Tokie Akihara was born in Hiroshima in 1935. She recalls relocating to the countryside with her brothers to live with her grandparents about two years before the bombing. She reminisces about how much food was available in the country compared to the city. She talks about how her maternal grandfather had gone into the city on the day of the bombing and never returned, and her mother went there everyday for two weeks afterward looking for him. Tokie herself also entered the city at least twice, making her a nyūshi hibakusha. Her mother, who had experienced other bombings while in Aichi Prefecture, knew that this bomb was somehow different. She stresses how important it was for hibakusha to keep silent about their experiences in order to avoid prejudice and keep their marriage prospects open. She came to the U.S. in 1958. She talks about a Kibei Nisei friend she had in school who sparked her interest in coming to the U.S.
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