G04, Akira Kodama ‘99, Keiji Mano, Family friend, 1930
I interviewed one of my mother’s friends, named Keiji Mano. He is 67 years old and took care of me when I was very young. While my mother had to work at night, she took me to his house to be looked after until my mother finished her work late at night. I interviewed him on November 16, 1997.
Mr Mano described that most of the buildings were destroyed because of the bombing. There were very few houses that were not affected. Some of the windows were blacked out, so that no light would escape and attract bombers.
Many of his family members were separated, because they were sent to different evacuation areas. The food was dirty, and many people ate the same kind of food all the time. Since there was a shortage of rice and vegetables, almost all of the food was boiled so that the rice would have more volume. Potatoes were easier to obtain, so they were also boiled. Many people starved because of how little they could eat.
Mr Mano also described that he felt the fear of separation and attacks. The military police made people work all the time, even if they were about to faint. The police had the power to punish or even kill anyone, so he worried about what would happen to him if he did anything wrong or was rude. Many people were ordered to carry heavy bags of coal.
After the bombing, there were dead people lying in the roads. You had no choice but to walk on corpses every day. He was afraid that he would end up like this. Some people died of bombing, some of hunger, some for psychological reasons because they were separated from their families. He experienced this at a young age, as a teenager. He did not hesitate to tell me the harsh parts of his experiences, so I realized that he feels much safer now.