To Be a Bird
Charcoal on paper
36” x 46”
Charcoal on paper
36” x 46”
The strategic air raids on Japan during World War II, including the B-29 low-altitude firebombing campaigns, devastated not just urban centers but also factories and private homes in rural areas.
Mutsu Sugimura was 37 years old the day the air raid siren wailed in her village. As airplanes roared overhead and bombs thundered closer and closer, she ran from her home, carrying two young children and a baby in her arms. Her arms ached, the children cried, and eventually, she could run no farther. In the middle of the street, she sat down and prayed. She prayed to be killed alongside her children rather than leave them behind.
Mutsu Sugimura was 37 years old the day the air raid siren wailed in her village. As airplanes roared overhead and bombs thundered closer and closer, she ran from her home, carrying two young children and a baby in her arms. Her arms ached, the children cried, and eventually, she could run no farther. In the middle of the street, she sat down and prayed. She prayed to be killed alongside her children rather than leave them behind.
By some miracle, they survived. But that moment stayed with her. She once said that in her next life, she wished to be a bird so that she could fly, escape terror, and protect the ones she loved.
