RECORD OF CROSSING THE MOTOYASU RIVER WITH A TURTLE IN AUGUST

About the show

Can we ever truly be free from violence? This question lies at the heart of Record of Crossing the Motoyasu River with a Turtle in August, an autobiographical exploration of the enduring impact of war. The play follows the story of Irae, a 13-year-old child journalist who, in the spring of 1997, attends a groundbreaking ceremony for the relocation of a memorial dedicated to the Korean victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Amidst the heat of the unexpectedly hot day, Irae encounters a peculiar storyteller: the turtle statue Kame-kun, who carries the memorial on its back. Kame-kun recounts a haunting tale about a dog and a laborer who vanished without a trace in a boiling river during the bombing. Seen through Irae’s 13-year-old eyes, the remnants of war resurface, revealing the unresolved fractures in history that still call for reflection.