Peas and Rice

Today being the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, a fact made known to me when looking at the many cranes on the Tanabata Festival streamers and from a post of my friend (some of whose family were killed on that day), I thought I would take a little look at the archives available on-line, but I knew beforehand I could not look too closely because of the tragic and unnecessary nature of that incident.

A photographer Hiromi Tsuchida 土田ヒロミhas captured many images from that time, and has made repeated visits afterwards. This is from his first visit.

Lunch Box:  Reiko Watanabe (15 at the time) was doing fire prevention work under the Student Mobilization Order, at a place 500 meters from the epicenter.  Her lunch box was found by the school authorities under a fallen mud wall.  Its contents of boiled peas and rice, a rare feast at the time, were completely carbonized.  Her body was not found."

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What can anyone say to that except Fuck Nuclear, Fuck War?  Even today, 67 years later, most people have not learned a damned thing.  If Reiko Watanabe lived, she would have been 83 years old (which is very likely, because many Japanese women live to that age and more) but she never got the chance.