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    Forged In Fire: Stories of wartime Japan
    Forged In Fire: Stories of wartime...
    alexibonsson
    • Reads
      Reads 20,152
      20,15220.1K
    • Votes
      Votes 1,735
      1,7351.7K
    • Parts
      Parts 24
      2424
    • Time
      Time 57m
      0 hours, 57 minutes57m
    Start reading
    • Reads
      Reads 20,152
      20,15220.1K
    • Votes
      Votes 1,735
      1,7351.7K
    • Parts
      Parts 24
      2424
    • Time
      Time 57m
      0 hours, 57 minutes57m
    alexibonsson
    Complete
    Complete, First published Apr 19, 2015
    Forged In Fire is the true story of a young girl's childhood in pre-WW II Tokyo; her schoolgirl dreams; the violence, starvation and desperation of wartime that drove her family out of the city; and the American Occupation that shaped Japan's future.  It is the story of my mother, Rita (then named Tomoko), who was ten years old when World War II began and fourteen years old when it ended.  
          
          Mom had often recounted her experiences to me and my siblings as we were growing up.  At some point, Mom began urging us to write down her stories for her.  I finally got around to honoring her request early last year (2014).  Using audio recordings, notes, frequent phone calls and plenty of fact-checking, I eventually placed into chronological order the various fragments of her memories.  On one hand, it is a young girl's story, told plainly.  On the other hand, it is a remarkable glimpse into one of history's most tumultuous events - one not widely known.  
          
          Mom was later diagnosed with cancer in July 2014 and eventually passed away at the age of 83 in August.  Although severely weakened from her illness, she was happy and proud to hold a rough draft of the printed manuscript in her hands.  It was her final wish that her story be published and so here it begins....
    All Rights Reserved
    • 1945
    • americanoccupation
    • atomicbomb
    • bombing
    • childhood
    • douglasmacarthur
    • family
    • hiroshima
    • history
    • japan
    • japaneseculture
    • memoir
    • nagasaki
    • nonfiction
    • nuclearwar
    • samurai
    • survival
    • tokyo
    • war
    • ww2
    1945americanoccupationatomicbombbombingchildhooddouglasmacarthurfamilyhiroshimahistoryjapanjapaneseculturememoirnagasakinonfictionnuclearwarsamuraisurvivaltokyowarww2
    Table of contentsLast updated Jul 03, 2015
    • Dedication
    • Preface
    • Prologue
    • Childhood (Part 1)
    • Childhood (Part 2)
    • Childhood (Part 3)
    • Fairy Tale Witch
    • School days
    • Wartime (Part 1)
    • Wartime (Part 2)
    • Wartime (Part 3)
    • Wartime (Part 4)
    • Escape to Kyushu (Part 1)
    • Escape to Kyushu (Part 2)
    • Return to Tokyo
    • The Occupation (Part 1)
    • The Occupation (Part 2)
    • The Occupation (Part 3)
    • The Occupation (Part 4)
    • Glossary
    • Music of an Era
    • Timeline and Sources
    • Suggested readings and viewings
    • Epilogue

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    #8nagasaki
    • Dedication
    • Preface
    • Prologue
    • Childhood (Part 1)
    • Childhood (Part 2)
    • Childhood (Part 3)
    • Fairy Tale Witch
    • School days
    • Wartime (Part 1)
    • Wartime (Part 2)
    • Wartime (Part 3)
    • Wartime (Part 4)
    • Escape to Kyushu (Part 1)
    • Escape to Kyushu (Part 2)
    • Return to Tokyo
    • The Occupation (Part 1)
    • The Occupation (Part 2)
    • The Occupation (Part 3)
    • The Occupation (Part 4)
    • Glossary
    • Music of an Era
    • Timeline and Sources
    • Suggested readings and viewings
    • Epilogue
    Content Guidelines
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