Shin's Tricycle

Kodama, a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, recounts the tale through the eyes of Nobuo Tetsutani, Shin's father. When the bomb detonated, Shinichi was riding his tricycle. Amid the chaos, Nobuo discovered his barely conscious son, still clutching the tricycle's handlebars and trapped beneath the rubble of their demolished home. Despite his desperate efforts, Shin died that evening, and Nobuo interred him alongside his tricycle. Decades later, forty years to be exact, Nobuo exhumed Shin and his two sisters—who had also perished in the bombing—to give them a proper burial at a cemetery. While digging, a pipe believed to be part of Shinichi's tricycle was unearthed. Shortly thereafter, skeletal remains of two human hands were discovered; these were identified as those of Shinichi and his local friend Kimiko, who had died together holding hands. The tricycle was eventually donated by Nobuo to the Hiroshima Peace Museum, where it is now on display.