Black Rain

Yasuko is a young woman, who is swept up in the aftermath of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. For years she is plagued by rumors that she suffers from radiation sickness, like her uncle. These rumors undermine her efforts to find a husband, and several marriage proposals collapse because of the persistent belief that Yasuko was close to Hiroshima when the bomb exploded. The rumors become a poisonous legacy of the attack, a destructive echo of actual radiation sickness. To the families of Yasuko's prospective husbands, she is tainted by her association with a traumatic moment in Japanese history. Whether she has radiation sickness becomes less relevant; all that matters is that she is associated with the poisonous memory of the bomb and the traumatic legacy it left behind in Japanese society. The treatment of Yasuko shows how—even years later—Japanese society is struggling to come to terms with the impact of the bomb. Rumors of sickness and association are burned into the bones of anyone near Hiroshima, so much so that Yasuko becomes defined by her proximity to the bomb even if she shows no signs of radiation poisoning.

Yasuko represents a pivotal moment in Japanese society. She embodies the tension between the old and the new that was violently ruptured by the end of World War II. In many respects, Yasuko is a modern young woman. She works in a respectable job and pays her own way in the world. She is strong and independent, and she helps her family when she can and tries to ensure she is able to preserve her reputation and self-respect. However, she is still bound by the cultural traditions that are a legacy of the society's past. She must rely on the tradition of arranged marriages to find a romantic partner; she is not able to select her own husband and must rely on men's families to approve her before she engages in a relationship. Her independence and self-determination are curtailed by the social expectation that she must demure to the wishes of the family of any potential husband. She faces a particular problem in that the work that grants her independence also leads to the rumor that she was near Hiroshima on the day of the attack. She is almost tainted by her independence and viewed unfavorably by the families of potential husbands because she was not at home. The traditional method of finding a husband does not suit Yasuko because she does not adhere to other cultural traditions. She is punished for her independence almost as much as any possible radiation sickness that might affect her.

Yasuko prides her independence and her pride become her downfall. She views herself as a strong and willful person, so she does not want to believe the rumors about her health are true. When she does contract radiation sickness, she ignores the doctors' diagnoses. She hides the truth from her family because she is too proud to admit she is not as strong or as independent as she once thought. By indulging her pride and keeping her condition a secret, Yasuko denies herself vital treatment. She may exacerbate her problem because she does not want to tell anyone the rumors were true. If she had admitted the truth to her aunt and uncle earlier, she might have been able to receive treatment at an earlier stage. Yasuko is afflicted with hubris in that her downfall is brought about by her pride. However, her only hope comes from the same strength of will that almost killed her. As Shigematsu learns, determination is one of the only factors that helps victims of radiation sickness to survive. A strong desire to live can help a victim heal. The pride that distinguished Yasuko and then punished her may, if she is lucky, fuel her burning desire to survive.