Children of Hiroshima (1952)

Post war Hiroshima: It's been four years since the last time she visited her hometown. Takako faces the after effects of the A-bomb when she travels around the city to call on old friends.

Director:

Kaneto Shindô

Writers:

Arata Osada (novel), Kaneto Shindô

Stars:

Nobuko Otowa, Osamu Takizawa, Masao Shimizu

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nobuko Otowa	...	Takako Ishikawa
Osamu Takizawa	...	Iwakichi
Masao Shimizu	...	Toshiaki, Takako's father
Jûkichi Uno	...	Kôji (scenes deleted)
Akira Yamauchi
Takashi Itô
Jun Tatara
Tsutomu Shimomoto	...	Natsue's husband
Hideji Ôtaki
Eiken Shôji
Shinsuke Ashida
Shin Date
Chikako Hosokawa	...	Setsu, Takako's mother
Tanie Kitabayashi	...	Otoyo
Yoshiko Sakurai

Storyline

Six years after the atomic bombing of 06 August 1945, the school teacher Takako Ishikawa returns to Hiroshima on her vacation to visit friends and to honor her parents that died in the bombing. Takako was raised by her uncle and aunt. While in her hometown she stays with her friend, Natsue Morikawa, who has become infertile due to the side effect of the A-bomb. While walking along the destroyed city, she sees a former family friend, Iwakichi, who worked with her father, and is almost blind and has become a beggar. She pays a visit to his shanty in the slums and discovers that his grandson, Taro, is living in an orphanage since Iwakichi's shanty is no place to raise the child. When Morikawa tells her that three former pupils from the kindergarten have survived to the bombing, Takako pays a visit to each one of them and finds how the A-bomb and the radiation have affected their lives. Before returning home, Takako asks Iwakachi to let her bring Taro with her; but their bond is very ...

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Plot Keywords:

hiroshima | atomic bomb | post war | japan | grief | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 August 1952 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Children of Hiroshima

Filming Locations:

Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kindai Eiga Kyokai, Mingei

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was sponsored by Japan Teachers' Union.

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Quotes

Toshiko, former pupil: [Takako is visiting her in a church, where she lies critically ill with radiation sickness] Ah, Teacher.
Takako Ishikawa: You still remember me.
Toshiko, former pupil: I didn't at first but it came to me.
Takako Ishikawa: Have you live here all this time?
Toshiko, former pupil: Yes, for six years. The priest saved me the day of the bomb. I've been here ever since.
Takako Ishikawa: And your mother and father?
Toshiko, former pupil: Everyone was killed. And I decided to stay here. Here I can say prayers for them. I ask God to grant us peace forever.
Takako Ishikawa: That is a very good thing to do.
Toshiko, former pupil: Now I understand that war is the ...
[...]

User Reviews

A greatly overlooked drama.

Nominated for the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953, which was the highest prize at the time; Children of Hiroshima is Kaneto Shindo's third film and he shows that he is a good director. The first thing that caught my attention was its excellent cinematography and its musical score.

Children of Hiroshima follows a kindergarten teacher Takako, as she returns to Hiroshima after its bombing and meets with her former pupils, six years after teaching them. Only a handful remain. The story does not follow some basic movie template. Children are the theme of the story, rather than indicators of major plot points, we really get to know the people Takako visits, as we learn the stories of their past and the life they live as a result of the bombing. There are many great scenes, one where a plane flies overhead, and although historically, we know that Hiroshima isn't attacked again, we get a feeling of how frightened the residents must feel.

It's amazing how prolific Kaneto Shindo has been, with a total of 43 directing credits, and many more writing credits. He even has a film in post-production right now, at the age of 95.

This movie has been released into the public domain, so it can be legally downloaded off of the web.