Black Rain

Black Rain is a 1965 historical novel by Japanese author Masuji Ibuse. The novel blends authentic accounts and information with a fictional plot to describe the aftermath of the destruction of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by an American atomic bomb in 1945. Black Rain was adapted into a film in 1989. This guide uses an eBook version of the 1979 edition of Black Rain, translated into English by John Bester.

Plot Summary

Shigematsu Shizuma is a Japanese man who lives near Hiroshima with his wife Shigeko and his niece Yasuko. During World War II, the city of Hiroshima was bombed by the United States using a brand-new technology. This mysterious atomic bomb fell on August 6, 1945, and killed tens of thousands of people. Many others, such as Shigematsu, were near enough to the bomb site to be affected by the nuclear fallout, which lingered for a long time. As the Japanese people had no idea about the existence of the atomic bomb or the nature of this new weapon, many people travelled to the site of the bombing to search for loved ones or to return to their homes. As a result, they became sick.

The radiation sickness affects many people, even years after the end of the war. Shigematsu is one such person. He continues to suffer from radiation sickness, and he cannot overexert himself otherwise he will become ill. Together with two other men from his village, he searches for less intense ways to spend his time while feeling guilty that he is not able to work as hard as other people. Shigematsu and his similarly afflicted friends decide to rear carp to give themselves a project and to provide some benefit for the local people who accuse them of spending their days fishing.

Shigematsu’s niece Yasuko lives with her aunt and uncle. They are trying to arrange a marriage for her, but they struggle to deal with a persistent rumor that she is also suffering from radiation poisoning. Shigematsu knows that Yasuko was a long distance away from Hiroshima on the day the bomb fell. To prove that Yasuko is healthy, he turns to the journals that he, his wife, and Yasuko kept at the time. The journals explain their actions and movements in the aftermath of the bomb attack. Shigematsu begins transcribing the journals to present to the parents of prospective husbands and to donate to museums and scientific research groups who may find his experiences interesting.

Shigematsu begins transcribing his diary with the entry on the day of the bomb. He describes how he is just outside the blast zone affected by the bomb. After being knocked unconscious by the initial explosion, he wakes up and travels to Hiroshima. Like everyone else, Shigematsu does not know anything about atomic bombs or the radiation they leave behind. He sees many injured or dead people in the ruined city. People search for dead or missing loved ones. Shigematsu returns home, following a long train of similarly affected people. His house is destroyed, but he finds Shigeko and Yasuko. Both are safe. They travel to the factory where Shigematsu works, where they stay in the employee living quarters.

Over the coming days, people continue to fall sick and die with mysterious illnesses. No one knows the true extent of the devastation caused by the bomb as the local bureaucracies and institutions try to return to some form of operating capacity. Shigematsu returns to Hiroshima several times to try to acquire coal for the factory, but he returns home empty handed. On each trip, he sees people burning the dead beside the road, and he feels increasingly sick. He does not know what is happening to him. After more than a week of living in the factory and trying to make sense of what has happened, an emergency radio broadcast announces that the war is over because Japan cannot fight against the United States without bringing about the death of every Japanese person.

In the present day, Yasuko hides her rapidly developing radiation sickness from her family. She falls very sick, and all wedding plans are abandoned. Shigematsu continues to transcribe his journal from the period of the bombing. He adds in accounts from Shigeko and other people who were affected by radiation sickness. Yasuko goes to the hospital and Shigematsu fears she will die. He continues to rear carp with his friends, and he tries to keep his optimism alive, even if he knows the truth about the dangers of radiation sickness.