My Experience of War in Fukui City (by Dango)

　
My Experience of War in Fukui City　(1)

I was born in 1933. Dec.8 in 1941　(Showa Era 16)　I had my clothes worn by my mother to go to school in the morning. I heard from a radio that "Daihonei" (the highest command organs under the Emperor's direct orders which was established during the Second World War)　announced "The War breaks out today."　loudly.　I remembered my mother told me what was going to happen from now on and I got tense.

I remembered at that time in the morning assembly at school a principal respectfully brought "Kyouikuchokugo"　(The Imperial Rescript on Education) from "Houanden" (The building where the pictures of the Emperor and Empress and the Imperial Rescript on Education were put before and during the War.) and read it. And we chanted "Iyasaka" (Your more prosperity!) together. I hardly remembered because I was a little girl. I used to fall down for anemia and go to a school infirmary every time the morning assembly because I wasn't healthy. The morning assembly where a principal read "Kyouikuchokugo" was very hard for me.

During a military drill at National School we took lessons to hold sickles and kill the enemy and destroy straw figures by bamboo spear. On summer vacation I took hemp plants and peeled them and dried them and took them to school. That was to make soldier's clothes. And I took "Dokudami plants" (medicinal herbs) and dried them in the shadow and took them to school, too. Families in Japan delivered "Tetsu Nabe" (iron pots), metals, "Bonshou" (Bells) of Buddhist temples and so on to the Government in order to make weapons. The Japanese were eager to win the War.

I thought that my family had rice paddies in the countryside and they had enough rice to eat for themselves, but I wondered why they couldn't save it for them, because they delivered rice which they produced to the Government. We also had "Ojiya" (rice gruel seasoned with miso or soy source) with vegetables and "Suiton" (flour dumplings boiled in soup) with vegetables. We had boiled sweet potatoes, potatoes and pumpkins. We cooked runners of sweet potatoes and had them. We had "Tanishi"(Mud snails) and "Inago"(Locusts). At a dormitory of a girls' high school we cooked by turns. Our meal was only a cup of corn gruel served in "Donburi"(one large bowl) and no side food.
But as soon as we listened to the announcement that "It's time for meal!", we used to rush into a dining room and try to find out corn gruel as much as possible in a big bowl.

Soldiers who got "Akagami" (red draft cards) and were called up for military service held the rising-sun flag and lined up and went to war like every day. That was a happy event and we also used to give them cheers and send them off.

I wondered why nobody went to war in my family because my grandfather was a village headman and my father was a postmaster and he wasn't healthy. Therefore I couldn't understand how hard going to war was and so my family used to draw a red circle on a sheet of paper and wave a small handmade rising-sun flag and send soldiers off on that day when they went to war.

At that time "We stop the attack after we defeat the enemy!" and " We want nothing till we win!" were our slogan. All of the Japanese were sensational for the War. I thought it was natural because the War had continued since I was born.

Nevertheless during the War countryside was quite peaceful. Our homeroom teacher gave extracurricular lessons to take girls' high school examination every day and I got into girl's school. At that time entrance into girl's school meant a first year student in a junior high school. Our school was in Fukui city. My 2 elder sisters worked in an arms factory. (All of senior students -elder students than junior high school students- were mobilized by an arms factory because of labor shortage during the War.) Only the first year students in girl's school took lessons briefly, but we went back to our dormitory for preliminary alert earlier than as usual almost every day.

My parents forced only me to get into a dormitory for girls' high school because I wasn't healthy and a bus (which was burnt by charcoal because of fuel shortage at that time) sometimes stopped and students grabbed a knob of open bus door for protecting themselves from dropping onto outside because a bus was more than full. My parents thought it was difficult for me to go to school from my home by bus.
My mother gave an air defense hood (with a long hip length jacket) and a first aid bag to me. The hood was about 5 centimeters thick and stuffed with cotton. My dormitory was in my schoolyard and near school-it took for me to go to school only for a minute. We had an air-raid here and there in Japan. The Government ordered my relatives in central Fukui to tear their house down to protect from catching fire because Fukui city was also dangerous. We went to our relatives to help them with moving. I thought we had no choice to win the War.

On July 19 (4 months later I got into a girl's school) I happened to encounter a big Fukui air-raid. Any time we wore clothes to escape and put an air defense hood and a first aid bag beside a bed and went to bed. About 10:30 p.m. a preliminary alert was announced and at 10:55 p.m. an air-raid alarm siren sounded. We said "We only go to an air-raid shelter every night, don't we?" and I put on a big air defense hood which my mother made for me and felt my way in the dark and entered an air-raid shelter- trench -only a cave near fence around my school and waited till Planes left. Every night we continued the same thing as I said above. But on that day the air-raid was different from as usual.
Bombs dropped onto our school the first. Afterward I heard very important things were produced in a factory of our school. We helped each other and got over a fence because we thought we were dangerous in a schoolyard. The fence was so high for children like us. We were very surprised at that later. It was said that 127 Planes of B 29 (large-scale and long-distance bomber produced by The Boeing Company) attacked Fukui city for 2 hours (from 10:55 p.m. to about 1:00 in the morning next day). 1576 people died and 481 people were seriously injured. (Later 108 people died.) and 1086 people were slightly injured according to the Police. In the dark incendiary bombs dropped from the sky very often. We got into a river and mud in a rice paddy as we were told because those who experienced an air-raid shouted to us "Lie down!  and "Get into a river!" Shoes slipped off and my body was covered with mud and I threw away my air defense hood and a first aid bag. I strayed from my friend who said to me "Let's die together!" and ran away together. I joined one group and the other one because I was alone. Of course around here it was very dark and midnight. Some group pulled the quilt over their heads and ran away. I also joined the group. Someone shouted "Danger because white color stands out!"

Incendiary bombs which dropped all at once spread out like fire works and the sky was bright red. But All around our school wasn't surrounded by a lot of fire because our school was far away from the city and it was beside a rice paddy. I missed my mother and father and I walked towards my home. In the dark night I came to the street for bus along the Asuwa river. I paid attention to a graveled river bank which was unpaved because I protected from dropping. I walked and walked from Fukui city to my home. It was 16 kilometers from Fukui city to home. At a bus stop (two thirds of 16 kilometers) I intended to take a rest for a while and lay down, but I slept. A lot of people from my countryside walked towards Fukui city that bombs were dropped to look for their family in the dark and they shouted out "Where is Mr. X X？" "Where is Miss X X ?  many times. While I slept in a bus stop shed, my father called my name and ran towards Fukui city. My father and I missed each other on the way. When I woke after dawn, I noticed that my woman's work pants were torn till my thigh and I threw away an air defense hood and a first aid bag, but I trudged along towards my home with bare feet by myself. 30 minutes before I arrived at my home, I met a village woman. She said to me,  How miserable ! ""I will give a pair of pants to you because I put on two pairs of them." I had a pair of pants worn. I got a rice ball, too. I remembered I had a rice ball by a fireside after I arrived at my home, but I couldn't remember except that so much because I thought I was very relieved. I heard the following story later. : It was said that all (60 members) who lived in our dormitory went back to our dormitory after calling off an air-raid. Our school was completely burnt down. One of 3 dormitories was burnt down, but my dormitory was escaped from fire. It was said that my father went to my dormitory and he gave up my existence because only me was missing and he pulled off straw mats which were covered with dead people and walked and walked to look for my dead body. After a while my father heard from an acquaintance who met me on a river bank that "Miss X X went home." and he was relieved. I hardly remembered the part of the story. I think I should have talked about it with my late parents in more detail.

(To be continued)