【被爆80年】爆心地から500mで生き残った赤ちゃん　母の背には無数のガラス片、兄姉は炭に…江頭直美さんが初めて知った母の思い

Just 500 meters from the hypocenter of the Nagasaki atomic bomb, a baby miraculously survived thanks to its mother's protection at the former Shiroyama National School (now Shiroyama Elementary School). Egashira Naomi, 80, is remembered for the first time 80 years after the bombing. Her mother's thoughts: 500 meters from the hypocenter, mother and daughter survive. The former Shiroyama National School (now Nagasaki Municipal Shiroyama Elementary School) stood just 500 meters from the hypocenter. Approximately 1,400 students lost their lives in their homes and elsewhere, and 28 of the 31 teachers and staff at the school died. Only three people survived the bombing at school. Among them were her mother, Chiyoko Egashira, a teacher, and her fourth daughter, Naomi, who was 1 year and 2 months old at the time. Naomi: "My mother and I would come here every now and then to see the cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms were so beautiful..." Naomi still lives in Nagasaki Prefecture. On this day, the mother and daughter visited Shiroyama Elementary School, which was hit by the bomb. Many cherry trees, representing hopes for peace, have been planted at Shiroyama Elementary School. The cherry tree, named "Kayoko Sakura," was donated in 1949 by Hayashi Tsue, the mother of Hayashi Kayoko, who died in the Shiroyama Elementary School building. A single cherry tree blooms quietly next to the Kayoko Sakura, named "Egashira Sakura," and was planted in memory of Egashira Chiyoko, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 92. Naomi, Chiyoko's daughter, who saw the cherry tree for the first time in a long time, reflected on her mother: "My mother did a great job... She was surprisingly strong-willed, and always well-behaved. My friends would laugh and say, 'Naomi's mother is scary!' But she'd always say, 'I'm not scared.'" Naomi, who was carried on the school's back. At the time of the bombing, two three-story reinforced concrete school buildings stood side by side. The atomic bomb destroyed the interiors of the north and south school buildings, and the second and third floors of the north building were completely burned. Most of the school was demolished in the 1970s, but the staircase in the north building was preserved as a relic from the atomic bombing and is open to the public as the Peace Memorial Hall. Photographs of teachers and staff who lost their lives in the atomic bombing are on display inside the hall. Naomi: Q: Was Egashira in the nurse's office? "He was a baby, only 1 year and 2 months old... It's amazing he was spared..." The pain felt like flesh being torn apart. Egashira, Naomi's mother, who protected her, shared the atomic bombing story of his mother, Chiyoko, who remains with NBC. Chiyoko Egashira (from the 1970 broadcast "Talking about the Atomic Bombing"): "I don't usually work while carrying her on my back, but she fell asleep on my back. They said, 'Naomi's asleep, let's let her sleep,' so I went to the infirmary and hadn't even untied her sling yet... I heard a loud bang, like the school building was collapsing, so I put her down and lay her face down. That's when the atomic bomb fell. I didn't know anything about light or anything. I just felt a strong pain, like the flesh on my back was being torn apart, and a deafening roar..." As the school building was hit by heat rays, blast wind, and radiation, Chiyoko risked her life to protect Naomi. Countless shards of glass pierced her back. Naomi was barely injured. Children reduced to ashes However, her eldest daughter Mitsuko, second daughter Harumi, third daughter Kazumi, and mother-in-law, who were at home, died instantly. Her eldest son and husband, who were also exposed to the atomic bomb, soon died, and Chiyoko lost six family members in the atomic bombing. Egashira Chiyoko (interviewed in 1990): "The children knew nothing... Before they could even say the word 'mother,' they were reduced to pitch-black charcoal...to ashes... When I thought about the fact that they were killed by human hands, I hated the war so much. Every day, every day for the past 45 years, it felt like August 9th." Every day...the horror of radiation. After the war, Chiyoko continued working as a teacher while desperately raising Naomi. She worried that her daughter's body would be affected by the radiation. Chiyoko's testimony from her lifetime reveals anxieties she could not share with others. Chiyoko Egashira (from the 1970 broadcast of "Talking About the Atomic Bombing"): "Only those who experienced the bombing can understand this. I wondered when Naomi would develop leukemia..." I didn't say that to anyone, though. I tried to act tough like a man, but deep down I was worried every day. Even when I had a nosebleed, I'd be shocked and say, "Oh no!" Even when we were expecting a child, I'd wonder, "Will the baby be a happy one?" I really worried in secret." Naomi's tears flow uncontrollably as she hears her mother's thoughts for the first time. Naomi's eyes well up with tears. Nao...