Silent Histories

The indiscriminate bombing by U.S.forces during the Pacific War massacred 330,000 and left 430,000 Japanese citizens injured. More than 9.7 million citizens were left homeless as 2.23 million houses were, and over 200 cities were damaged. In this enormous damage, a girl lost her left foot at the age of six, and a fire bomb left a baby's foot in flames two hours after her birth. Another boy was burned over his entire body, as well as losing all six of his family members in a flash and becoming an orphan. Japan brought about its economic recovery in the wake of wartime devastation. Such remarkable growth was even called "Japanese economic miracle". In contrast to the historically lustrous economic growth, children with wounds of war were forced to live a harsh life, unable to cure their wounds. They have lived in the shadows, trying to hide their scars and avoid causing someone trouble by being visible, trying hard to cover their pain. This book gives voice to their histories which were kept silent for 69 years.