HIROSHIMA--Kento Ogata regrets not paying closer attention when he was growing up to his grandfather’s stories about the aftermath of the city’s atomic bombing.

Now, at the age of 32, Ogata is among a small group of individuals committed to passing on family recollections of the Aug. 6, 1945, event that took tens of thousands of lives in a heartbeat.

Increasingly, the authorities here are confronting the reality of a dwindling number of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors. Many are too frail now to comb their memories of that fateful morning 78 years ago.

Ogata first heard his grandfather’s stories when he was in the fourth grade. He listened to the “old man” as part of a homework project over the summer break.

He recalled that his grandfather, normally always smiling and cheerful, adopted a sterner expression on those occasions.

Since fiscal 2022, the Hiroshima city government has operated a program aimed at encouraging family members to talk about the war experiences of their parents or grandparents.

The initiative involves not only listening to what they endured, but also sessions to engineer a presentation that will hold the attention of audiences.

Ogata is part of a seven-member group that since April has been meeting with individuals and others eager to hear what hibakusha experienced.

The Hiroshima city government, alarmed at the advancing age of hibakusha--their average is now 85--decided there was no time to waste in getting the program up and running.

The story Ogata tells concerns his 94-year-old grandfather, Shozo Matsubara, who arrived in Hiroshima soon after the atomic bombing and was exposed to radiation.

On Aug. 2, Ogata told visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum what his grandfather encountered.

“I saw a row of collapsed homes and people with open sores on their skin.”

Ogata said his grandfather was often reluctant to talk about the past because he felt it would only make those listening miserable.

Ogata had his lightbulb moment after he left Hiroshima to attend university.

It was only then that he realized the wide gap in interest about the atomic bombing between Hiroshima residents and those living elsewhere.

When Ogata told his grandfather of his eagerness to join the municipal government program, the old man was chuffed, saying it was his responsibility as someone who had lived through the atomic bombing to pass on his experience.

Matsubara was 16 when the atomic bomb detonated over the bustling city in western Japan. He spent about six months talking to his grandson about those days.

“The number of people who lived through that time is rapidly decreasing,” Ogata said. “I should have started listening to my grandfather much earlier.”

HOLDING ONTO HOPE

Naho Kono, 25, also has a story to tell. She is now in the training program to pass on the experiences of her grandmother, Kiyomi, 92.

For the past 20 years or so, Kiyomi has been talking about her experiences as a hibakusha.

She was 14 years old when she entered Hiroshima after the atomic bombing to search for her two older sisters.

What she saw were the bodies of children her own age.

While Kiyomi felt it was her responsibility to pass on what happened, she has also become increasingly concerned about how long she can continue due to her failing health.

As Naho was thinking about how she could help her grandmother, she heard her talk about her experiences last year.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kiyomi touched upon the threat by Russian President Vladimir Putin to unleash nuclear weapons.

“I was really shocked because that made me feel as though all that I had done was in vain,” Kiyomi said.

“But it is also important to talk about the suffering that actually happened and to continue to pass on our hope for peace and to hold on to that hope,” she added.

Naho has a rather graphic take on getting her grandmother’s story across. She accepts that while some people might understand some of what happened by looking at old photos, they would not have any comprehension of the smells her grandmother encountered, the heat of the ground or the feeling of stepping on charred bodies.

That is what she tries to convey.