Thank you very much for your kindness in introducing me to the home page. Just after I read it on the morning edition of the newspaper, I immediately accessed the site.
I devoted myself completely to read through the pages. I can't find proper words to express my emotions after I read it. I am still a beginner on the net but am very delighted to encounter the wonderful web site.

I often ask myself, "Am I to blame for the war?" The answer is yes, even if I was not involved in the decision or in action. I am still guilty as a part of the nation who inflicted damages on people in other countries. I was born in the midst of the war. My birthplace is, the official record indicates, Dalien city of China which was once regarded as the stronghold of the invasion of Japanese militarism.

I have been to Hiroshima twice in the days of August. I can't forget my shudder with fear when I looked at the back of the A-bomb epitaph on which the long list of the victims was engraved on the surface. In general, I knew the number of victims to be hundreds of thousands, but I couldn't really feel the tragedy from the number itself. By reading individual name on the epitaph, I realized the number of the victims. Yes, the names represent the record I read.

From my calm and peaceful daily life, it is difficult to imagine that there are still many wars on the earth. I think if we look for only our comfortable life, war will not be eliminated from the surface of the earth.

We should not leave the tragedy just as an event of history. I copied the Terao memoir to read again with my community comrade on our meetings.

Thank you very much.

I have never been to Hiroshima but the record made me feel very familiar with the city. Someday I will visit Hiroshima to see A-bomb memorial dome or streets to remember quietly what the late Mr.Terao wanted to appeal to us.

Tomorrow is the 6th of August. I will pray in silence, calling him to my mind.

Junko Osawa(29)
Kawasaki city, Japan

I was enjoying net surfing without purpose. A search engine picked up this site by chance.

I was lured deep into the "Record." Clear images emerged into my mind by reading it. Mr. Terao had to be asked his enormous "courage to recall" to make such a detailed record. I really admire his bravery.

I have intentionally kept my eyes away from the data of the Exposure. This comes from the shock I got from an album in my class room in junior high school. I saw a picture of charred body of a kid…….I still remember it clearly. It was so terrible indeed.

After I read through, I happened to know that it was the 6th of August today. I couldn't believe the coincidence. Something must have led me to read it. I thought I could feel one millionth of his ache. Such a thing shouldn't happen again, we must not repeat it, ever again.

The number of the storytellers and those people who experienced the A-bomb are decreasing year by year. The memory of the tragedy, however, must not by any means fade away.I think I have to look at it squarely in my own way.

I pray many people around the world may read and feel something by reading the Terao Memoir.

I really thank you for your posting. From the deepest bottom of my heart, I pray Mr. Terao's soul rests in peace.

The 6th of August has come again. After a long absence I read "A personal record of Hiroshima A-bomb survival." This morning, I watched the live TV program of "Zoom-in! morning." After I offered a moment of silent prayer, I set out for my office.

I realized anew that we should remember the terror and folly of war and the A-bomb forever. Each TV program made me feel apprehensive about the decrease of the "actual war survivors." We must record and hand down much more about the experience within a limited time span….

As a junior high school teacher of Aichi prefecture said in his message, children are always innocent in any time. I hope they will learn and print clearly in their hearts "what is terrible, what must not be done." I also desire that all children in the world have the chance to receive such education. No theory of the victorious or the defeated is needed. War itself should be denied. I hope all the teachers around the world will teach and make it understood to the children.

The world abounds with goods, one's sense of values have become diversified, everything is allowed to do in the times. In such days, I occasionally ask myself what is absolute? But "War is wrong" is a permanent truth.

I learned that the Memoir was on your home page. I hurried to the office and asked my boss to allow me to read it.

In reading it, I felt that I can't by any means imagine Mr. Terao's pain to reveal his painful experience.
I know neither war nor A-bomb, but I was really sad when I read the news of the Memoir on the paper to which I subscribe. He taught me the importance of handing down the record to the generations to come.

I have two children, one is 12 and the other is 4 years old. I will certainly make them read the record when they grow up.

Thank you very much for your page that gave me a chance to read the precious experience of the late Mr. Terao.

I have just printed out almost all pages of "A personal record of Hiroshima A-bomb survival." By reading it, I recall my visit to Hiroshima last year and feel the weight of my long time of 52 years. I am sure that the publishing of so many people's messages will be highly evaluated someday.

I am a teacher at an elementary school in Mie prefecture. On the 6th August, all pupils come to school as a "school-day." The purpose of the day is to teach the pupils what happened on the day when their grandparents were small children.

We, the teachers of Mie prefecture, have long been doing so for decades in order to hand down the meaning of the A-bomb memorial day (although it is too sad to call it a memorial day) to the young pupils. Young teachers are taking the lead in tackling the task. We also support their activities. We always stress the importance of peace education.

We think that August 6th and August 9th are days to be strongly memorized along with August 15th. Yesterday, we made the second grade pupils see a video titled "The pray of a mother." I suppose they couldn't fully understand the contents, but I could have a belief that they felt something. This is because when they go to the school library and look for books, they say "Where are the books on Pikadon(flash and bang)?" Many of them wanted to check out the picture books on war or A-bomb.

I said them "When you go home, please talk about the video with your family." I am afraid a little what kind of talks will be exchanged in their homes. This is because the storm of war named examination hell (entrance examinations for schools) is raging over all of Mie prefecture.

To be peaceful is taken for granted here in Japan. Most families with students preparing for examinations may have no interest in peace talk and say "No such theme, but work hard on math or language."

The thickness of my print-out came to 6 millimeters. It will be circulated at today's research meeting on information education. I will give a copy to whoever wants it.

Finally, please allow me to link your site to mine.

I read the record along with my son who is in the second grade of high school.

We have not been much interested in the war records until today. Since my parents died, I haven't had any measure to teach my children about the war.

I am in the same generation as my children who don't know the actual war, but this time I realized anew that the memory of the war time experiences shouldn't fade away.

Please allow me to link the site to my home page and add it to my bookmarks.

Thank you very much for giving me a chance to encounter a great page.

August 15th
Shin'ichi Saito

I paid my greatest efforts to keep my eyes open wide to read it. I believe that it is us, young generation, who should memorize the record.

The other day I saw on TV that some people who actually experienced the World War 2 made a protest against the exhibition of "Nanjing Massacre." I felt repelled by looking it despite I couldn't understand their wish to forget it. But I think now I could understand, even a little bit though, the terror and feelings of those who experienced the war by reading the Terao memoir.

We school children should think about the tragedy and change our perception. In order to do so, I will learn much more and get further knowledge from now on.

Miho Inoue
The third grade of the junior high school

Our father served in the Army Air Corp bomber group which dropped the A-bomb. He was always mindful of the tremendous war destruction brought to all participants. However, the devastation brought to the children particularly grieved him. Following a fight with cancer, he died in 1961, leaving a wife and six children.

Many years later my wife's father and grandfather died within a year of each other with cancer. Both had worked at Alamagordo, New Mexico shortly after the A-bomb testing. Recently we lost a brother and a sister at young ages. Although a direct connection to "such a thing" cannot be made, it causes one to wonder, were they all children of the bomb?

Best regards,