“I survived by the grace of the deceased.
But to stop history from repeating itself I have to speak.”
-Haruyo Nihei, Tokyo firebomb survivor
Mrs. Haruyo Nihei experienced the firebombing of Tokyo on the night of March 10th, 1945. Bombers carpeted Tokyo with spread incendiary bombs for hours and after the bombing ceased, the city was wrapped in flames. Almost everything burnt in the city.
“The fire died down because there was nothing left to be burnt. I remember walking the site of fire, by stepping over charred bodies”
When the bombing started she began to escape with her family, but the flames cornered her and
she was separated from them. The streets were full of panic. She fell down and fainted. People then piled
on top of her. She, and others near the bottom of the pile, survived because the people near the top
bore the brunt of the inferno.
This portrait is a part of my From Above project which featured portraits of atomic bomb and firebombing survivors from WWII. My limited edition book is available at http://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i&i2