Impressions of the pupils on "The Terao memoir" 3
- The sixth grade pupils of Atta village-run Mourai elementary school in Hokkaido Island-
Yuuta Hasegawa
Dear Terao, you told me your hard account of A-bomb that you had wanted to erase from your memory. Thank you very much indeed. I hadn't know well about A-bomb, but I have now realized that the bomb was terrible enough to kill so many people. I have also learned that many people are still suffering from the aftereffects of the Bomb. I would like stand by you to shout out "War is never nice-looking as you may read in a comic. Never repeat such a thing!"
Mayumi Kobayashi
I was really shocked by reading what Mr. Terao wrote. I have learned for the first time that the shock wave of the blast had crashed the base of the second floor down.
What I knew on A-bomb was very limited: they were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, blasting up the mushroom clouds high in the sky. I have realized, however, the terror of A-bomb by reading the Terao Memoir.
I will feel terrible if an A-bomb is dropped on us here in Hokkaido Island.
Masashi Watanabe
Mr. Terao, as you wrote on a homepage what you didn't want to recall, I can understand much better than before the terror of A-bomb and war. Your Memoir made me believe firmly that I will create much more peaceful Japan from now on. I have learned that Mr. I think Terao wrote the record because he wanted whole nation to understand what an A-bomb was. I will never forget the Terao Memoir.
Hideaki Yaginuma
Mr. Terao's homepage taught me very much, what happened on August 6th and 9th in particular. For example, you made me imagine the moment of the blast. Mr. Terao, thank you very much. I will make the best use of the information in my learning.
Tetsuo Shibata
As you described in the Record, your school was wiped away except a part of the library and an experiment building in the back. This is because the war was so fierce, right? Your account was written in three parts, I guess this also means the intensity of the war. Hiroshima and Nagasaki under attack of A-bombs, and Okinawa on which American Forces landed were really miserable places, weren't they?
Keita Umemori
You were brave enough, because you had been commuting to Enami shipyard taking an hour every day by boat. This means you were exposed to the danger of air raid by American carrier-borne warplanes or possible hitting to mines. I felt terrible that only a blast crushed the second floor. What big the power of an A-bomb was!
Risa Ohmura
Mr. Terao wrote so much about A-bomb that he wanted to erase from his memory. It was very useful in my learning. I have had strong impressions by reading it.
On August 6, an A-bomb was dropped and released a strong flash. It could have been a strange and dreadful sense for you. I can easily understand your fear when you dashed under a table. If I were there, I would have also felt so terrible. I could understand that the crashed pieces of window grass suggested the intensity of the blast.
I live in Japan, but I hate old Japanese army because they did exclusively bad actions. I feel war shouldn't take place again and I will never take part in it.
Mr. Terao, you fully came into my heart. Thank you for your courage to publish the record of A-bomb on the web.
Kaori Osanai
I read the Terao Memoir, a personal record of Hiroshima A-bomb survival. Your description was so realistic to express the vivid scenes of corpses and injured people.
I think Mr. Terao was brave. Decades have passed since the tragedy. It is a great thing that Mr. Terao ventured to speak out what he couldn't do so before.
MrI don't know much about the war or A-bomb, but I think the Record is a treasure for future.
Mr.Maeda(schoolmaster),Ms.Shiomi and eight puples
Maria Shiomi
I am a teacher in charge of the sixth grade of Mourai elementary school run by Atta village.
Our Mourai elementary school is located in Atta village of Ishikari district in Hokkaido Island, Japan. The village is about 30 kilometers to the north of Sapporo, facing the Sea of Japan. We have many swimming visitors in summer, but in winter, we often suffer indescribable harsh coldness with zero visibility caused by a blizzard.
Our school celebrated its 102nd anniversary this year. The number of the student is 37 and that of teacher is 10. The school is small enough to run with a very friendly atmosphere.
Children are tame and bright, always playing vividly in the school ground. One of our unique club activities is that we took part in a nation-wide volleyball tournament this year as the representative of southern Hokkaido. We have been taking part in HBC children's Music Contest every year and have won a special award from the panel of judges. The most delightful thing was that the voice of the children was aired through a radio station.
Now, I got information this time on the Terao Memoir through an electronics mailing list of the educational category and I made use of it as an educational material in our social studies for the sixth grade class. We have also provided our school with personal computers, and became accessible to the Internet from the school. The children have read the Terao Memoir- a raw eyewitness report- and lost their words due to unbelievable shock.
I think we have to realize the fact that Japan is only victim of A-bombs in the world. At the same time we also have to accept seriously the procedure of being bombed, or what we did in China and in Southeast Asian countries. Needless to say, I have told the children without fail that many people were still suffering from the aftereffect of the A-bomb.
It seems to me that Memories of World War II are wearing thin with time. We the teachers are also belong to a generation who don't know the War. This is why we have to assure ourselves not to repeat the tragedy of the War by learning from any information available.
In a student theatricals performed in October, the student in the sixth and fifth grade played "An elephant train has come." In the preparation for the play, I talked much about the War and made the students to discuss what people felt in the wartime.
Several years ago, we read "A poor elephant" in the textbook for the two grade students. Another textbook "A mother's tree" was another part of the curriculum. Those textbooks, however, were gone and abstract war-teaching materials increased gradually. Why The teaching materials that shake the heart of students are quietly removed ....why?
I have printed the Terao Memoir-including the responses from abroad- and handed two copies of it to each student this time, one for a student and another for his or her family. This was because I wanted that each home to discussing war. Some students actually asked to their grandparents, others have read the books on Vietnam War. My students' interests and concerns are spreading steadily. Some students selected "A-bomb" as the theme of winter homework.
I know they will learn the history in junior high schools and in high schools. I wish they will develop their own thoughts based upon what they have learned in the grade school.
It is they themselves who will create their own histories.
The sixth grade pupils of Taihaku Sendai Municipal Elementary School
The fourth grade pupils of Higashi Itou Municipal Elementary School
HOMEPAGE
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