Hiroshima

Hiroshima is the large Japanese town that was bombed by the American military, effectively bringing an end to World War II. The town is important in this novel and is the setting of a couple of scenes. Hanako and her family arrive in Japan and take a train to Hiroshima. She does not know what to expect and is horrified by the total devastation caused by the bomb. Kiyoshi talks about being in the outskirts of the city when the bomb detonated and of feeling the blast.

The Village

Jiichan and Baachan live in a village outside Hiroshima. When Hanako and her family are traveling toward Japan, she hopes that the region will be beautiful. There are a few buildings that comprise the entire village, which is near a train depot and is near the fields where Baachan and Jiichan work as tenant farmers. Though they have lived...