Kayoko's Diary

Kayoko is a shy first-grader in 1940 who often cries but enjoys singing playground songs and playing with her friends. She sometimes joins her three older brothers in their games, though she doesn’t always keep up. With her mother expecting another child, Kayoko eagerly anticipates becoming a big sister, though she doesn’t fully grasp what that will mean. Around her, the war grows more intense, and patriotism feels like the only right choice-something everyone simply accepts. In a small act of devotion, Kayoko even donates her beloved doll, knowing its materials might be used for the war effort. As the years pass, she witnesses the war’s slow erosion of daily life, but nothing steels her for the hardships of 1945 and the darkness ahead. This story draws from Kayoko Ebina’s own childhood in the Showa era during World War II.