Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is a Japanese
manga written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kōno, condensed into a
single volume. It's split into two parts: "Town of Evening Calm" and
"Country of Cherry Blossoms."
Town of Evening Calm
Set in Hiroshima during the summer of 1955, "Town of Evening
Calm" introduces Minami Hirano, a young office worker who
survived the atomic bomb's impact. Tragically, she lost her father,
Tenma; her younger sister, Midori, who died instantly; and her elder
sister, Kasumi, who later succumbed to radiation poisoning.
Within her workplace, Minami interacts with coworkers like the
confident and attractive Furuta, who becomes her friend, and the
introverted and reserved Yutaka Uchikoshi, whom she holds
romantic feelings for. Kōno employs Minami's walks to her small and
modest dwelling to depict the post-war Hiroshima landscape and its
journey toward reconstruction after the devastating bomb.
Minami's surviving family consists of her mother, Fujimi, a strongwilled seamstress, and a younger brother named Asahi, who was
sent to their aunt's home in Mito for safety. When they go to
retrieve him a few years later, they can hardly recognize him. Asahi
reveals his decision to remain permanently with his aunt and uncle,
who have decided to adopt him officially. Fujimi and Minami are
saving up to revisit Asahi.
Uchikoshi's affection for Minami drives him to visit her on a day she
misses work due to her mother falling ill. Though he offers her
presents—sandals, which she immediately tries on—and a
handkerchief, his attempt to kiss her inadvertently triggers a
haunting flashback of the bombing's aftermath. Flooded with painful
memories of destruction and losses, Minami flees and withdraws
into her home. Seeking closure, she apologizes for her outburst to
Uchikoshi the following workday, expressing her desire to move on.
While her mother's brief illness subsides, Minami's fortunes take a
different turn. Exhausted and ailing from radiation, she finds herself
confined to her bed. Her coworkers visit her, and her mother tends
to her, but her condition steadily worsens. In her deteriorating
state, she ponders whether the victors of the war find satisfaction in
the anguish of innocent lives. She feels the evening calm fading but
claims that "no matter how many times it fades, this story won't
ever end," as a leaflet advocating the "World Conference Against
Atomic Bombs" and "the power of peace for Hiroshima" is displayed.
With Uchikoshi's handkerchief in her grip, she passes away just as
her brother and aunt arrive.
Country of Cherry Blossoms
"Country of Cherry Blossoms" is divided into two parts, each taking
place in Tokyo in 1987 and 2004, respectively. The first chapter
introduces Nanami Ishikawa, Minami's niece and Asahi's daughter.
Nicknamed "Goemon" by her peers, Nanami possesses an
adventurous tomboy nature. Following a baseball practice mishap
that leaves her with a bleeding nose, she decides to skip the rest of
the practice and visit her brother Nagio, who is hospitalized due to
asthma. During her journey, she encounters her friend and nextdoor neighbor, Toko Tone, a gentle and graceful girl who lends her
money for the bus ride and accompanies her.
When they reach Nagio, he tells them their grandmother, Fujimi, is
undergoing tests. Nanami seizes the chance to throw cherry
blossoms into the air, making everyone around them laugh. Fujimi
catches her and scolds Nanami for disturbing her brother, concerned
that it could worsen his asthma. Nanami's father doesn't scold her,
but she later reveals he didn't do it because he had a lot on his
mind.
Subsequently, it becomes evident that their grandmother's health i