Entrevistas

1. Nisei Parents

2. His family Traveled to Japan in 1940

3. His Memory of August 6, 1945

4. Immediately after the bombing

5. Escape from Hiroshima

6. Other family members not as lucky

7. Returning to Hiroshima in ruins

8. His parents had little hope that he had survived the atomic bomb

9. Reuniting with parents in America

10. Adjustment to American life

11. The moment he realized he identified as an American

12. Overcoming trauma and speaking about his A-Bomb experience

13. On telling his wife he had radiation sickness and his son’s cancer

14. His views on nuclear weapons

Kakita,Howard

(n. 1938) Nipo-americano. Sobrevivente da bomba atômica de Hiroshima

Other family members not as lucky

Perhaps at this point I should mention my maternal side, they lived in Furue which is, I think, approximately three miles from ground zero, and probably south of the ground zero position. And they were basically farmers. They were farming at that time.

On that particular day, my grandparents, my maternal grandparents, grandfather, grandmother, and also my youngest uncle in that family, (that would be my mother’s youngest brother), the three of them took their produce and went into the city to sell. Although I don't know [their] exact location when the bomb exploded, but they must have been extremely close. My grandmother’s body was never recovered, she just disappeared. My grandfather was severely injured and somehow made it back to Furue only to die a few days later. My uncle, he said he was—I spoke to him in the past—he said that he was thrown into the river. There were many, many rivers in Hiroshima. He was thrown into the river, which probably saved his life. But he was severely burned on both of his legs.

bomba atômica sobreviventes da bomba atômica hibakusha Hiroshima (cidade) Província de Hiroshima Japão Segunda Guerra Mundial

Data: September 3, 2019

Localização Geográfica: California, US

Entrevistado: Masako Miki

País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Entrevistados

Howard Kakita nasceu em 1938 em East Los Angeles, Califórnia. Sua família o levou para o Japão em 1940. Seus pais e o irmão mais novo voltaram para os Estados Unidos em 1940 para cuidar dos negócios da família, mas Howard e um irmão mais velho, Kenny, ficaram no Japão.

Quando a guerra eclodiu, sua família nos EUA foi encarcerada em Poston, AZ. Em 6 de agosto de 1945, a bomba atômica foi lançada em Hiroshima. Howard estava a 1,3km do hipocentro e sobreviveu. Ele e Kenny voltaram para os EUA e reuniram-se com sua família em 1948.

Howard seguiu carreira em Engenharia da Computação. Após sua aposentadoria, ingressou na American Society Hiroshima-Nagasaki Survivors Bomb Atomic (ASA) e tem compartilhado ativamente sua experiência com a bomba atômica. (Setembro de 2019)