Years after being collected for a museum that has never seen the light of day, the accounts of survivors of the 1945 Great Tokyo Air Raid are finally being heard.

The recordings are part of a current public exhibition that is now touring Tokyo in time for the 79th anniversary of the deadly attack, which occurred on March 10, 1945. 

They were originally to be part of a museum proposed by an expert panel 30 years ago to memorialize the deadly night fire bombing raid, which turned Tokyo into an inferno and killed about 100,000 people. 

But dissension over how to refer to Japan's wartime aggression as part of the exhibition led to the proposed museum being dropped during the 1990s.

Following the freezing of the project, the recorded recollections were long relegated to a warehouse. But the collection of survivors’ stories was eventually made available to the public through a limited-time display on Feb. 28.

On the opening day of the exhibition, visitors listened to the explanations of survivors at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater in the capital’s Toshima Ward.

One such individual says in the movie that the victim “looked out and found the western sky was burning red, with pillars of fire rising.” The survivor adds that “blazes were spreading quickly.”

Flames in the ferocious bombing by U.S. forces were likened by a storyteller to “fireballs, not sparks,” because “large boards and galvanized iron sheets set on fire were flying in the air.”

A survivor recalled “discovering many charred log-like things.” The individual “tried to remove them and realized they were all corpses.”

The reel includes the stories of 122 of 330 individuals who gave their recorded accounts. The Tokyo government obtained permission to share their memories from survivors, their families and other relevant officials by last June.

Tokyo officials said they could not gain approval in some cases because witnesses had passed away. Each citizen’s account was edited down to 10 minutes or so.

“Many of the storytellers must have since died,” said Keima Shibata, 93, a member of a citizens group calling for the introduction of a peace memorial museum in Tokyo, expressing his regret. “Showing their memories now still has great significance, given that the damage and sorrows that were formerly not known can be introduced to people.”

Masami Higaki, 86, a former head of the Tokyo-to Irei Kyokai (Tokyo soul consolation association) that holds commemorative events for victims, emphasized the importance of the personal accounts.

“They offered accounts since they considered telling stories as a mission for survivors to stop memories of the catastrophe from fading,” Higaki said. “I expect the metropolitan government of Tokyo to make efforts, so the footage will reach as many people as possible.”

The film will be showcased through March at four locations within the capital.

The air raid exhibition will continue at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater until March 13. It will also be held at the Mitaka City Public Hall and the Chofu City Cultural Hall until March 12 and from March 7 to March 14, respectively.

The showing will likewise be featured in a memorial service to be organized at the metropolitan government’s offices on March 10.

“Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II,” said a former senior Tokyo official who is knowledgeable about the collecting of the accounts. “I am very glad that the footage of survivors’ stories has finally been made publicly available, because the issue of how to handle it has long been pending.”

MUSEUM PLAN LONG ON HOLD

The recollections of those victimized by the Great Tokyo Air Raid were hidden from the public eye for a prolonged period. Behind this inaction were politicians who failed to agree on how to pass down Japan’s war-related legacy.

The survivor story collection was initially among the items to be displayed at a peace memorial museum proposed by then Tokyo Governor Shunichi Suzuki.

The basic plan developed in 1994 would utilize images and replica models to illustrate the devastation caused by the Great Tokyo Air Raid along with the effects on victims’ lives.

People’s daily lives during and after the war, historical events in the Cold War during the postwar period, the history of the nuclear arms race and a range of topics covering war and peace, as well as bombing damage, would be detailed at the museum.

In one corner, Japan’s invasion of other Asian nations was to be touched upon, with an eye toward portraying historical developments, such as the 1931 Mukden Incident and the end of World War II, to retrace the “path that led to the Tokyo air raid.”

The objective of the section is specified in a report on which the fundamental plan was laid out. It was worked out by an expert panel in 1993.

“What factors contributed to leading up to the disastrous air raid should be made understandable for viewers,” the report reads. “It would be ideal to depict it (Japan) as not only a victim but also an aggressor (in connection with the nation’s commitment to war).”

However, members of the metropolitan assembly who belonged to the Liberal Democratic Party and the now-dissolved Democratic Party of Japan criticized the plan.

One politician called it “inappropriate to put too much emphasis on the aggression side of Japan.” Another complaint was that the “exhibition is characterized by a certain historical viewpoint that disrespects our homeland.”

The fact that an envisioned exhibit space located in Tokyo referred to the capital as a “military city” in its title likewise sparked anger among opponents who said the name “virtually indicates that it can't be helped that a military city was destroyed in a massive air raid.”

The Tokyo metropolitan assembly therefore adopted a supplementary resolution in 1998, requesting that the museum’s “construction should be carried out only after the metropolitan assembly’s consent is secured.”

The metropolitan government expressed its intention to respect the assembly's decision. This meant that construction of the peace memorial facility was effectively frozen.

Collected recollections of survivors were left untouched in a storehouse of the metropolitan government.

“The metropolitan government could not take voluntary action given the supplementary resolution for the commemorative museum, but we thought it improper to keep the valuable material lying dormant,” explained a representative of the Tokyo government. “We have been moving to take advantage of it though step by step.”

A former Tokyo official described the utilization of the first-person memories amassed by the metropolitan government as “a remaining challenge for us.”

HISTORIC TURNING POINT

In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike mentioned the possible use of the footage to depict the horrors of warfare at the assembly 24 years after it adopted the resolution. 

Before that, positive voices were heard on the use of the footage among the assembly members. 

“They apparently sought a compromise while pointing to the invasion of Ukraine” in the hopes of rescuing the collection of stories that had been gathering dust, recalled an assembly insider about the suggestion for the film’s use.

A metropolitan assembly member said that the situation has changed with the retirement or death of some assembly members who were strong critics of the memorial facility project at the time.

Meanwhile, no progress has been made in negotiations over making a dedicated museum a reality. 

A senior member of an assembly faction said the debate will inevitably involve “the issue of ideologies” among politicians. There have been no concrete moves to restarting discussions, according to multiple faction executives.

The latest air raid exhibit shows off victims’ personal belongings, an artillery round fragment and other articles alongside the video of recollections.

“The content of the display is neutral,” said a metropolitan government official.

While no dedicated sections were put in place to detail Japan’s aggression, one survivor in the movie calls on visitors “not to forget that Japan did the same as an aggressor, too.”