B02U, Cheri Holmes ‘86, Great-aunt, 1912, Nagano, Yokohama: Kanagawa-ku
I interviewed my grandmother’s sister in May 1985. She is 73 years old, and she lives near my house in Kogaya, Kanagawa-ku. I wanted to preserve her memories of the war.
Q: Where were you during the war, and how awful was it?
A: I was in Kogaya, where I live now. I had given birth to two children then. I sent my older child to Nagano, my home prefecture. The war was awful. I saw bombs dropped from airplanes. These were called shōi bakudan (incendiary bombs). They were especially destructive, since they could divide into several hundred bombs while falling. I can’t easily forget that shōi bakudan had a similar sound as steam locomotives.
During the bombing, it was dangerous to stay at home. That’s why we went to the public school, Kogaya Elementary School. There was a huge air raid shelter (bōkūgō), like a cave, and people waited there until the bombing was over. There were also smaller caves dug by individuals. We had our own family cave. Meanwhile, I saw that the Tanmachi area was almost totally destroyed. People were scared and nervous, but this time Kogaya was saved.
Q: Was everyone saved?
A: Yes, almost everyone, but one old woman was killed. Also, my second child, who was two years old, was almost killed. That’s because the garage of the elementary school was burning, and the smoke filled the cave. Adults could survive it, but babies could not. My baby became unconscious. I was scared, but a man living near my house poured water on his face, and little by little he regained consciousness.
Q: How was the temperature during the bombing?
A: It was awful! The air was burning. My husband carried a water jug on his waist. When we decided to drink the water later, it was steaming hot. We were shocked.
Q: That is interesting. Was there another unusual experience?
A: Yes, I remember that there were horses that pulled wagons along the street, and they were bombed too. One horse burned to death while standing up. A bit later, people gathered to share the horsemeat.
My husband worked on a ship, and he collected lots of fish for us to eat. One day, they fished for salmon and kept them on the ship. The air was burning, and on the way from the harbor to our house, the fish turned into smoked salmon.
Q: How many days did the bombing last?
A: About one and a half days. It started during the morning and continued all night. I heard that trains were running again, so we decided to go back to Nagano, our homeland. Actually, even though I had a hard time, it was not as bad as other people, since we had food to eat and a house to return to.