She Was 300 Yards From the Atomic Bomb Center — and Survived | Op-Docs

In collected illustrations by survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, there are two striking pieces by Akiko Takakura, who was about 300 yards from the hypocenter. One shows a woman who is so thirsty, she is trying to drink black rain. Another shows a hand emitting blue flames. When we met Ms. Takakura in 2012, we were surprised to find that her story offered a glimmer of hope amid all the horror. At just 19 years old, surrounded by catastrophe, she experienced a kind of affection from her father that she never received before. It was a small moment of happiness during unspeakable tragedy. We asked ourselves how she had found peace with a world that had been so cruel to her. Did the secret lie in the moment when her father washed her hands after the bombing? What does an act of love in a moment of despair mean? We lived with the voice of Ms. Takakura for the years it took to complete the animated film above. There were many moments when we wanted to walk away from this project,