''Hibakusha'' ( or ; ja, 被爆者 or ; "person affected by a bomb" or "person affected by exposure o radioactivity) is a word of Japanese origin generally designating the people affected by the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Definition

The word ''hibakusha'' is Japanese, originally written in

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

. While the term Hibakusha (''hi'' "affected" + ''baku'' "bomb" + ''sha'' "person") has been used before in Japanese to designate any victim of bombs, its worldwide democratisation led to a definition concerning the survivors of the

atomic bombs A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

dropped in Japan by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

on the 6 and 9 August 1945.

Anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...

movements and associations, among others of ''hibakusha'', spread the term to designate any direct victim of nuclear disaster, including the ones of the nuclear plant in

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

. They therefore prefer the writing (substituting ''baku'' with the homophonous "exposition") or "person affected by the exposition", implying "person affected by nuclear exposure". This definition tends to be adopted since 2011. The juridic status of ''hibakusha'' is allocated to certain people, mainly by the Japanese government.

Official recognition

The Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law defines ''hibakusha'' as people who fall into one or more of the following categories: within a few kilometers of the

hypocenter In seismology, a hypocenter or hypocentre () is the point of origin of an earthquake or a subsurface nuclear explosion. A synonym is the focus of an earthquake. Earthquakes An earthquake's hypocenter is the position where the strain energy ...

s of the bombs; within 2 km of the hypocenters within two weeks of the bombings; exposed to radiation from

fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...

; or not yet born but carried by pregnant women in any of these categories. The Japanese government has recognized about 650,000 people as ''hibakusha''. , 118,935 were still alive, mostly in Japan. The government of Japan recognizes about 1% of these as having illnesses caused by radiation. ''Hibakusha'' are entitled to government support. They receive a certain amount of allowance per month, and the ones certified as suffering from bomb-related diseases receive a special medical allowance. The memorials 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 ...

and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

contain lists of the names of the ''hibakusha'' who are known to have died since the bombings. Updated annually on the anniversaries of the bombings, , the memorials record the names of 526,000 ''hibakusha''; 333,907 in Hiroshima and 192,310 in Nagasaki. Sumiteru Taniguchi back

In 1957, the Japanese Parliament passed a law providing for free medical care for ''hibakusha''. During the 1970s, non-Japanese ''hibakusha'' who suffered from those atomic attacks began to demand the right for free medical care and the right to stay in Japan for that purpose. In 1978, the Japanese Supreme Court ruled that such persons were entitled to free medical care while staying in Japan.

Korean survivors

During the war, many Korean people were forced to go to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to work by Japanese imperialists. According to recent estimates, about 20,000 Koreans were killed in Hiroshima and about 2,000 died in Nagasaki. It is estimated that one in seven of the Hiroshima victims was of Korean ancestry. For many years, Koreans had a difficult time fighting for recognition as atomic bomb victims and were denied health benefits. However, most issues have been addressed in recent years through lawsuits.

Japanese-American survivors

It was a common practice before the war for American

Issei is a Japanese-language term used by ethnic Japanese in countries in North America and South America to specify the Japanese people who were the first generation to immigrate there. are born in Japan; their children born in the new country are ...

, or first-generation immigrants, to send their children on extended trips to Japan to study or visit relatives. More Japanese immigrated to the U.S. from Hiroshima than from any other prefecture, and Nagasaki also sent a high number of immigrants to Hawai'i and the mainland. There was, therefore, a sizable population of American-born

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

and

Kibei Kibei was a term often used in the 1940s to describe Japanese Americans born in the United States who returned to America after receiving their education in Japan. Some Japanese Americans sent their children, many of whom had dual citizenship, bac ...

living in their parents' hometowns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the time of the atomic bombings. The actual number of

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

s affected by the bombings is unknown – although estimates put approximately 11,000 in Hiroshima city alone – but some 3,000 of them are known to have survived and returned to the U.S. after the war.Wake, Naoko
"Japanese American Hibakusha"
''Densho Encyclopedia''. Retrieved Aug 5, 2014. A second group of ''hibakusha'' counted among Japanese American survivors are those who came to the U.S. in a later wave of Japanese immigration during the 1950s and 1960s. Most in this group were born in Japan and migrated to the U.S. in search of educational and work opportunities that were scarce in post-war Japan. Many were "war brides", or Japanese women who had married American men related to the U.S. military's occupation of Japan. As of 2014, there are about 1,000 recorded Japanese American ''hibakusha'' living in the United States. They receive monetary support from the Japanese government and biannual medical checkups with Hiroshima and Nagasaki doctors familiar with the particular concerns of atomic bomb survivors. The U.S. government provides no support to Japanese American ''hibakusha''.

Other foreign survivors

While one British Commonwealth citizen and seven Dutch POWs (two names known) died in the Nagasaki bombing, at least two POWs reportedly died postwar from cancer thought to have been caused by the atomic bomb. One American POW,

Joe Kieyoomia Joe Kieyoomia (November 21, 1919 – February 17, 1997) was a Navajo soldier in New Mexico's 200th Coast Artillery unit who was captured by the Imperial Japanese Army after the fall of the Philippines in 1942 during World War II. Kieyoomia was ...

, was a Navajo in Nagasaki at the time of the bombing but survived, reportedly having been shielded from the effects of the bomb by the concrete walls of his cell.

Double survivors

People who suffered the effects of both bombings are known as ''nijū hibakusha'' in Japan. A documentary called ''Twice Bombed, Twice Survived: The Doubly Atomic Bombed of Hiroshima and Nagasaki'' was produced in 2006. The producers found 165 people who were victims of both bombings, and the production was screened at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. On March 24, 2009, the Japanese government officially recognized

Tsutomu Yamaguchi (16 March 19164 January 2010) was a Japanese marine engineer and a survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II. Although at least 70 people are known to have been affected by both bombings, he is the only per ...

(1916–2010) as a double ''hibakusha''. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was confirmed to be 3 kilometers from

ground zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the ground ...

in Hiroshima on a business trip when the bomb was detonated. He was seriously burnt on his left side and spent the night in Hiroshima. He got back to his home city of Nagasaki on August 8, a day before the bomb in Nagasaki was dropped, and he was exposed to residual radiation while searching for his relatives. He was the first officially recognized survivor of both bombings. Tsutomu Yamaguchi died at the age of 93 on January 4, 2010, of stomach cancer.

Discrimination

''Hibakusha'' and their children were (and still are) victims of severe

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

when it comes to prospects of marriage or work due to public ignorance about the consequences of radiation sickness, with much of the public believing it to be

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

or even

contagious Contagious may refer to: * Contagious disease Literature * Contagious (magazine), a marketing publication * ''Contagious'' (novel), a science fiction thriller novel by Scott Sigler Music Albums *''Contagious'' (Peggy Scott-Adams album), 1997 * ...

. This is despite the fact that no statistically demonstrable increase of birth defects/congenital malformations was found among the later conceived children born to survivors of the nuclear weapons used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or found in the later conceived children of cancer survivors who had previously received

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

. The surviving women of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that could conceive, who were exposed to substantial amounts of radiation, went on and had children with no higher incidence of abnormalities/birth defects than the rate which is observed in the Japanese average. Studs Terkel's book '' The Good War'' includes a conversation with two ''hibakusha''. The postscript observes: The is a group formed by ''hibakusha'' in 1956 with the goals of pressuring the Japanese government to improve support of the victims and lobbying governments for the abolition of

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s. Some estimates are that 140,000 people in Hiroshima (38.9% of the population) and 70,000 people in Nagasaki (28.0% of the population) died in 1945, but how many died immediately as a result of exposure to the blast, heat, or due to radiation, is unknown. One

Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) (Japanese:原爆傷害調査委員会, ''Genbakushōgaichōsaiinkai'') was a commission established in 1946 in accordance with a presidential directive from Harry S. Truman to the National Academy of Sc ...

(ABCC) report discusses 6,882 people examined in Hiroshima, and 6,621 people examined in Nagasaki, who were largely within 2000 meters from the

, who suffered injuries from the blast and heat but died from complications frequently compounded by acute radiation syndrome (ARS), all within about 20–30 days. In the rare cases of survival for individuals who were

in utero ''In Utero'' is the third and final studio album by American rock band Nirvana. It was released on September 21, 1993, by DGC Records. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albin ...

at the time of the bombing and yet who still were close enough to be exposed to less than or equal to 0.57 Gy, no difference in their cognitive abilities was found, suggesting a threshold dose for pregnancies below which, no life-limiting issues arise. In 50 or so children who survived the gestational process and were exposed to more than this dose, putting them within about 1000 meters from the hypocenter,

microcephaly Microcephaly (from New Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it ...

was observed; this is the only elevated birth defect issue observed in the Hibakusha, occurring in approximately 50 in-utero individuals who were situated less than 1000 meters from the bombings. In a manner dependent on their distance from the hypocenter, in the 1987 ''Life Span Study'', conducted by the

Radiation Effects Research Foundation The Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) is a joint U.S.-Japan research organization responsible for studying the medical effects of radiation and associated diseases in humans for the welfare of the survivors and all humankind.Introduction ...

, a statistical excess of 507 cancers, of undefined lethality, were observed in 79,972 hibakusha who had still been living between 1958–1987 and who took part in the study. An

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

study by the RERF estimates that from 1950 to 2000, 46% of leukemia deaths and 11% of solid cancers, of unspecified lethality, could be due to radiation from the bombs, with the statistical excess being estimated at 200 leukemia deaths and 1,700 solid cancers of undeclared lethality.

Health

Effects of nuclear explosions on human health The medical effects of the atomic bomb upon humans can be put into the four categories below, with the effects of larger thermonuclear weapons producing blast and thermal effects so large that there would be a negligible number of survivors close ...

* Radiation poisoning

Notable ''hibakusha''

Hiroshima

Hiroshima Maidens The Hiroshima Maidens ( ja, 原爆乙女(''Genbaku otome''); "atomic bomb maidens") are a group of 25 Japanese women who were school age girls when they were seriously disfigured as a result of the thermal flash of the fission bomb dropped on ...

– 25 young women who had surgery in the US after the war *

Hubert Schiffer Father Hubert Friedrich Heinrich Schiffer, S.J. (July 15, 1915 in Gütersloh, Province of Westphalia, Prussia, German Empire – March 27, 1982 in Frankfurt, West Germany) was a German Jesuit who survived the atomic bomb "Little Boy" dropped on Hi ...

– Jesuit priest at Hiroshima *

Ikuo Hirayama Ikuo Hirayama (''Hirayama Ikuo'' 平山郁夫; 15 June 1930 – 2 December 2009), was a Japanese Nihonga painter and educator. Born in Setoda, Hiroshima, Setoda-chō, Hiroshima Prefecture, he was famous in Japan for Silk Road paintings of drea ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 15 years old, painter *

Isao Harimoto is a Korean former Nippon Professional Baseball player and holder of the record for most hits in the Japanese professional leagues. An ethnic Korean, his birth name is Jang Hun (Hangul: 장훈, Hanja: 張勳). Harimoto has spent his life as a resi ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 5 years old, ethnic Korean baseball professional player *

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Life and career Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hirosh ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 7 years old, clothing designer * Julia Canny - Irish nun who survived Hiroshima and aided survivors *

Keiji Nakazawa was a Japanese manga artist and writer. Biography Nakazawa was born March 14, 1939 Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan and was in the city when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in August 1945. Most of his family members who had not evacuated died as ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 6 years old, author of ''

Barefoot Gen is a Japanese historical manga series by Keiji Nakazawa. Loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor, the series begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen Nakaoka liv ...

'' and other Anti-War

Manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

. *

Kiyoshi Tanimoto was a Methodist minister famous for his work for the Hiroshima Maidens. He was one of the six Hiroshima survivors whose experiences of the bomb and later life are portrayed in John Hersey's book '' Hiroshima''. The 1985 edition contains an up ...

, ''hibakusha'' at 36 years old, Methodist minister, anti-nuclear activist, has helped Hiroshima Maidens and for ''hibakusha'' to gain social rights. Peace prize named after him * Koko Kondo – ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 1 year old, notable peace activist and daughter of Reverend

* Masaru Kawasaki – ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 19 years old, composer of the Dirge performed at every

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual Japanese vigil. Every August 6, "A-Bomb Day", the city of Hiroshima holds the Peace Memorial Ceremony to console the victims of the atomic bombs and to pray for the realization of lasting world pea ...

since 1975 *

Michihiko Hachiya was a Japanese physician who survived the Hiroshima bombing in 1945 and kept a diary of his experience. He was Director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital and lived near the hospital, about a mile from the explosion's center. A 1984 editoria ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 42 years old, physician specialized in ''hibakusha'', writer of Hiroshima Diary *

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 ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 32 years old, poet, anti-nuclear activist, founder of ''Gensuikin Hiroshima Haha no Kai''(« Mothers of Hiroshima ») *

Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl who became a victim of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. She was two years of age when the bombs were dropped and was severely irradiated. She survived for another ten years, becoming one ...

– ''hibakusha'' at 2 years old, well known for her goal to fold a

thousand origami cranes The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise) and is said to live for a thousand years: That is why cranes are made, one for each year. In some stories it is believed that the 1000 ...

in order to cure herself of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

and symbol of peace *

Sankichi Tōge was a Japanese poet, activist, and survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Biography He was born Mitsuyoshi Tōge in Osaka as the youngest son of Ki'ichi Tōge, a successful manufacturer of bricks. From the start Tōge was a sickly child, s ...

– ''hibakusha'' at 28 years old, poet and militant *

Setsuko Thurlow , born , is a Japanese–Canadian nuclear disarmament campaigner and Hibakusha who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. She is mostly known throughout the world for being a leading figure of the International Campaign to Abo ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 13 years old, anti-nuclear activist, ambassador and keynote speaker at the reception of the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

of ICAN *

Shigeaki Mori is a Japanese historian living in Hiroshima, Japan. He is known fohis researchinto Allied prisoners of war who died during the air raids on Japan. His hug with U.S. President Barack Obama during the president's visit to Hiroshima gained world-wid ...

– a historian of allied prisoners of war *

Shinoe Shōda was a Japanese poet and author known for her atomic bomb literature. Biography Shōda was born in Etajima, Hiroshima, Etajima in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1910. Around 1920 her family moved to Ujina, Japan, Ujina, just outside Hiroshima, and in 19 ...

– ''hibakusha'' at 34 years old, writer and poet *

Shuntaro Hida Shuntaro Hida (1 January 1917 – 20 March 2017) was a Japanese physician who was an eyewitness when the ''Little Boy'' atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the ''Enola Gay'' on 6 August 1945. He treated survivors as a medical doctor and wrote ...

–''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 28 years old, physician specialized in treating ''hibakusha'' * Sunao Tsuboi – ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 20 years old, teacher and activist with

Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations The , often shortened to , is a group formed by ''hibakusha'' in 1956 with the goals of pressuring the Japanese government to improve support of the victims and lobbying governments for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Honors *2010: Award for So ...

* Tamiki Hara – ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 39 years old, poet, writer and University professor *

Tomotaka Tasaka was a Japanese film director. Career Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, he began working at Nikkatsu's Kyoto studio in 1924 and eventually came to prominence for a series of realist, humanist films made at Nikkatsu's Tamagawa studio in the late 193 ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 43 years old, film director and script writer * Yoko Ota – ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 38 years old, writer *

Yoshito Matsushige was a Japanese photojournalist who survived the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and took five photographs on the day of the bombing in Hiroshima, the only photographs taken that day within Hiroshima that are ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 32 years old, has taken the only 5 pictures known the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima * Shigeru Nakamura – ''hibakusha'' of Hiroshima at 34 years old, supercentenarian, oldest living Japanese man (September 9 - November 15, 2022).

Nagasaki

– an American Navajo prisoner of war who survived both the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March (Filipino: ''Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan''; Spanish: ''Marcha de la muerte de Bataán'' ; Kapampangan: ''Martsa ning Kematayan quing Bataan''; Japanese: バターン死の行進, Hepburn: ''Batān Shi no Kōshin'') was ...

and the Nagasaki bombing *

Kyoko Hayashi was a Japanese writer associated with the Atomic Bomb Literature genre. Biography Hayashi was born in Nagasaki and spent the years from 1931 to 1945 with her family in Shanghai. She returned to Nagasaki in 1945 and enrolled in Nagasaki Girls' Hi ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Nagasaki at 14 years old, writer *

Osamu Shimomura was a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist, and Professor Emeritus at Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and Boston University School of Medicine. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 for th ...

– organic chemist and marine biologist;

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

in 2008 * Sumiteru Taniguchi – ''hibakusha'' at 16 years old, known for a picture of him with his back skinless taken by a Marine; anti-nuclear peace activist, president of the council of the A Bomb of Nagasaki, co-president of the

in 2010 *

Takashi Nagai was a Japanese Catholic physician specializing in radiology, an author, and a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. His subsequent life of prayer and service earned him the affectionate title " saint of Urakami". Early years Takashi (m ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Nagasaki at 38 years old, doctor and author of ''

The Bells of Nagasaki is a 1949 book by Takashi Nagai. It vividly describes his experiences as a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It was translated into English by William Johnston. The title refers to the bells of Urakami Cathedral, of which Nagai writes: ...

'' *

Terumi Tanaka is a Japanese anti-nuclear and anti-war activist and former professor. He is a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, and is the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo, a Japan-wide organisation of atomic and hydrogen bomb suffere ...

– ''hibakusha'' of Nagasaki at 13 years old, engineer and associated professor at the University of Tohoku, activist with

* Yōsuke Yamahata – military photographer, not directly victim of the Bomb but has taken pictures of Nagasaki the next day. Died of cancer probably due to radiation. Can be considered as a ''hibakusha'' according to the ABCC classification.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

– the first person officially recognized to have survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.

Artistic representations and documentaries

Literature ( 原爆文学 ''Genbaku bungaku'')

Hibakusha literature

* ''Summer Flowers (夏の花 Natsu no hana),'' Tamiki Hara, 1946 * ''From the Ruins (廃墟から Haikyo kara)'', Tamiki Hara, 1947 * ''Prelude to Annihilation (壊滅の序曲 Kaimetsu no jokyoku),'' Tamiki Hara, 1949 * ''City of Corpses'' (屍の街 ''Shikabane no machi''), Yōko Ōta, 1948 * ''Human Rags'' (人間襤褸 ''Ningen Ranru''), Yōko Ōta, 1951 * ''Penitence (さんげ Sange)'',

, 1947 - collection of

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the '' Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short p ...

poems * ''

Bringing Forth New Life is a poem by 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 ...

(生ましめんかな Umashimenkana)'',

, 1946 * ''I, A Hiroshima Witness (私は広島を証言する Watashi wa Hiroshima wo shogen suru''), Sadako Kurihara, 1967 * ''Documents about Hiroshima Twenty-Four Years Later (Dokyumento Hiroshima 24 nen''), Sadako Kurihara, 1970 * ''Ritual of Death (祭りの場 Matsuri no ba)'',

Kyōko Hayashi was a Japanese writer associated with the Atomic Bomb Literature genre. Biography Hayashi was born in Nagasaki and spent the years from 1931 to 1945 with her family in Shanghai. She returned to Nagasaki in 1945 and enrolled in Nagasaki Girls' Hig ...

, 1975 * ''Poems of the Atomic Bomb (原爆詩集 Genbaku'' ''shishu''),

, 1951 * ''

The bells of Nagasaki is a 1949 book by Takashi Nagai. It vividly describes his experiences as a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It was translated into English by William Johnston. The title refers to the bells of Urakami Cathedral, of which Nagai writes: ...

(長崎の鐘, Nagasaki no Kane),''

, 1949 * ''Little boy: stories of days in Hiroshima'',

, 1984 * ''Letters from the end of the world : a firsthand account of the bombing of Hiroshima,'' Toyofumi Ogura, 1997 * ''The day the sun fell - I was 14 years old in Hiroshima'', Hashizume Bun, 2007 * ''Yoko’s Diary: The Life of a Young Girl in Hiroshima During World War II'', Yoko Hosokawa * ''Hiroshima Diary'',

, 1955 * ''One year ago Hiroshima (Genshi bakudan kaiko)'', Hisashi Tohara, 1946

Non-Hibakusha literature

* ''Hiroshima notes'' (''ヒロシマ・ノート'', ''Hiroshima nôto''), Kenzaburô Ooe, 1965 * '' Black Rain'' (黒い雨 ''Kuroi Ame''),

Masuji Ibuse was a Japanese author. His most notable work is the novel '' Black Rain''. Early life and education Ibuse was born in 1898 to a landowning family in the village of , which is now part of Fukuyama, Hiroshima. Ibuse failed his entrance exam to ...

, 1965 * ''Hiroshima'',

Makoto Oda was a Japanese novelist, peace activist, academic and ''Time'' Asian Hero. Early life and career Oda was born in Osaka in 1932 and graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters program, majoring in classical Greek philosophy and li ...

, 1981 * ''Bakushin'' (爆心;), Yūichi Seirai, 2007 * ''

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes ''Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes'' is a children's historical novel written by Canadian-American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977. It is based on the story of Sadako Sasaki. The book has been translated into many languages and ...

'', Eleanor Coerr, 1977 * ''Debu Hiroshima ("Ashes of Hiroshima")'', Othman Puteh and Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid, 1987 * ''Burnt Shadows'',

Kamila Shamsie Kamila Shamsie FRSL (born 13 August 1973) is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel '' Home Fire'' (2017). Named on ''Granta'' magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has be ...

, 2009 * ''Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War'', Susan Southard, 2015 * ''

'', John Hersey, 1946 * ''

Hibakusha ''Hibakusha'' ( or ; ja, 被爆者 or ; "person affected by a bomb" or "person affected by exposure o radioactivity) is a word of Japanese origin generally designating the people affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at th ...

'' (2015 short story)

Manga and anime

* ''

'' (はだしのゲン ''Hadashi no Gen''),

, 1973-1974, 10 Vol. (also adapted in film in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, 1983 and a TV drama in 2007) * ''

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is a one-volume manga written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kōno. The two connected stories were first published in Japan by Futabasha in '' Weekly Manga Action'' in 2003 and 2004, then collected in a single ''tankōbon'' volume in 2004. The s ...

'' (夕凪の街桜の国 ''Yūnagi no Machi, Sakura no Kuni)'',

Fumiyo Kōno , commonly romanized Fumiyo Kouno, is a Japanese manga artist from Nishi-ku, Hiroshima, known for her 2004 manga ''Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms'' and her 2007 manga ''In This Corner of the World'' which got an anime film adap ...

, 2003-2004 (adapted into novel and film in 2007) * ''

,'' Steve Nguyen and Choz Belen, 2012 * ''

Bōshi ' was a Japanese television special about an elderly man who runs an old haberdashery in Kure. The drama, produced by NHK Hiroshima in 2008 for their 80th anniversary, won the valuable TV drama award at the 63rd Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs ...

(帽子),'' Hiroshi Kurosaki,

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

, 2008, 90 mn *

In This Corner of the World is a manga series written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kōno which ran from 2007 to 2009 in ''Weekly Manga Action''. It follows the life of Suzu Urano, a young bride with her new family living on the outskirts of Kure City during the Secon ...

(この世界の片隅に, Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni), Masao Maruyama,

MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including ''Terror in Resonance'', ''Yuri!!! on Ice'', ''In This Corner of the Wo ...

, 2016

Films

* ''

Children of Hiroshima is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed by Kaneto Shindō. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Takako Ishikawa (Nobuko Otowa) is a teacher on an island in the inland sea off the coast of post-war Hiroshima. During her summer ...

'' ''(原爆の子 Genbaku no Ko)'',

Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include ''Children of Hiroshima'', ''The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', ''Kuroneko'' and ' ...

, 1952 * ''

Frankenstein Conquers the World is a 1965 '' kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film stars Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno and Tadao Takashima, with Koji Furuhata as Frankenstein and Haruo Nakajima as Baragon. An international co-product ...

'' ''(フランケンシュタイン対地底怪獣 Furankenshutain tai Baragon)'',

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 44 feature films in a career spanning 59 years. The most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki, his films have had a significant influence on the film industry. Honda enter ...

, 1965 * '' Black Rain'' (黒い雨 ''Kuroi Ame''), Shohei Imamura, 1989 * ''

'' (長崎の鐘, ''Nagasaki no kane''),

Hideo Ōba Hideo Ōba (大庭秀雄, ''Ōba Hideo'', 28 February 1910 – 10 March 1997) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life Ōba was born on 28 February 1910, in Aoyama, Akasaka-ku, Tokyo. After graduating from Keio University's Depa ...

, 1950 * ''

Rhapsody in August is a 1991 Japanese film by Akira Kurosawa based on the novel ''Nabe no naka'' by Kiyoko Murata. The story centers on an elderly hibakusha, who lost her husband in the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki, caring for her four grandchildren over the s ...

'' (八月の狂詩曲 ''Hachigatsu no rapusodī (Hachigatsu no kyōshikyoku)''),

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

, 1991 * ''

Hiroshima mon amour ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (, lit. , ), is a 1959 romantic drama film directed by French director Alain Resnais and written by French author Marguerite Duras. Resnais' first feature-length work, it was a co-production between France and Japan, an ...

'',

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

, 1959 * ''

'',

Koreyoshi Kurahara (31 May 1927 – 28 December 2002) was a Japanese screenwriter and director. He is perhaps best known for directing ''Antarctica'' (1983), which won several awards and was entered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. He also co- ...

and

Roger Spottiswoode John Roger Spottiswoode (born 5 January 1945) is a Canadian-British director, editor and writer of film and television. Early life He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and was raised in Britain. His father Raymond Spottiswoode was a British ...

, 1995

Music

Silent Planet Silent Planet is an American metalcore band formed in Azusa, California, in 2009. Their name is derived from C. S. Lewis' science fiction novel '' Out of the Silent Planet''. The group consists of vocalist Garrett Russell, guitarist Mitchell ...

, ''Darkstrand (Hibakusha)'', 2013 * Masaru Kawazaki, March forward for peace, 1966 *

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

Threnody to the victims of Hiroshima (''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 string instruments'') , other_name = , year = , catalogue = , period = Contemporary, postmodernism , genre = Sonorism, avant-gar ...

, 1961 * Masao Ohki, Symphony n^o 5 "Hiroshima", 1953 *

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio ''Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima'' ...

, ''Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima'', 1989-2001

Fine art painting

* ''Hiroshima shohenzu'' (広島生変図 ''Hiroshima's holocaust''),

* ''

Carl Randall Carl Randall (born 1975) is a British figurative painter, whose work is based on images of modern Japan and London. Education Randall is a graduate of The Slade School of Fine Art London (BA Fine Art), the Royal Drawing School London (The Dra ...

'' (UK artist who met and painted portraits of Hibakusha in Hiroshima, 2006/09)

Performing arts

* Hibakusha characters are featured in several Japanese plays including The Elephant by Betsuyaku Minoru

Documentaries

* '' No More Hiroshima,''

Martin Duckworth Martin Duckworth (born March 8, 1933) is a Canadian documentary director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 20 ...

, 1984 * ''Hiroshima: The real History'', Lucy van Beek, Brook Lapping Productions 2015 * ''

Hiroshima Witness ''Hiroshima Witness'', also released as ''Voice of Hibakusha'', is a documentary film featuring 100 interviews of people who survived the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as hibakusha. ''Hiroshima Witness'' was produced in 198 ...

'', Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and

, 1986 * ''

'',

Paul Wilmshurst Paul Wilmshurst is a British television director. He has worked on five seasons of the Sky One/ Cinemax action-adventure series ''Strike Back'' and directed on the first series of David S. Goyer's historical fantasy series '' Da Vinci's Demons ...

, BBC, 2005, 89 mn * '' White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki'', Steven Okazaki,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, 2007, 86 mn * ''

Als die Sonne vom Himmel fiel ''Als die Sonne vom Himmel fiel'' is a 2015 Swiss documentary. Focusing on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States Army Air Force on 6 August 1945, it was filmed and produced at locations in the Hiroshima and in the Fukushima prefect ...

'',

Aya Domenig Aya Domenig (born 1972) is a film-maker and anthropologist of Japanese– Swiss origin. Early life and education Born in Kameoka, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, Aya Domenig has joint Swiss and Japanese citizenship. Her mother is of Japanes ...

, 2015, 78 min * ''Atomic Wounds'', Journeyman Pictures, 2008

References

External links

Nagasaki Archive

(film)

Voice of Hibakusha
"Eye-witness accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima"
Hibakusha, fifteen years after the bomb
(CBC TV news report)

"Hibakusha testimonies, coupled with photographs, memoirs and paintings, give a human face to the tragedy of the A-bombing. Starting in 1986, the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation initiated a project to record hibakusha giving testimonies on video. In each year since, the testimonies of 50 people have been recorded and edited into 20-minute segments per person"
The Voice of Hibakusha

ABCC
Radiation Effects Research Foundation website

"Survival in Nagasaki."

"Living with a double A-bomb surviving parent."

"Fight against the A-bomb."

"Contribute actively to peace."

Hibakusha Testimonies
– Online reprints of published sources including excerpts from the Japan Times.
Hibakusha Stories
"Initiative of Youth Arts New York in partnership with

Peace Boat is a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable de ...

, the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, the

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) (french: Bureau des affaires du désarmement) is an Office of the United Nations Secretariat established in January 1998 as the Department for Disarmament Affairs, part of United Nations Secretary-Gen ...

, and

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 4th Street (Manhattan), East 4th Street between Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village, ...

."
A-Bomb Survivors: Women Speak Out for Peace
– Online DVD Testimonies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Hibakusha with subtitles in 6 different languages.
Literary Fallout: The legacies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
{Portal bar, Japan, World War II, Nuclear technology, United States Nuclear warfare Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Radiation health effects Japanese people Anti–nuclear weapons movement

Definition

Official recognition

Korean survivors

Japanese-American survivors

Other foreign survivors

Double survivors

Discrimination

Health

Notable ''hibakusha''

Hiroshima

Nagasaki

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Artistic representations and documentaries

Literature ( 原爆文学 ''Genbaku bungaku'')

Hibakusha literature

Non-Hibakusha literature

Manga and anime

Films

Music

Fine art painting

Performing arts

Documentaries

See also

References

Further reading

External links