Emika Shimizu, 101, a hibakusha from Hiroshima, speaks about war and peace. Eriko Masuzaka, her granddaughter, and her great-grandson are with her. (Video taken by Koichi Ueda)

Photo/Illutration Emika Shimizu smiles at Eriko Masuzaka and her great-grandson at her home in Tokyo in May. (Koichi Ueda)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series on hibakusha who responded to a survey by The Asahi Shimbun, The Chugoku Shimbun and The Nagasaki Shimbun on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings.

Eriko Masuzaka found an unfamiliar envelope in the mailbox while visiting her paternal grandmother’s home in Tokyo.

It contained a nationwide survey of atomic bomb survivors addressed to her grandmother, Emika Shimizu, who was in Hiroshima when the city was leveled on Aug. 6, 1945.

Masuzaka, 38, wondered if her grandmother could fill it out on her own. The 101-year-old recently became reluctant to write.

“Do you mind if I write for you?” Masuzaka asked.

Shimizu, as she sat in her floor chair, responded with her usual gentle smile.

Masuzaka has regularly visited Shimizu’s home since her 1-year-old son was born. She has taken a break from her work as a midwife to raise him.

When she was a child, Masuzaka used to chat with Shimizu every time they bathed together.

She was told that Shimizu was adopted by her childless uncle after graduating from a girls’ school.

On the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, Shimizu was at the Hiroshima Regional Monopoly Bureau, where cigarettes were produced.

Just as she entered the office and sat down, Shimizu experienced an intense flash of light and a deafening sound.

She was exposed to the blast of the atomic bomb but suffered no major injuries.

However, the home of her adoptive parents was burned down, and the couple were found reduced to bones in the ruins. Shimizu never once called her adoptive father “Dad.”

Shimizu told Masuzaka about her experience on the fateful day many times.

As she spoke, Shimizu’s tone was hardly different from their everyday conversations, but she would shed tears as Aug. 6 approached each year.

Masuzaka said she now realizes that she was unknowingly receiving an education in peace from her grandmother.

When Shimizu sees news about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, she is reminded of her younger brother, who was drafted during the war.

Looking at her great-grandson, she sometimes says, “He may be taken away as a soldier, too.”

Her memories are gradually fading, and she often struggles to find the right words.

Masuzaka fears that history might repeat itself when the experiences and memories of people of her grandmother’s generation pass into oblivion.

That is why she wanted to help Shimizu respond to the survey and preserve her story.

The final question was: “What would you like to pass on to the next generation?”

Shimizu replied, “I just want everyone to stay well.”

Masuzaka said that response epitomizes the kind of person her grandmother is.

When her son grows up, Masuzaka wants to tell him: “Your great-grandmother survived (the atomic bombing), and (her family’s) life continued on. That is a miraculous life, so you must treasure it.”

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