Posted on May 11, 2022
Japanese writer who documented WWII Tokyo firebombing dies
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Katsumoto Saotome, a Japanese writer who gathered the accounts of survivors of the U.S. firebombing of Tokyo in World War II to raise awareness of the massive civilian deaths and the importance of peace, has died. He was 90.
One of his publishers, Iwanami Shoten, confirmed his death. He died on Tuesday of organ failure related to old age at a hospital in Saitama, north of Tokyo, NHK public television reported.
A native of Tokyo, Saotome was 12 when he narrowly survived the firebombing of the city on March 10, 1945, that turned the densely populated downtown area of the Japanese capital into an inferno. “I ran for my life as countless cluster bombs rained down,” Saotome recalled in one of his storytelling events.
More than 105,000 people are estimated to have died and a million made homeless in a single night, but the devastation has been largely eclipsed in history by the U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities several months later.
One of his publishers, Iwanami Shoten, confirmed his death. He died on Tuesday of organ failure related to old age at a hospital in Saitama, north of Tokyo, NHK public television reported.
A native of Tokyo, Saotome was 12 when he narrowly survived the firebombing of the city on March 10, 1945, that turned the densely populated downtown area of the Japanese capital into an inferno. “I ran for my life as countless cluster bombs rained down,” Saotome recalled in one of his storytelling events.
More than 105,000 people are estimated to have died and a million made homeless in a single night, but the devastation has been largely eclipsed in history by the U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities several months later.
Japanese writer who documented WWII Tokyo firebombing dies
Posted from apnews.com
Tokyo
WWII World War Two
Journalism
Stories
Military History
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Postwar governments have provided a total of 60 trillion yen ($460 billion) in welfare support for military veterans and bereaved families, and medical support for survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but nothing for civilian victims of the firebombings.
Acclaimed filmmaker Yoji Yamada, known for his highly popular film series “Otoko wa Tsuraiyo" ("It’s Hard Being a Man"), featuring a lovable wandering peddler named Tora-san, was a longtime friend of Saotome. He told Japanese media that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of his precious friend with whom he discussed postwar Japan, war and peace.”
Yamada often visited the firebombing museum. Sometimes Saotome took him around the area, making him a big fan of the Shibamata area, which became home to the Tora-san series."
..."Postwar governments have provided a total of 60 trillion yen ($460 billion) in welfare support for military veterans and bereaved families, and medical support for survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but nothing for civilian victims of the firebombings.
Acclaimed filmmaker Yoji Yamada, known for his highly popular film series “Otoko wa Tsuraiyo" ("It’s Hard Being a Man"), featuring a lovable wandering peddler named Tora-san, was a longtime friend of Saotome. He told Japanese media that he was “deeply saddened by the loss of his precious friend with whom he discussed postwar Japan, war and peace.”
Yamada often visited the firebombing museum. Sometimes Saotome took him around the area, making him a big fan of the Shibamata area, which became home to the Tora-san series."
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Grave of the Fireflies - Official Trailer
In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year-old sister, the...
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“...it belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made...”
[Roger Ebert]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-grave-of-the-fireflies-1988
[Roger Ebert]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-grave-of-the-fireflies-1988
Grave of the Fireflies movie review (1988) | Roger Ebert
In the waning days of World War II, American bombers drop napalm canisters on Japanese cities, creating fire storms. These bombs, longer than a tin can but about as big around, fall to earth trailing cloth tails that flutter behind them; they are almost a beautiful sight. After they hit, there is a moment’s silence, and then they detonate, spraying their surroundings with flames. In a Japanese residential neighborhood, made of flimsy wood and...
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