Voices of the Past
Mr. Kimiyoji Kawasaki
A 16-year-old student on August 6, 1945, the day the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, Mr. Kawasaki cared for the wounded and dying at his home and at school in the weeks following the bombing. He wishes to share this message:
"Let us strive to increase all people's awarenesss of the damage and after-effects of atomic bombs and nuclear testing. By doing so, I hope we can strengthen our movement to eliminate these internationally outlawed nuclear weapons. I have recently been talking to students who come to Hiroshima on school excursions. I tell them about my experiences after the explosion of the atomic bomb. They listen to me earnestly, and I can see the hope for peace in their eyes."
Before retirement, Mr. Kawasaki was a school teacher.
Ms. Junko Kayashige
At 6 years of age, Ms. Kayashige was home on a brief visit to Hiroshima-after months spent in the countryside away from air raids-when she saw the Enola Gay fly by the window. Two of her sisters were among the many who died that day. She says:
"Thanks to the passage of time, the keloidal skin on my hand and neck has almost recovered, with that part of the skin getting thinner and the scar of the burns indistinctive. It is hard for me to revisit and recount my experience, but [I do so because] nuclear weapons are still threatening our lives.. The human race has the highest intelligence on this planet, using letters and languages. Humans are supposed to be able to feel love and sorrow and the pain of others. But they still wage wars, and even depleted uranium weapons (though they may not be called nuclear arms) are used massively. How foolish humans can be! But I still want to believe in humanity's wisdom."
As an adult, Ms. Kayashige taught art at a middle school.
Mr. Tadahiko Murata
Mr. Murata was a 5-year-old boy "playing war" outside his house when the bomb fell. He has been haunted ever since by memories of his sister who died when flames swept through the ruins where she lay trapped. He shares the stories of that sister and the two others who died from the bombs. Mr. Murata also relates his treatment by American and Japanese authorities as an "experimental animal" to be studied for the effects of extreme radiation exposure.
Mr. Murata was a "salary-man" at Tokyo Marine & Fire Insurance. He has been involved in peacemaking since 1981 and has been profiled in films and on television.
Ms. Myako Yano
A schoolgirl of 14, in the days before the bombing Ms. Yano had been working with her classmates demolishing houses in Hiroshima to clear a firebreak in anticipation of air raids. She woke up sick on August 6 and so did not report to work. The 654 students who were there died instantly when the bomb exploded. She speaks publically about the illnesses that have plagued survivors for decades:
"The Japanese government still runs its Hibakusha -related administration based on the wrong information released by the US occupation authority.. At present, many Hibakusha are pursuing simultaneous lawsuits to get state recognition that their diseases were caused by the bomb .. Many Hibakusha have died in agony while the truth of their suffering was kept under cover. My uncle, who engaged in burning corpses with me, and my father, who died of stomach cancer after suffering from tuberculosis (without adequate treatment), were both victims of the bomb..
I want [people to understand] that humans cannot coexist with nuclear weapons. There is no other way for us but to completely abolish nuclear weapons, the ultimate tools of war."
