Very Short Summary
Japan, summer 1945. During a devastating American air raid on Kobe, fourteen-year-old Seita evacuated with his younger sister, first placing their ailing mother in a shelter.
Their mother died from burns sustained in the bombing. With their naval officer father away at war, the siblings moved in with a distant aunt in Nishinomiya. The aunt's initial hospitality soon turned to resentment as food became scarce.
Unable to endure their aunt's hostility, Seita and Setsuko moved into an abandoned bomb shelter. They survived by selling their mother's kimonos for rice and stealing food from local farms. Despite Seita's efforts, Setsuko grew increasingly weak from malnutrition. She died on August 22, shortly after Japan's surrender. Seita cremated her body and kept her ashes in a candy tin.
Deep in the night of September 21, 1945... a station employee gingerly examining Seita's lice covered clothing found inside his waistband a small candy drops can... the white bones were those of Seita's younger sister Setsuko
Weakened by malnutrition and grief, Seita died of starvation at Sannomiya Station. His body was cremated along with other war orphans, and his remains were placed in a temple crypt as an unsurvived soul.
Detailed Summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Seita's Final Days at San'nomiya Station
In September 1945, Seita spent his final days at San'nomiya station's shoreside exit. He sat against a bare concrete pillar, severely malnourished and unwashed for nearly a month. Despite being burnt by the sun, his cheeks remained pale and sunken.
At night he gazed at the silhouettes of men huddled around their bonfires like pirates... in the morning girls on their way to school; though all wore the same pantaloons he picked out through the shape of the collars
Too weak to move, he had lost the ability to reach the toilet. On September 21, 1945, a station employee found him dead. Inside Seita's waistband was a small candy tin containing the ashes of his sister Setsuko, who had died a month earlier.
The hunger was already gone, there was no more thirst, his chin lay heavily on his chest... his ears alone remained alive, distinguishing the various sounds around him... while thinking only what day is it? Seita died.
The June 5 Air Raid on Kobe
On June 5, 1945, a formation of 350 B-29 bombers attacked Kobe. Seita, who had been working at Kobe Steel Works, was at home near Mikage beach when the air raid began. Following a previously devised plan, he buried valuable supplies in their converted vegetable garden and prepared to evacuate with his sister Setsuko while their ailing mother took refuge in a concrete shelter.
Setsuko, her head covered in an air-raid hood of a fine splashed pattern... was not crying at all, she held a doll and her mother's old large purse firmly in her hands.
As the bombs fell, Seita carried Setsuko on his back and fled toward the sea. They took refuge in depressions along the Ishiya River embankment. Their father, a naval first lieutenant, was away serving on a cruiser, and they had no news of him. The siblings watched as their neighborhood was consumed by flames.
Search for Mother and Move to Nishinomiya
After the air raid, Seita and Setsuko searched for their mother at the designated meeting place, but she wasn't there. They eventually found her at a school, severely burned and wrapped in bandages. Mr. Obayashi, the head of their town block association, showed Seita his mother's jade ring, which had been cut from her finger.
Their mother died the next evening from her injuries. Her body was cremated along with other victims at the foot of Ichio Mountain. Seita collected her bones in a wooden box, and the siblings moved to stay with distant relatives in Nishinomiya. Their mother had fortunately sent some of their belongings there before the raid.
Life at the Relative's House
The siblings were taken in by a distant relative, a widow who lived with her daughter and a lodger. Initially, they received special rations as air raid victims, including rice and canned goods. However, the widow soon began to resent their presence, suspecting they were eating more than their share of the family's food.
The widow suggested that Seita trade his mother's kimonos for rice. Though reluctant, he agreed, and for a brief time, they had enough to eat. However, tensions continued to grow as the widow served them mostly soup while giving rice to her own family. Eventually, Seita began cooking separately for himself and Setsuko, but their situation continued to deteriorate.
Moving to the Cave Shelter
Unable to endure the widow's hostility any longer, Seita and Setsuko moved to a cave-like shelter across from a pond. They took their few possessions, including their mother's bones and some kitchen utensils. Seita bought straw to make the shelter more comfortable and hung mosquito netting inside. At night, he caught fireflies to provide light for Setsuko.
Around him an enormous group of fireflies, but for Seita they were no longer to be caught, if it's like this maybe Setsuko won't be so lonely, fireflies will be at her side, flying up, flying down
Struggle for Survival and Setsuko's Decline
Life in the shelter became increasingly difficult. Seita tried to provide for them by selling their remaining possessions and stealing food from farmers' fields. When caught stealing potatoes, he was beaten by an angry farmer but released by a sympathetic policeman. Setsuko's health began to decline severely, with diarrhea and malnutrition taking their toll.
When Seita took Setsuko to a doctor, they received little help. The doctor merely advised better nutrition without providing any medicine. Setsuko became increasingly weak, her body covered in rashes and infested with lice. In her deteriorating state, she began playing make-believe with rocks and dirt, pretending they were food.
Seita, please help yourself... dinner, would you like tea too?... and then I've cooked some bean curd, I'll serve you some, like playing house, she lined up lumps of earth, stones
Setsuko's Death and Cremation
On August 22, 1945, Seita returned from swimming to find Setsuko had died. She had wasted away to skin and bones, unable to speak in her final days. During a storm that night, Seita held her body, pressing his cheek against hers. The next day, he carried her remains up a hill overlooking Manchitani.
Seita, with an urge to defecate, squatted down still gazing at the flames... in the evening sky there were stars; the blackout having been lifted two days before when he looked down among the line of houses
Unable to use the crematorium due to overcrowding, Seita cremated his sister's body himself using charcoal and soybean shells. He collected her ashes in a candy tin, which he carried with him until his own death a month later. Both siblings' remains were eventually interred at a temple above Nunobiki as unsurvived souls.