43 pages • 1 hour read
Masuji IbuseBlack Rain
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1965A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Atomic Bomb and Radiation
Black Rain portrays the aftermath of the atomic bomb attack on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb and the radiation it creates become clear symbols of the power of atomic energy. A new and unknown weapon falls on an unprepared city, and the inhabitants of the city try to save themselves and their loved ones, unaware of the radiation that now lingers over Hiroshima. The ruined city, the massive mushroom cloud, and the titular black rain are all extensions of the atomic bomb as a symbol of death and destruction. While the characters are familiar with the air raids and the incendiary bombs the Americans have previously dropped on Japan (to the extent they have received training and understand how to protect against such weapons), they do not know how to deal with the new weapon. The atomic bomb symbolizes death because it is so unknown and so unlike anything that has come before.
The strange and inexplicable nature of the bomb symbolizes the extent to which August 6 is a clear division between the past and present in Japanese society. The society that existed before the arrival of the atomic bomb ceases to exist, and like the radiation scattered across the city, the new society that emerges will be imbued with poison and trauma that many of the victims do not see or understand. In effect, the radiation and the sickness that it causes is a symbolic scar on the society. The bomb and the radiation are traumatic; those who did not die in the initial explosion suffer from sickness for a long time afterward, or they are made to watch their loved ones die from a sickness they do not really understand. Furthermore, those who try to save their loved ones travel to the radioactive city and infect themselves. The death and suffering they witness in Hiroshima create a psychological trauma that is matched by the physical trauma of radiation sickness. The atomic bomb and the radiation symbolize the incomprehensible trauma of the Japanese people when faced with a weapon and a technology they do not truly understand.
As such, the atomic bomb and the radiation it leaves behind are not only symbols of physical death and trauma; the arrival of the atomic bomb symbolizes the death of optimism in the society. To the victims of the bomb, the event is like a force of nature. The atomic bomb arrives unannounced and without explanation, like a tsunami or an earthquake. The Japanese people must then reckon with the reality that they are fighting a vastly overpowered enemy. They cannot fight the inventors of the atomic bomb any more than they can fight an earthquake or a tsunami. For people like Shigematsu, the bomb reveals the reality of the war. He can no longer delude himself into believing the war might be won. His optimism evaporates and is killed by the bomb just like so many other victims. Furthermore, the gradual poisoning of people like Yasuko kills his hopes for the future. He wants to be optimistic, and he wants to maintain his hope that everything will one day return to normal. However, Shigematsu and Yasuko are poisoned by radiation, and they will likely never recover. The Japanese people are violently forced to confront the reality of their situation, and they are traumatized by a war and a weapon which can now affect them on a cellular level.
Fish
Fish are a source of comfort, a source of sustenance, and a welcome distraction from a depressing world. When describing his experiences in Hiroshima in the aftermath of the attack, Shigematsu describes the fish he sees in ponds, rivers, and streams. Even several days after the bomb detonates, the fish are still dying. They appear upside down in the water with distended guts; their misshapen and unnatural deaths perturb a man who is used to seeing dead fish. The manner and the timing of the fishes' deaths worries Shigematsu and functions as a symbolic demonstration that the bomb that fell on Hiroshima is unlike anything that has come before. The way in which the fish die slowly foreshadows the poisoning that later effects Shigematsu and Yasuko. Like the fish, these two characters (as well as many others) will only know the true effects of the bomb a long time after the initial explosion.
The dead fish worry Shigematsu so much because they are explicitly inedible. For people in his situation, the limited availability of certain foods during the war means that fish are a vital source of nourishment and a welcome food source. Shigematsu and Shigeko eat fish whenever they can, but the fish Shigematsu sees dying in the water after the bomb do not appeal to him. Even in such a desperate situation, people instinctively do not want to eat the radiation poisoned fish. They leave the fish alone in the ponds while going hungry. Their hunger and their refusal to eat the fish symbolizes the extent to which the people can sense there is something terribly wrong, even if they cannot explain or understand the situation. The atomic bomb and the radiation taint one of the most important food items in Hiroshima and furthers the suffering of the victims by denying them an important source of sustenance. The death of the fish is a symbolic illustration of the pervasive totality of the bomb. Everything is affected and everything will be affected; soon enough, the humans will have to endure whatever has killed the fish.
In the present day, Shigematsu and his friends rear carp to release into a local lake. The process is long and difficult and is undertaken by the three friends because they feel guilty that their radiation sickness severely limits the amount of energy they can expend. The decision to raise carp is made because the men want to contribute something to their community, but they do not have the energy or the physical health needed to work in the fields. Raising carp allows the sick men to reclaim some of the agency that was taken from them by the bomb. They can repopulate the lake with carp, thereby giving the community a food source. They can bring back to life the population of fish killed by the bomb, breathing vitality back into a wounded world. The carp raised by the three men are a symbol of optimism. Even these three men, as sick and as traumatized as they are, can contribute to the community.
Diaries and Journals
The structure of Black Rain is such that large parts of the narrative are composed of Shigematsu's transcriptions of contemporary diary entries. He wants to use his diaries as a way to prove the whereabouts of his niece Yasuko, so he can demonstrate to potential husbands that she cannot possibly suffer from radiation sickness, as she was not near Hiroshima on the day of the attack. To Shigematsu, these diary entries are initially a symbol of his niece's health. He hopes the detailed descriptions of his movements on the fateful day will demonstrate Yasuko is pure and untainted by radiation, unlike him. The diary entries are a symbolic illustration of Yasuko's virtue and health, but the progression of the narrative undermines their symbolic value. Later in the novel, doctors diagnose Yasuko with an acute case of radiation poisoning. The diary entries mean nothing when compared to the reality of her sickness. Rather than a symbol of good health, the diary entries symbolize the unknowable nature of the atomic bomb and radiation. Even many years after the event, the evidence Shigematsu hopes will prove Yasuko's good health means nothing. He does not understand radiation and neither do the potential audiences for the diary. All that matters is the stark reality of Yasuko's sickness.
Though Shigematsu states he wants to use the diaries to help his niece, the transcription process is also beneficial for him. He has suffered a great deal since the day of the attack. Not only has Shigematsu dealt with the physical sickness of radiation poisoning (which limits his physical activity and has shortened his expected lifespan), he is also dealing with the psychological trauma of his experiences. The death and destruction he witnessed in Hiroshima have stayed with Shigematsu for a long time and have, to a large extent, come to define his life. By transcribing the diaries, Shigematsu is symbolically trying to regain control over the events that have shaped his existence. The transcription process is a careful exertion of control. He can neatly and deliberately create a historical record of everything that happened on that fateful day and then donate the diary to a museum, thereby creating a legacy that can outlive Shigematsu. He hopes his efforts will further humanity's understanding of radiation and history. By transcribing the diaries, Shigematsu is undertaking a symbolic act. He is attempting to wrest back control over his life. He wants to reclaim the agency that was taken from him by the bomb.
Unfortunately for Shigematsu, the diary does not prove what he hopes. Yasuko suffers from radiation sickness, and as he learns from other people's diaries, the range of treatments is limited. Shigematsu's attempts to reclaim agency over his life are undermined by his niece's sickness as he is reminded again of his powerlessness. Shigematsu cannot control the aftereffects of the bomb any more in the present than he could in the immediate aftermath of the attack. He is still a powerless spectator to a force he cannot hope to comprehend. Rather than reclaiming control over his own life's story, the diaries remind Shigematsu how little agency he has in his life and how his entire existence and the existence of his family will continue to be shaped by the events of August 6, 1945.
