Nagasaki bomb survivor, 83-year-old Mitamura Shizuko. On Monday, he visited Nagasaki and watched Mitamura's picture-story show about the bombing and her life afterwards. He said he wanted to study her manner of speaking to help him with his own storytelling.
Hosoi was accompanied by his 14-year-old sister Sanae. She took videos of the presentation to draw inspiration for her illustrations to be shown during her brother's narrative.
Hosoi said people telling these stories are becoming scarce 80 years after the bombings, so it is important that the baton is passed on to the next generation. He said he wants to improve his storytelling to convey the foolishness and tragedy of atomic bombing to many people.
Mitamura said she is very impressed with his effort. She said she wants him to not work too hard from the start, and to try and convey the message of peace in his own way.