Photo/Illutration Takeo Saito, center, with Miyo-chan (Provided by Takeo Saito)

NAGASAKI—For about four decades, Takeo Saito has been creating a map of the Shiroyamamachi 1-chome area here, driven by a sense of guilt.

The district was home to his elementary school, and many of his friends back then were killed when the atomic bomb was dropped over Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.

Over the years, Saito, 85, has been adding newly discovered information to the map, such as the homes of his former schoolmates, how they and their family members died and wartime events in the neighborhood.

More than 1,400 children died around the school, Shiroyama Kokumin Gakko, about 500 meters from ground zero.

Saito was a student at the elementary school, but his family had evacuated to Miyakonojo in Miyazaki Prefecture a month before the nuclear attack.

Among all those killed in the atomic bombing, Miyoko Toma, a cousin one year his senior, was nearest and dearest to Saito.

Miyo-chan, as she was called, was akin to his elder sister. She was raised at Saito’s home after her mother died during childbirth.

She left his home when her father remarried. But her family moved to Shiroyamamachi in spring 1945, and Miyo-chan also attended Shiroyama Kokumin Gakko.

She and her family members were all killed at their home in the atomic bombing.

Saito’s nagging regret is that he cannot even recall the last time he met his cousin.

He said he does not know if Miyo-chan came to see him off when his family moved to Miyakonojo or if he visited her home to say good-bye.

“It is sad,” he said.

About 20 years ago, Saito read a note written by a former junior high school classmate.

Her mother and two sisters died in Shiroyamamachi in the atomic bombing, and she suffered an injury in her left leg and had difficulty walking.

The woman wrote about her sorrows as well as her strong hope for peace.

Saito said he did not realize that she had been suffering until he read her note, and he regretted his “irresponsible” way of life.

“I have lived all these years without knowing everyone’s life even though they were close by,” he said.

Saito returned to Nagasaki in 1947 and attended Shiroyama Elementary School, which was reorganized from Shiroyama Kokumin Gakko.

He went on to become a social studies teacher at a junior high school.

Saito, who was born and raised in Shiroyamamachi, began collecting books and documents about the area when he was in his 40s.

He searched for the locations of homes of his former schoolmates and plotted about 30 of them on the map, which carries memories about his friends.

The map also includes information about the horrors of the atomic bombing, such as “about 50 bodies” in a river near the school and “more than 2,000 bodies” gathered at a shrine near a kindergarten.

Saito has continued to gather information about his former schoolmates to add to the map.

When he learns something about his friends, he often sends a letter and goes to meet people who know about them.

Still, Saito has been unable to find any clues about some of the friends. For others, he cannot recollect their names.

He said his sense of guilt never disappears no matter how detailed his map becomes.

Miyo-chan looms large in Saito’s mind, and he continues to search for any traces of her short life.

He said he was probably her only friend in Shiroyamamachi after her family relocated to the neighborhood just a few months before the bombing.

Saito carries Miyo-chan’s photograph with his driver’s license to keep his memories of her alive.

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