4 real historical locations · Japan
Isao Takahata's Studio Ghibli masterpiece follows two orphaned Japanese siblings struggling to survive after their mother dies in a firebombing raid near the war's end. One of the most devastating anti-war films ever made — all the more powerful for its animated form.
CinemaMapped has mapped 4 real historical locations where the story takes place, spanning Japan.
Two orphaned children struggle to survive after the American firebombing of Kobe in 1945. A devastating civilian perspective.
The firebombing of Kobe on March 17, 1945 killed over 8,000 civilians and destroyed 65,000 homes. The US strategic bombing campaign against Japanese cities killed an estimated 300,000–500,000 civilians and left 8 mill...
View location →Seita and Setsuko shelter in Sannomiya station after the firebombing destroys their home — among thousands of homeless survivors.
The Kobe air raids of March 17, 1945 sent 331 B-29s over the city, killing over 8,000 civilians and destroying 3 square kilometers of the port district. Kobe was targeted for its shipbuilding and industrial capacity.
View location →Seita digs the bomb shelter cave where he and Setsuko live after their aunt turns them away — their brief idyll before starvation sets in.
Nishinomiya was a residential city east of Kobe that suffered repeated air raids throughout 1945. The civilian population faced acute food shortages as American submarine blockades and strategic bombing disrupted Japa...
View location →The port and warehouse district — reduced to charred ruins after the B-29 firebombing raids.
Kobe's harbor was Japan's largest western port. The March 1945 firebombing destroyed 56% of the urban area. The film's depiction of civilian suffering under the bombing campaign remains controversial in Japan for its ...
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