Black Rain

Shokichi and Asajiro invite Shigematsu to join them in expanding the carp rearing project. He agrees to join them for a three- to four-day “period of study” (57) with the man who supplies the carp. He hopes he can continue transcribing the diaries during this study period.

Shigematsu continues to describe the day of the bombing. He inspects his garden for damage. Finding dead fish in his pond, he is filled with a “nameless dread” (58) about what type of horrific new weapon has been used. Next, he checks the other houses on the silent street. As he uses wooden beams to prop up a falling wall, he spots his young neighbor, Hashizume. The typically “cheerful, lively youth” (59) is unresponsive to Shigematsu's questions. Eventually, Hashizume explains that his school collapsed, and many students were crushed to death. Shigematsu brings the dazed Hashizume back to the meeting point, where the youngster is told his parents have gone to the hospital. He goes to find them. Shigematsu and Shigeko want to warn Yasuko about potential fires she may encounter if she tries to travel home from Furue. Before they can go anywhere to meet her, they find Yasuko back at their house. Yasuko, who has been placed in Shigematsu's care and feels like “almost a daughter” (61) to him, weeps with joy to be reunited with her aunt and uncle. She has a strange black mark on her hand that will not wash away. When he asks his similarly afflicted neighbors, Shigematsu learns that the marks come from the black rain that is falling on Hiroshima after the bomb. However, the neighbors assure him the government says the black marks are not harmful.

Fearing the neighborhood will soon burn down, Shigematsu and his neighbor plan to evacuate their families by a boat. When they arrive at the river, however, the boat is gone. Shigematsu and his family return home to find their house has collapsed and is “no more” (64). Shigematsu leads his family through the ruined village and thick smoke. Yasuko trips over a dead body “clasping a dead baby in its arms” (64). They eventually pass through the devastated environment, past the many bodies, and Shigematsu wonders how these people could have died “such a grotesque death” (66).

Shigematsu continues to transcribe his journal of the bombing. Electrical cables, falling charcoal, and dense smoke block the path ahead. Shigematsu, Shigeko, and Yasuko pass through once familiar but now desolate neighborhoods. They head further into Hiroshima city, closer to where “the bomb had been dropped” (69). Shigematsu meets Sato, a police officer, and they discuss the destruction. Shigematsu leads his family along a river to find a way to cross while “countless dead bodies” (70) float past. They pass dead soldiers and clusters of dead people huddled together. They see children beside their dead parents, and they can do nothing to help. Wading through the river, they reach rice fields. Shigematsu feels exhausted. He sits down for a moment and cannot help but fall asleep. Shigeko and Yasuko lay down beside him and rest. When he wakes, he drinks water, and they continue their journey as the sun sets. Shigematsu overhears a group of refugees gathered around a campfire. They discuss the destruction and wonder whether other Japanese cities have suffered a similar fate. Shigematsu encourages his exhausted family to continue their journey until they eventually reach Yamamoto Station. The trains are running, and every coach is full. Shigematsu squeezes his family onboard a cramped train, where he is pressed against a woman holding her dead baby in a bundle. The train departs.

Shigematsu continues his diary entry from the day of the bombing. Shigematsu, Shigeko, and Yasuko ride the train to Kabe. However, the train breaks down. Some passengers grow impatient with the “unavoidably delayed” (76) train; they exit the coach through the windows and begin walking toward Kabe. The remaining passengers share their stories about the bombing. Shigematsu includes several in his diary entry. The stories all describe bright flashes, terrible injuries, desperate and doomed attempts to save loved ones, and death. The people suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, and confusion as they begin to realize the bombing was “no ordinary calamity” (80). People debate who is to blame as the criticize the military's actions. Eventually, Shigematsu and his family arrive at his workplace, the Furuichi fabric factory, where their arrival is marked by a workman. Shigematsu washes himself but struggles to remove the black dirt from his face. As people try to determine what to do next, they are all scared “of the next air raid” (82).