Beyond War - The Adachi Sans

Below is my interview with Mrs. Yashima. My goal for this entire project is to hear about each subjects’ experience. This is what everyday children went through during a war. War is often thought of as country vs. country. This might be accurate for people who decide on their own to go into a war, however, the cost for everyday people who happened to be born in a country that experiences a war is immeasurable. The people I interviewed, who were children during World War II, all talked about the mistake of starting a war. As this generation ages and passes away, I wanted to share their stories, not to change anyone’s mind, but in hopes that their experiences will give all of us one more piece of information to consider as we make decisions about peace in the future.

Interview

We lived in the countryside when the war started. Our area was so rural that American soldiers did not attack it.

Even then, when a B29 flew above us, we were directed to hide under a structure or river bank. After the war broke out, there was no school. All the kids were told to make food. The lecture hall was used to create weapons. Our schoolyard became a farm to make potatoes.

Mr. Adachi: I was in 5th grade and had to go to the mountains to get specific wood to create more fuel for the army airplanes and tanks.

During this time, the authorities took all our food, so we ate wheat as our primary food. We had our family so we could cook wheat in hot water, but kids who were evacuated from the cities without relatives ate uncooked wheat. We were all asked to farm even when hungry, and our food crops were taken. We ate some food at home and had to be ready for the next day.

Mrs. Adachi: My sister got married during the war. They had a kid together. Within the first 100 days, her husband was forced to join the army, and he did not come back. Speaking against the government would make us traitors, so everybody followed orders. As kids, we didn’t even think of questioning our government.

We both remember their teachers being so scary. Our teachers changed all the time, particularly the men. They were taken into the army without training and we didn’t see anybody return.

We never thought Japan would lose. We were taught we were winning. We all dealt with hunger and misery for the country. Then, we all heard the news about Japan’s loss and the war ending on the radio. I remember my sister crying.

After the war, food resources were still devastated; however, since the authorities stopped taking our food away, the situation got a little better as time passed.

People killing other people should not be happening in this age.