"Produced by Kindai Eiga Kyokai Production" "Gohyaku-Rakanji Temple" ""SAKURA-TAI 8-6"" "Hiroshima" " August 6, 1987" "At Gohyaku-Rakanji Temple in Tokyo, a group met on August 6 in memory of Sakura-tai, a theatrical troupe who were A -bomb victims." "The monument includes Sadao Maruyama and others." "Hagie Ezu;" "Writer of the report" "Munetoshi Hidaka:" "Head priest" "The dedication took place on December 8, 1952." "Mr. Musei Tokugawa did much to help realize it." "We contributed a stone." "Our temple was founded elsewhere with the aid of two Tokugawa Shoguns." "Then it moved here." "The stone we donated was at one time in the precincts of the temple." "It went into the monument to A-bomb victim actors." "Eitaro Ozawa;" "Memorial society president" "Japan was an aggressor." "And how we're linked with the A-bomb..." "I know you're already thinking about it, but I believe we must continue reflecting on it to the end." "Osamu Takizawa;" "Actor" "It says it was May 6, 1938 in Gunma Prefecture." "It was cloudy, so the filming was cancelled." "Uno, Ozawa, Mishima, and Maruyama climbed a hill." "It shows Maruyama's photos." "We can see how healthy he was back then." "Maruyama 49 years ago." "This is him, too." "This one is dead." "Eitaro Ozawa and I are the only two still alive." "He's drinking stream water." "This one looks like Ozawa, the president." "He is using a magnifying glass." "Myoryuji Temple, Kamakura" "We have many stories about" "Maruyama's monument here." "One that features a relief of Harpagon whom he often played." "There's a monument to Maruyama here." "A memorial meeting is held every August 16." "There's also the grave of Fusako Umehara, his last sweetheart." "Yuria Maruyama;" "Sadao's niece" "I heard that her family wanted her ashes to be buried near his monument." "They asked my opinion." "I had heard that his monument at the temple was built at her request." "I had no cause to object." "So I agreed." "I told them it was for the best." "This is the Sakura-tai monument." "Seven organizations built it in Hiroshima." "NIPPON NEWS" "No. 28" "Imperial Rule Assistance Association" "The Japan Federation of Travelling Theatrical Groups was founded June 9, 1941, by the Information Board." "Japan was on a strict war basis." "All dramas and films were censored." "Actors were ordered to volunteer services to the Federation based on its general principles." "Its aim was the diffusion of entertainment to boost the national spirit." "Actors received a handbook, without which they would not be allowed to work." "Koreya Senda;" "Director  Actor" "We had to live, hands and feet tied." "Observing the wartime law, yet we tried not to cross the line." "But we ended up like that after all." "All the troupes were the same." "Actors live for nothing but acting." "That's why Maruyama and the others took part in the travelling shows." "Sadao Maruyama helped set up the Tsukiji Sho Theatre in June 1924." "I first met Maruyama during preparations for the theatre." "The Tsukiji Sho Theatre was established by Yoshi Hijikata." "He studied drama in Europe, especially in Germany." "He returned and founded it after the 1923 earthquake." "Preparations started at the end of 1923." "My brother, Kisaku Ito, was a set designer." "And thanks to him," "I had had an opportunity to work for Hijikata's studio." "They were trying to find new types of actors." "They advertised for them." "Maruyama, already an accomplished actor, joined." "We were only mediocre, so regarded him as someone great." "He commanded our respect." "A sociable type, he soon made friends with us." "He accepted even the lowest kind of job." "He lived in a part of the theatre, too." "Yasue Yamamoto;" "Actress" "He kept a cat and loved it so much that he fed it mouth to mouth." "Sometimes it came on stage." "Later he'd scold it, slapping its head." "I enjoyed watching him." "He was regarded as sort of eccentric." "He didn't carry much of anything on the road." "All he had was towels." "I asked where his toilet set was." "Because I couldn't see one." "But in his pocket he had a tin cigarette case." "He kept his grease paint in it." "He carried it around in his pocket." "Haruko Sugimura:" "Actress" "I first met him at the Tsukiji Sho Theatre." "He had bobbed hair back then." "I'd studied singing in Hiroshima." "Maruyama liked singing classic German songs." "I also played the piano." "So I often accompanied him as he sang, while backstage." "We spent time together like that, and he was very kind to me." "The group split up into two." "One was the New Tsukiji group led by Hijikata." "The other was the remaining Tsukiji Sho Theatre group." "They just separated." "The New Tsukiji leader was Hijikata." "The stars were Maruyama, Yamamoto and Susukida." "There was another group called Shinkyo." "Those two groups had a strong rivalry." "Maruyama worked mainly in films but acted on the stage occasionally." "When I directed Moliere's "The Miser"," "Maruyama played Harpagon." "He was superb - on the international level." "The Shinkyo and New Tsukiji groups managed to attract crowds until then." "But they were forced to disband." "Kappei Matsumoto:" "Actor" "We had to obey the wartime policy by entertaining the army, army hospital people, and Manchuria settlers." "It was the only way to survive." "There were many books on travel through Manchuria." "Among them, the one by Kensaku Shimaki was regarded as best." "So I went to see" "Kensaku Shimaki when he was summering on the Shiga Plateau." "It was August 18." "I got back to Tokyo around midnight." "I went home and slept." "Then eight special service cops rushed in." "They arrested me." "As many as eight cops to nab only one actor." "I took it as something very grave." "Many other actors were arrested, too." "On August 24, 1940, the New Tsukiji and Sinkyo groups were forced to disband for their socialistic anti-government ideas." "Hideki Tojo" "Seiji Ikeda;" "Ex-Sakura-tai member" "Hatta, the script writer, offered to form a theatrical group for both artistic and popular dramas, and appealed to actors including Sadao Maruyama." "Maruyama considered, then accepted." "He invited Susukida too." "Four actors and Hatta made the Kurakuza group." "Their first performance was held at the Daikoku Theatre in Shinjuku." "Keiko Sonoi, formerly a Takarazuka Revue star, had resigned to train herself as an actress." "She looked for contacts and met Susukida." "She also joined the group." "Midori Naka was one of the original members, too." "Jukichi Uno and his troupe toured Japan to entertain the masses." "He lost half his stomach and his left lung, both to cancer." "But his passion for the stage became even stronger." "He passed away on January 9, 1988." "His last appearance." "We were regarded left wing." "The police watched us." "We all but starved." "We had to think about how to survive." "We decided to try to be loyal to the nation." "We needed a facade." "So we considered taking drama to the new land, in Manchuria." "It was mid August." "Five cops stormed in." "The police detained me for eleven months." "There were many itinerant troupes." "The Farming and Fishing Association looked for one, too." "Luckily they chose us." "In order to form a new theatrical group, procedures were complex, and the Information Board, the police and others gave the orders." "We had to write oaths of allegiance, and sign them." "We had to bear every thinkable insult, but still we were determined to stick to the stage." "We moved mainly by truck." "The audiences were farmers and fishermen." "They could hardly wait until we arrived." "How enthusiastic they were!" "The show began at 6 PM." "But they'd start waiting in the morning." "And their reaction!" "They were spellbound." "They applause!" "They shouted for joy!" "It made us so happy." "Our Mizuho Troupe was well managed." "The Information Board, the noisiest of all, insisted we belong to it exclusively." "Maybe they thought we'd be glad to accept the offer." "We'd been expressing ourselves at the minimum level." "We wanted to get on with it." "So I represented the troupe and said no." "As I told you, it's because, when we started our travelling troupe, we had to sign oaths of allegiance to the nation." "We felt so miserable and humiliated." "We yielded because we wanted to act." "We could refuse the offer, but not the draft cards which were sent to us." "We suffered two things." "I don't know which was right." "We couldn't refuse the draft cards." "But we could have refused to sign those oaths." "I can't tell how the two were related." "The Sakura-tai Troupe was formed in 1944." "Kurakuza didn't go well." "And Maruyama couldn't give up acting." "So he decided to join the travelling group." "Keiko Sonoi proposed that we rehearse at Tsunagi Spa in the suburbs of Morioka." "She was from Morioka." "We arrived on New Year's Day, 1945." "Hagie Ezu visited there herself" "We rehearsed at that inn." "You relaxed." "Tsunagi Spa" "Oyuki, are you sure this is all right?" "It's today." "Daddy, why are you saying that?" "They chose to play Juro Miyoshi's "Lion"." "Maruyama respected him as a play writer." "The ten days rehearsal gave them a good rest." "That's how it is, ma'am." "Very well." "Oyuki, what's keeping you?" "You sure it's all right?" "Are you sure?" "It's today." "You can't change afterward." "Dad, why are you saying that?" "At the beginning of 1945 the troupe started on a tour to Hiroshima." "They staged "Lion" at the army hospital and other places, and returned to Tokyo March 4." "Great Tokyo air raid March 10, 1945" "The Emperor visits the stricken area" "At dawn on March 10, 325 B-29s bombed Tokyo." "They penetrated through strong winds and dropped incendiaries on south-eastern Tokyo." "45% of Tokyo burned in two and a half hours." "Much of Tokyo was levelled." "The travelling troupes were evacuated to other cities." "Tsuneshige Kuwabara:" "Ex-Information Board man" "Around April 23, I ran into Mr. Maruyama." "He said he was going to Hiroshima." "He stood straight, like officials do." "Because he was so glad to act in plays." "He wanted to act on the stage even during our worst times." "The Sakura-tai visited Hiroshima again on June 20." "They were to stay there with the Sangoza troupe." "They rented the Takano house as a headquarters." "On July 5 the troupe left on a tour, which eventually proved to be the last one." "At night we did an NHK radio drama titled" ""Potatoes Decide the Outcome of War"." "Maruyama and all had roles." "It ended late at night." "We went home, and the train we took left at 2 AM." "Our first stop was Takatsu." "I remember this shrine." "We began our last tour working in this town." "The large Takatsu Theatre was here." "July 9" "Site of old Kisuki Theatre" "Entrance that way, stage over there." "Seats there." "Maruyama had a high fever that time." "We suggested he quit the tour, return to Hiroshima and start again." "But he refused." "He said he was the leader and responsible and that he'd continue." "July 14" "That's the one." "He played in the gym." "Was it hot like today?" "Sure." "No air conditioning." "He had a high fever - more than 38 °C ." "A doctor was staying at our hotel." "He said Maruyama had pleurisy." "He prescribed rest." "Sonoi and Naka had been taking good care of Maruyama." "Then Hatta, the director, went back to Tokyo." "He reported on Sakura-tai to the Federation." "They returned to Hiroshima around July 16." "Maybe I got this from the papers;" "The town my family evacuated to was destroyed by air raids." "Ikeda left tor Numazu to see how his family was doing." "Kokichi Makimura:" "Ex-Sakura-tai member" "Some members insisted on going home to Tokyo." "Maruyama and I were the only male actors left." "We couldn't work." "And our next job was coming up in August." "Makimura went to Tokyo to recruit some talent." "Sangoza, another troupe, moved to a different town." "Nine were left - Maruyama, Takayama, Sonoi," "Naka, Shimaki, her mother," "Habara, Morishita, and Komuro." "Tinian Island, the Marianas." "August 3, 1944, 5,000 Japanese troops under Colonel Ogata were killed by invading Americans." "On the blood-soaked sand, the Americans built a B-29 base." "The B-29 had a range of 3,200 miles." "With Japan 1,500 miles away, it could go and return." "One way took 6 hours and 30 minutes." "On July 16, 1945, the first A -bomb test was carried out." "It was a success, so the next A -bomb was sent from New Mexico to San Francisco, then to Tinian." "Colonel Tibbets had been trained to fly the bomb to Japan." "He was fully prepared to handle it." "Tibbets named the plane Enola Gay after his mother." "On August 6, 1945, at 1;45 AM, the Enola Gay took oft tor Hiroshima, carrying the bomb." "A three-plane formation." "One tor reconnaissance, and one to take photos." "At 7:09 the reconnaissance plane arrived over Hiroshima, causing an air raid alarm." "It radioed a proceed sign to the Enola Gay." "It left at 7:3 1 and the all-clear sounded." "I'm through." "Good morning." "The bomb detonated at an altitude of 580 meters." "The mushroom cloud rose to 9,000 meters." "Sonoi and Takayama fled through the raging fire." "Naka was rescued by the Vessel Troops." "Black rain tell tor two hours." "It spread radioactivity tor miles." "President Truman calmly heard the news of the A -bomb test." "He ordered the bombing." "While lunching on board the Cruiser Augusta, he was informed of the bombing and found himself cheering." "The blast equalled 13 kilotons of TNT." "The fireball reached 300,000 °C after 1//10,000 sec." "After one second its surface had cooled to 5.000 °C" "The heat vaporized people instantly." "Pressure: 35 tons per sq. m Wind: 120 m per sec." "Gamma and neutron rays destroyed internal organs." "Approximately 140,000 people were killed or became missing." "320,000 people were bombed." "Imperial HQ was shocked." "But, not to cause a panic, they merely announced that it was a new type of bomb." "It was near here." "It's completely changed." "You searched, though." "I remember a river there." "That house..." "the river was over there." "We looked for the Takano house around here." "We reached Hiroshima around noon on August 10." "The city had been reduced to nothing but ashes." "Makimura and Hatta visited the Takano house." ""The Sangoza troupe was all right"." "Toshio Nogi:" "Ex-Sangoza Troupe member" "We didn't know what happened to the Sakura-tai." "The phone didn't work." "Trains had stopped." "Akaboshi went to the station." "He heard a train would leave that day and bought the tickets for us." "We walked along the street and looked at Hiroshima." "A big department store had once stood there." "It served as a guide to help find our dormitory." "There was nothing left." "We saw a man walking toward us, wearing a white shirt." "I'm a barber." "Remember?" "You're our neighbour." "Seen the Sakura-tai gang?" "I saw a woman and a man running away." "She was the actress in "The Rickshaw Man"." "We thought someone we knew might come." "So, to let them know where we were, we left a memo." ""We are all fine, staying at Zonkoji Temple"." "When we got to the temple, the Sangoza people and the priest welcomed us." "After that, it turned out that the Sangoza people, led by Mr. Nogi, kindly cooperated with us in looking for the Sakura-tai members." "Zonkoji Temple" "Toshio Nogi" "The barber said he saw Sonoi and Takayama." "He recognized her from a movie he'd seen." "Maybe they're alive." "The other members too." "August 11" "We went to the ruins again, but there was no news." "It took a long time to get there." "We couldn't get a thing on the Sakura-tai folk." "We went back to the temple." "Then a middle-aged woman came to see us." "Her relative was an A-bomb victim." "He was at a temporary camp in Taibi." "So she went to see him." "A man who happened to be there with him asked her to take a piece of paper to the Sangoza people." "She brought it to us." "It was a cigarette paper." ""I'm in Taibi," it read." ""From Gan"." ""Gan" was Maruyama's nickname." "We usually called him Gan." "So, we soon knew that Maruyama wrote it." "We were delighted to know." "August 12" "Hatta and I walked through Hiroshima to Ujina." "We checked many lists of A-bomb victims in the Taibi camp." "But we couldn't find Maruyama." "A man there said the Taibi camp was full." "No room for more patients." "So they sent them to a grade school building in a town called Koyaura." "We wanted to go, but the town was so far." "We wouldn't make it there in one day." "So we returned to the temple." "August 13" "August 13" "There was a small station at Koyaura." "And the school stood very near to it." "It was here." "A two-story frame building like this." "The entrance was over there." "Near the entrance they dug a big square hole." "There were many corpses, wrapped in straw mats..." "in that hole." "Maruyama was lying in a classroom, at the centre." "He was conscious." "They decided to take him to the temple." "This station hasn't changed at all." "It was around 3 PM a hot summer day." "It's 100 meters from the school to the station." "Maruyama couldn't even stand alone." "Hatta and I helped him walk to the station." "It seemed like such a long way." "Maruyama hurt all over." "He couldn't even sit." "He just lay in the aisle." "Head priest." "I'm a ghost." "How do you do?" "Kaitaichi Station August 8" "Sonoi and Takayama ran as far as Kaitaichi." "They stayed at a farmhouse." "They took a train at Kaitaichi on the morning of August 8." "They got off at Kobe and headed for the Nakai's." "Mrs. Nakai was a patron of the Revue girls." "Hiroshima Station August 8" "Naka was in the Ujina camp." "She wore only a bed sheet and fled as far as Hiroshima." "She was on the same train as Sonoi and Takayama, but they never met." "Back in Tokyo, she reached her mother's home on the morning of the 10th." "August 14" "On the 14th we all took tools for digging, like shovels and spades." "Together we went out with those tools." "Only Hatta stayed to look after Maruyama." "We dug here and there." "We dug deep, but we couldn't find anything." "Then someone yelled, "These bones are human!"" "I saw a ceramic bowl." "Some hairpins were in it." "So I thought it might be a woman's bone." "My wife lived downstairs." "We'd already found her remains." "So we knew it was a bone of an actress." "We found ashes of about six people." "Lunchtime came, and under the blazing sun, we ate rice balls." "Then an old married couple came." "Do you remember an actors' dormitory here?" "We're from the troupe." "I'm Habara's mother." "My daughter was with Sakura-tai." "We just got here from Fukuyama." "I'm Makimura." "I'm Nogi." "We found some ashes." "But we don't know if they're hers." "My wife insisted our daughter was calling us." "Give us some of the other people's ashes too." "Our daughter was with them." "We put the ashes in a pot and returned to the temple." "We showed them to Maruyama." "And we told him what happened." "I'm sorry." "August 15" "August 15" "He had a fever of 40 °C" "He'd been hiccupping since morning." "All I could do was get him a lump of ice every day." "It was so hot that summer." "I concentrated on keeping the ice as long as possible." "It's hot!" "Stop!" "You'll die!" "You'll die!" " It's hot." " You'll die!" "A little before noon the priest told us there would be an important radio message." "The war is over." "Did he hear it or not?" "Maruyama didn't say a word." "He just looked dazed." "Sadao Maruyama was born May 31, 1901, in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture." "Yasuo Kanda;" "Ehime Newspaper" "According to Maruyama's autobiography, he was born in Kita- kyomachi of Matsuyama." ""Brother and Younger Sister" Produced in 1936" "Starring Sadao Maruyama ChiekoTakehisa" "You beat him to a pulp?" "Damn you!" "Who asked you to do that?" "Who are you to stop him?" "Stop!" "I loved him." "What's it to you?" "Who asked you to beat him?" "He didn't resist." "Why did you hit him?" "Stop!" "You're crazy!" "Kill me!" "Bastard!" "All right, I'll break your ribs!" "Taiji Tonoyama:" "Actor" "Maruyama would be the best among all the actors" "I've worked with, or seen on the stage." "Some rumoured that he was a rake." "But who cares, when he was such a great actor?" "Zenbei Saga:" "Actor" "Actors often gathered at his house." "They'd play mahjong." "I didn't, though." "Some complained about them." "They were supposed to be proletariat." "They shouldn't loaf, just playing mahjong." "Maruyama said he'd quit playing." "He broke each and every mahjong tile with a hatchet." "He swore he'd never play it again, but he soon bought new tiles." "Once he decided to do something, he'd do it." "That's how he was." "That's why he joined the travelling troupe." "He invited me too." "But I refused." "He said Sonoi would go." "She was a beauty, so..." "I often worked with Maruyama." "I rarely watched him objectively." "But I think he had the strongest feeling for life among the Tsukiji players." "He had a complicated character too." "His first big part was Luke in "The Lower Depths"." "Director Osanai cast him in it." "He was superb." "We staged a lot of plays, maybe around 200, before we disbanded." "We rehearsed during the day and worked at night." "We kept it up every day for five years." "Maruyama lived only for the theatre." "I think he knew that best of all." "In my opinion, he was a poet as well as an actor." "I think I've said this many times." ""Poet" would be the best description for him." "As an actor, he had something more than mere acting talent." "The purity, or naivetй, of Maruyama as a man, and his complex character, showed in the roles he played on the stage." "Jun Hamamura:" "Actor" "When we did Gorky's "Egor Bulychev"," "I played a forest ranger." "He appears in the latter half." "An accident occurred." "Maruyama was working in a film." "He couldn't come in time." "So I substituted, with messy hair and a long stick like a beggar." "I went on stage where such veteran actors and actresses like Higashiyama and Sugimura were waiting." "Somehow, I could manage." "The next day Maruyama came." "He knew I'd substituted for him." "He invited me to a Chinese restaurant." "A high-class one I couldn't afford." "He said to order whatever I liked." "I was impressed." "Maruyama was the first to teach me many things." "Back then there were great actors like Tomoda." "I couldn't even speak to them, but Maruyama... he taught me kindly in his unique way." "In a play, I was a liquor store clerk." "And Maruyama played a customer." "He excelled in such roles." "After rehearsal he called, and I followed him." "To a liquor shop." "He ordered sake, like in the play." "The clerk must bring a glass and pour." "That's what I was to do on the stage." "The clerk came." "He poured sake." "Maruyama sipped." "That's how he taught me." "He wrote down his favourite poems." "He'd slip the poems in his pocket." "While walking in the street, he'd sometimes read them." "He'd read them aloud while walking." "But on the stage, he was very serious." "Maybe he didn't know it himself." "He had his own ideas about being an actor, and how to act." "His mixed ideas are what made him so great, or so I think." "Why did he choose to go to Hiroshima?" "He was born in Shikoku, so maybe he wanted to stay as close as possible to his birthplace, because he sensed he might die at any moment." "We invited him to our stage once, in May 1942, for "The Rickshaw Man"." "Our Bungakuza was the first troupe to stage it." "Written by Morimoto, directed by Satomi..." "Most of our actors had been drafted." "So I asked for his help." "During my long stage career..." "that Matsugoro, the hero he played..." "I'll always remember it." "Maruyama was such a dynamic actor." "I played the widow of an army officer." "When Matsugoro comes she gives him some sake." "The widow's son is at home." "Matsugoro is the happiest then." "The widow is happy, too, when talking with him." "Then he unthinkingly takes her hand." "He's shocked at himself." "Repenting, he runs away, and he never meets her again." "I feel..." "I was so lucky to do such a drama with an actor like him in that difficult time." "We worked so well together." "I could feel clearly how he felt toward me as a widow." "He changed every day." "I thought he revised his technique because he felt differently." "So I thought that I had to respond to him." "It turned out that he gave me an excellent lesson." "How to respond to the opposite part." "It was a great experience." "Gan was superb." "August 16" "I don't think he was a very sociable person." "Sometimes I saw something lonely in him." "He was like that." "He expressed feelings using his hands." "He had such big palms." "He used them so effectively." "Gan wasn't such a handsome man, but he was a great actor." "And he had to die like that." "But not only Maruyama." "I think it's an utter disgrace." "Katsumi Akaboshi;" "Federation Secretariat" "Someone yelled loudly." "So we ran to his room." "But he was already dead." "We had no time to talk." "August 17" "20 victims were placed in the Zonkoji Temple." "The public office sent us a coffin." "But no crematory was on the island." "The only crematory was on a hill by the coast across the Inland Sea." "We couldn't use ferries to more coffins." "We hired a small boat." "We loaded the coffin, then Hatta and I got aboard." "And we crossed the sea." "Takarazuka Revue Theatre" "How nice to see them." "Sonoi too." "Maybe she was around 27." "Sonoi was 27." "We were only teenagers." "This is Mrs. Nakai." "She lived until 1986." "She was 93." "She took care of Sonoi." "Yes, like a daughter." "That's why she went to see her first right after the bomb fell." "The bomb fell on August 6." "She hadn't come on the 7th." "I arrived on the 8th." "You knew?" "No, I didn't." "I was so worried about Sonoi after I got word of the strange bomb." "I went to Mrs. Nakai hoping for news." "I met Sonoi there." "She looked all right, saying she was spared." "When Sonoi got to the house, she was muddy all over, like a tramp." "Sonoi took a bath." "Washing her hair, she saw it starting to fall out." "So Mrs. Nakai said not to touch her hair if it fell out so easily." "Mrs. Nakai  Akiko Utsumi" "Nakai sisters" "We looked all over for ice." "At last an ice man sympathized and gave us some." "Only a tiny lump, though." "Hatta came from Hiroshima on August 19." "What's that, Sonoi?" "I'm thirsty." "Water..." "Harue Tone;" "Actress" "Harue Tone;" "Actress" "Takayama was my first love." "But, in those days, there wasn't even a coffee shop." "All we could do was walk together." "When I went to Manchuria, he came to see me off." "He asked me to continue the diary he'd been writing." "He said he'd propose in three months." "At the time, Director Murayama was in Korea." "Maybe Takayama, too, was supposed to go to Korea and work with him." "He came to Tokyo Station to see me off." "We'd get married in three months." "In Manchuria I kept writing the diary." "It's hot!" "Shozo Takayama was born on January 29, 1924 to actor Kenji Susukida." "He was a child actor." "Then he studied direction." "Shozo..." "After his coffin went to a crematory, his parents arrived." "Kuniko Ashihara sings "No More Hiroshimas"." ""It was a building cellar." ""The A-bomb casualties" ""filled the dark room without a candle." ""The reek of blood and death..." ""The stench of sweat and breath..." ""Then a strange voice was heard." ""A baby was being born"." "Kuniko Ashihara;" "Ex" " Takarazuka Revue star" "I worked with Sonoi in "The Maid of Arles''." "Sonoi played a mother whose son wants to marry a girl from Arles." "She's a slut, but the mother doesn't mind." "The son goes to propose to her." "He comes home and says," ""Mom, I made it!" "I'm happy!"" "He hugs her." "Sonoi looked filled with motherly affection." "She reached out, calling her son's name." "I played the son and felt she was really my mother." "Sonoi played the part even in her dressing room." "Whether she did it on purpose or instinctively," "I'll never know." "We shared a dressing room." "Even after work, while changing clothes, she said, "Freddy, are you tired?"" "So I answered, "No" like the son did." "Then she said, "That's nice"." ""See you tomorrow, Freddy"." "She sounded natural." "Hisako Sakura:" "Ex" " Takarazuka Revue star" "I hadn't met Sonoi for a long time." "She said she was going to Hiroshima." "She didn't really want to go, but she couldn't refuse Maruyama's offer." "She planned to quit after the one tour." ""The Rickshaw Man"" "Starring Tsumasaburo Bando  Keiko Sonoi" "Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki ( 1943 )" "Mister!" "Mom, he won!" "He won!" "It was the first I'd seen my son so enthused." "He got excited for the first time in his life." "I hope something new is taking place in him." "Thank you very much." "Hiroyuki Nagato:" "Actor" "There's a Mrs. Yoshioka, who becomes a widow." "Sonoi played her." "And I played her son." "She'd been a male role star of the Revue." "Director Inagaki said she lacked femininity." "So while shooting the film, he kept telling her to be feminine." "She thought about how to be feminine." "She thought motherly affection for her child would help." "So... she treated me like her own child." "She kept me close to her." "She took care of me." "She really loved me." "Keiko Sonoi was born on August 6, 1913, in Iwate Prefecture." "She joined the Revue in April 1929, left in May 1942." "Midori Naka left Hiroshima and returned to her mother's home, believing she was saved." "But as the days passed, she lost her appetite." "She felt weak and dizzy." "On the 16th, the day Maruyama died, she came to that Tokyo Univ. hospital." "Midori Naka, an actress, returned to Tokyo and came to this hospital." "You were the first to speak to her." "Satoshi Ota:" "Then medical student" "We were short of help." "So they mobilized us students to work." "We could enter the medical office, so I recall speaking to a woman who'd come from Hiroshima." "Prof. Tsuzuki had been an army surgeon." "He knew well about the war wounded." "When the A-bomb fell on Hiroshima, he gathered us and explained about the bomb's effect on human bodies." "So the moment we heard she'd come from Hiroshima, we knew she was an A-bomb victim." "Yoshio Shimizu;" "Then medical student" "Dr. Ota came to see me." "He asked me to take care of a patient, who'd been a victim of the Hiroshima A-bomb." "At first they thought her a syphilitic by her eczema." "We ask our patients' medical history." "We check their blood and urine." "I checked her red and white corpuscles and haemoglobin." "Usually, we see about 70 white corpuscles at a time through a microscope." "But we could hardly find any." "Only three or four on the entire slide." "There's a special colouring substance to check white corpuscles." "We made the substance by ourselves in those days, so we thought the substance was faulty." "Professors rarely visit a patient's room." "But Prof. Tsuzuki came to see Miss Naka." "I explained to him about her condition, that her white corpuscles numbered only 400." "He said to check the count again and make it certain." "So I did, but the result still showed only 400." "A normal healthy body contains about 7,000." "So I told him that the result was the same." "Then he turned pale." "Her hair began to fall out." "I told the professor that her hair was falling out." "He said to keep all her hair that fell out." "The real danger of A-bombs is the exposure of human bodies to atoms." "Radioactivity destroys bone marrow." "An A-bomb completely destroys the function of bone marrow." "Prof. Tsuzuki's Office, Tokyo University Hospital" "Naka's encounter with Prof. Tsuzuki proved to be very important for the world's A-bomb medicine." "Born in 1909, Naka worked as a supporting actress since 1931" "During 1931 and 1932, we were often jailed." "And we wanted gifts from outside... good food to maintain health and stamina." "Our troupes sent actresses to the men in jail." "They pretended to be their common-law wives, or their sweethearts." "They took food and things to the prisoners." "They had to go there many times." "I was in the Shibuya Police Station for about five months." "Naka, assigned to me, often came." "Kunitaro Kawarazaki;" "Kabuki female impersonator" "We staged a new drama, and it called for several actresses." "We had no actresses then." "So we recruited them." "Midori Naka came." "She was a fat girl." "She worked hard and was a great help." "When we staged the Kabuki drama "The Faithful 47", we didn't need actresses." "So she moved to an ordinary troupe." "She gave us the impression of being an ordinary girl rather than an actress." "August 16" "August 16" "Body Temperature: 37.7 °C Comnin: 1 cc" "The 17th" "Body Temperature: 38.3 °C Hair starts to fall out" "Shoulder injury worsens" "The 19th" "Body Temperature: 39 °C Pains in chest" "The 20th" "Body Temperature: 39.5 °C Ringer's Solution: 200 cc" "Hair keeps falling out Hypodermic bleeding" "The 22nd" "Body Temperature: 40 °C Pulse: 98" "Blood test shows only 300 white corpuscles" "The 23rd" "Body Temperature: 39.8 °C Pulse: 99" "Ringer's Solution; 200 cc Transfusion" "The 24th" "Body Temperature: 39.8 °C Pulse 100 5 % grape sugar fluid; 100 cc" "Body Temperature: 40.4 °C Pulse: 158" "Succumbs at 12:30 PM" "Cause;" "A-bomb injury Age: 36" "Post-mortem Room" "Midori Naka went on record as the first" "A-bomb injury victim." "After her post-mortem examination," "Tokyo University research group under" "Prof. Tsuzuki left for Hiroshima on August 29." "Specimen Room" "Two of her specimens:" "Lungs with expanded bleeding, and low-functioning bone marrow." "Sadao Maruyama;" "Age 44" "Keiko Sonoi;" "Age 32" "Midori Naka;" "Age 36" "Shozo Takayama;" "Age 21" "Ayako Morishita:" "Age 23" "Kyoko Habara:" "Age 22" "Tsuyako Shimaki;" "Age 22" "Kiyo Komuro:" "Age 30" "Keiko Ryu:" "Age 41" "The Players:" "Shoji Furuta" "Takako Miki" "Sogo Kawashima" "Yasuko Yagami" "Izo Oikawa" "Mitsue Takei" "Those Interviewed:" "Kuniko Ashihara" "Eitaro Ozawa" "Koreya Senda" "Haruko Sugimura" "Osamu Takizawa" "Jukichi Uno" "Yasue Yamamoto" "Narrated by Nobuko Otowa" "Executive Producers:" "Munetoshi Hidaka  Michiyoshi Takashima" "Planned by Setsuo Noto  Seiji Ikeda" "Based on reports by Hagie Ezu" "Photographed by Yoshiyuki Miyake" "Music selected by Hikaru Hayashi" "Written and directed by Kaneto Shindo" "END"