Black Rain

“The real trouble was the rumor.”

One of the lasting effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima is the victims' struggles to separate truth from fiction. In the aftermath of the bomb, rumors spread quickly through the city, and few people know about the real effects of radiation sickness. The contrast between the brutal reality and the fleeting, untrue rumors created more problems. The irony of the rumors is that real problems derive from false ideas. Rumors are a real problem, both in the immediate and long-term sense. The rumors never stopped, and Yasuko still suffers due to people’s inability to trust the reality any longer.

“A ‘walk’ was unthinkable in terms of traditional custom, and thus unthinkable in principle.”

One of the biggest challenges faced by the victims of the Hiroshima bomb is resolving the tension between long-held traditions and the reality of the current moment. Taking a walk may be medically necessary for people with radiation sickness, but traditional culture prevents a healthy-looking head of the household from taking this course of action. Tradition and culture constrain people, trapping them in a society not ready for the challenges of the modern age.