After Japan's surrender in 1945, more than 4,000 Japanese children were left behind in China and raised by Chinese foster parents. They share a common name: Japanese "war orphans" in China.
Xu Yan, also known by her Japanese name Sakurako Yamamoto, is one of them. In 1945, her Japanese mother died during childbirth, and she was adopted by a Chinese family in Dalian, who gave her a loving home.
For her, a sense of home is defined by simple things: a handful of seawater from Dalian, the melody of "Little Swallow," and a plate of shrimp cooked by her foster grandmother.
Xu Yan became a midwife after she grew up. Though her hands never touched the cherry blossoms of her native land, they have safely welcomed countless Chinese newborns into the world, passing on the gift of life.
When asked about her "hometown," she says, "The first place that comes to my mind is Dalian, at my grandmother's home by Laohutan."
京公网安备 11010202009201号