Kensuke’s Belief About His Family

This thread follows Kensuke’s conviction that his family died in the bombing and the gradual possibility that he might return to Japan.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

News on the Radio

A Family Presumed Lost The broadcast from Nagasaki Aboard his damaged warship, Kensuke hears that an atomic bomb has fallen on his home city. He assumes that Kimi, Michiya, and his other relatives have been killed. Grief hardens into certainty The surrender of Japan deepens his despair. Without knowing who survived, Kensuke treats the loss as complete and sees no reason to return to the life he remembers.

A Possible Return

Doubt Enters the Story Michael offers another possibility Michael suggests that the bomb may not have killed everyone and that Kensuke could discover what happened to his family. Kensuke initially rejects the idea, relying on what he heard from American soldiers. A question left open Later, Michael tells him that Nagasaki was rebuilt and that Japan is no longer at war. Kensuke begins to wonder whether going home might still be possible, though he does not yet commit to leaving.

The Son Who Survived

News from Michiya A letter across decades Michiya writes to Michael after reading the book. He explains that he and Kimi escaped Nagasaki before the bombing and that his mother died believing Kensuke had been killed in the war. The truth arrives late Kensuke had been wrong to assume his family died, though he never learns this within the island story. Michael’s meeting with Michiya offers a later bridge between the father’s lost past and the family who survived.

During the final days of the war

After Michael and Kensuke become friends

Four years after Michael’s book is first published