Living with the Bomb: History - An Informed Opinion

History - An Informed Opinion

Kiyoshi Tanimoto and the Hiroshima Maidens

Courtesy: Conelrad Adjacent (conrad.blog)

Aftermath is the last chapter of John Hersey’s book, Hiroshima. The last section in that chapter is a post-Hiroshima Bombing update on Kiyoshi Tanimoto, the pastor of the Hiroshima Methodist Church. The section focuses on his life after the bombing, particularly his work establishing a World Peace Center, and raising funds for the Hiroshima Maidens.

Two of the Hiroshima Maidens

Courtesy: Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific

Issue 24, June 2010

According to Hersey, the Hiroshima Maidens were hibakusha girls that attended a bible class for survivors of the Hiroshima bombing. These girls had suffered burns and scars on their faces, arms, and hands (Hersey 1946, 141). Kiyoshi Tanimoto went on many tours to raise money for the Hiroshima Maiden’s plastic surgery. One of these appearances was on May 11, 1955, on the American television show, “This is Your Life”. Viewers of this show saw a highly emotional segment, with the high point of Captain Robert Lewis (co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane that carried and dropped the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb) making an appearance. On the show Captain Lewis described his reaction to dropping the bomb, and presented a donation to Kiyoshi Tanimoto.

According to Hersey, the program was far from what it appeared. Tanimoto was only told he was appearing on a local television interview and was unprepared for that major national television broadcast. During the program, Lewis appeared to be crying but really had been drinking (144). In fact, Marvin Green (a friend of Kiyoshi Tanimoto) told Rodney Barker, author of The Hiroshima Maidens: A Story of Courage, Compassion, and Survival, that Captain Lewis frightened the people from the show when he went drinking after discovering he was not receiving a large check for appearing on the show (Hersey 1946, 145).

Only Tanimoto and Lewis know the truth of the matter, but this story certainly makes you view the video with a grain of salt. In the ending chapter of Hiroshima, Hersey told the significance of the lives of the six major characters of his masterpiece. The ending story of Kiyoshi Tanimoto brought the final message full circle. The ending message according to Tanimoto was the world’s memory was getting spotty (Hersey 1946, 152).

Maybe it is better to just listen to the voices of the Hiroshima Maidens