is a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

Sadako Kurihara was a Japanese poet who lived in Hiroshima and survived the atomic bombing during World War II. She is best known for her poem ''Umashimenkana'' (''Bringing Forth New Life''). Biography Kurihara was born Doi Sadako in Hiroshima city as the secon ...

written in August 1945 in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

after the city's atomic bombing.NHK Peace Archives
. Japan Broadcasting Corporation. Accessed February 29, 2008. It tells the true story of a woman giving birth to a baby amongst the ruins, while the midwife dies of exhaustion in the process. This poem was first published in March 1946 in ''

Chugoku Shimbun The is a Japanese local daily newspaper based in Hiroshima. It serves the Chūgoku region of Japan with a market share in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, Okayama and Tottori Prefectures. The newspaper publishes morning and evening editions. Th ...

''. The baby mentioned in the poem is still living today in Hiroshima, named Kazuko Kojima. Alternate English titles for the poem are ''We Shall Bring Forth New Life'' and ''Let Us Be Midwives!''

References

{{Reflist Japanese poems Books about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Works originally published in Japanese magazines Works by Japanese writers Literature by women