Black Rain By Masuji Ibuse

All for One

“Thundery black clouds had borne down on us from the direction of the city, and the rain from them had fallen in streaks the thickness of a fountain pen” (Ibuse 34). In Masuji Ibuse’s Black Rain, Shigematsu Shizuma is a main character that cares for his niece Yasuko, a young woman who experienced the “black rain” that fell on the city of Hiroshima after the bombing. Shigematsu as well as several friends and family members suffer from radiation sickness after the war, but his main concern is finding a husband for Yasuko that will believe she was not affected by the black rain. Throughout the story it is conveyed that one simple action can change everything, as the black rain staining Yasuko’s skin, a man finally wanting to marry her, and the hiding of her illness from her family all play a
It was a rainy day, and when droplets started to fall from the sky after the explosion they came down black, due to the large amounts of smoke and soot and rubble from the explosion, rather than transparent like water. Yasuko, currently evacuating their home near Hiroshima, is in the middle of escaping the explosion on a boat with her aunt when they are caught in the black rain that stains their face and hands. This is where all the trouble begins for Yasuko. Being a very pretty woman, many men wish to marry her, but change their minds when they find out where she was during the bombing. One bomb turned all men away from Yasuko, for fear that she might die or their children will get radiation sickness too. The war between the United States and Japan affected the citizens more than the militaries of each side, as seen in Yasuko’s situation. Something that wasn’t intended for a person changed the path of their future, putting their life at risk and turning everyone away from them. The black rain on Yasuko shows what an impact one thing not even intended for them can change someone’s life