Hibakusha

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A victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. She suffered severe burns; the pattern on her skin is from the kimono she was wearing at the time of the bombing.
A victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. She suffered severe burns; the pattern on her skin is from the kimono she was wearing at the time of the bombing.

Hibakusha (被爆者?) is the term widely used in Japan referring to victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese word translates literally to "explosion-affected people." As of March 2005, there were 266,598 hibakusha certified by the Japanese government.[1] Almost all live in Japan, but several thousand bomb survivors live in Korea and elsewhere.

The Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Law defines hibakusha as people (1) who were within a few kilometers of the hypocenters of the bombs, (2) who were within 2 km of the hypocenters within two weeks of the bombings, (3) who were exposed to radiation from fallout, and (4) babies carried by pregnant women in any of these categories.

Hibakusha are entitled to government support; they receive a certain amount of allowance per month. They and their children were (and still are) victims of severe discrimination due to lack of knowledge about the consequences of radiation sickness, which people believed to be hereditary or even contagious. About 1%, certified as suffering from bomb-related diseases, receive a special medical allowance.

Each year, on the anniversaries of the bombings, lists of the names of hibakusha whose deaths have been recorded in the previous year are added to the cenotaphs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As of August, 2005, the death tolls stand at 242,437 (Hiroshima[2]), and 137,339 (Nagasaki[3]).

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[edit] The Good War

Studs Terkel's book The Good War has a conversation with two Hibakusha. The postscript observes:

"There is considerable discrimination in Japan against the hibakusha. It is frequently extended toward their children as well: socially as well as economically. "Not only hibakusha, but their children, are refused employment," says Mr. Kito. "There are many among them who do not want it known that they are hibakusha." (P. 542)

[edit] Testimony of Akira Onogi

Follow this link for the full interview.

"MR. ONOGI: I was in the second year of junior high school and was mobilized work with my classmates at the Eba Plant, Mitsubishi shipbuilding. On the day when A-bomb was dropped, I happened to be taking the day off and I was staying at home. I was reading lying on the floor with a friend of mine. Under the eaves I saw blue flash of light just like a spark made by a train or some short circuit. Next, a steamlike blast came.

INTERVIEWER: From which direction?

ANSWER: Well, I'm not sure, anyway, when the blast came, my friend and I were blown into another room. I was unconscious for a while, and when I came to, I found myself in the dark. Thinking my house was directly hit by a bomb, I removed red soil and roof tiles covering me by hand and for the first time I saw the sky. I managed to go out to open space and I looked around wondering what my family were doing. I found that all the houses around there had collapsed for as far as I could see.

INTERVIEWER: All the houses?

ANSWER: Yes, well, I couldn't see anyone around me but I heard somebody shouting ``Help! Help!`` from somewhere. The cries were actually from underground as I was walking on. Since no choice were available, I'd just dug out red soil and roof tiles by hand to help my family; my mother, my three sisters and a child of one of my sisters. Then, I looked next door and I saw the father of neighboring family standing almost naked. His skin was peeling off all over his body and was hanging from finger tips. I talked to him but he was too exhausted to give me a reply. Then he cried. He was looking for his family desperately. The person in this picture was a neighbor of us. I think the family's name was the Matsumotos. When we were escaping from the edge of the bridge, we found this small girl crying and she asked us to help her mother. Just beside the girl, her mother was trapped by a fallen beam on top of the lower half of her body. Together with neighbors, we tried hard to remove the beam, but it was impossible without any tools. Finally a fire broke out endangering us. So we had no choice but to leave her. She was conscious and we deeply bowed to her with clasped hands to apologize to her and then we left. About one hour later, it started raining heavily. There were large drops of black rain.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links and references

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