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VOX POPULI: Rare photos of Hiroshima A-bombing show grim aftermath

VOX POPULI: Rare photos of Hiroshima A-bombing show grim aftermath

Asahi Shimbun03-06-2025
The event 'Hiroshima 1945: Special Exhibition 80 Years after Atomic Bombing' opened at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum on May 31 with many foreign visitors in attendance. (Photo by Koichiro Yoshida)
There are few photographs left today that show what Hiroshima looked like immediately after the U.S. bomber Enola Gay dropped its nuclear payload on the city on Aug. 6, 1945.
Of the pictures taken that day to graphically record the horrendous fate met by Hiroshima's citizens, only five film negatives still survive.
They are all the works of Yoshito Matsushige (1913-2005), a photographer with the local daily newspaper The Chugoku Shimbun.
Matsushige, who was 32 at the time, lived 2.8 kilometers from ground zero. Blown off his feet by the nuclear blast and bleeding from shards of broken window panes, he grabbed his camera and headed to the city.
A toddler clung to its mother who could not move. A woman kept shouting her child's name.
Faced with hordes of people with burnt skin and hair, Matsushige hesitated to release the shutter.
'Please forgive me,' he murmured in his heart as he steeled himself to do his job.
The results are five black-and-white photographs that can be seen today.
The silent witnesses show us a perspective that is decisively lacking from any aerial photo of the mushroom cloud taken from above.
Matsushige's photos embody the 'suffering Hiroshima' its citizens gazed up at from under the mushroom cloud, not the Hiroshima as seen from the sky by the people who dropped the bomb.
Some people may wonder about the scarcity of photos that remain. But far too many lives were wiped out by the bomb. The Chugoku Shimbun lost one-third of its workers—or 114 people.
After World War II, the military incinerated many pictures, the disposal of some was regulated by the General Headquarters for the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ).
At the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, an exhibition of rare, valuable photos opened on May 31.
Titled 'Hiroshima 1945: Special Exhibition 80 Years after Atomic Bombing,' it highlights these weighty words of one of the photographers: 'As a record, may our photographs remain final forever.'
—The Asahi Shimbun, June 3
* * *
Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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Hibakusha hope young people will carry on their campaign
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Hibakusha hope young people will carry on their campaign

Completed questionnaires for the nationwide survey of atomic bomb survivors conducted by The Asahi Shimbun, The Chugoku Shimbun and The Nagasaki Shimbun (Takuya Tanabe) Eighty years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of the 3,564 survivors who responded to a survey expressed determination to pass down their experiences, despite the passage of time and the turbulent international situation. A 93-year-old woman who lives in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, said she shared her experiences for the first time just two months ago. 'I saw no light and heard no sound. I was trapped under the station building at Koi Station (in Hiroshima) and crawled out. I saw something like cotton or clouds. Today, I spoke about the keloid scars on both my legs for the first time.' She was one of the respondents to the nationwide survey of hibakusha jointly conducted by The Asahi Shimbun, The Chugoku Shimbun, which is based in Hiroshima, and The Nagasaki Shimbun. 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Questionnaires were distributed to about 11,000 people starting at the end of January, with support from the Japan Federation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) and regional hibakusha groups. Valid responses were received from 3,564 people in 43 prefectures. The average age of the respondents was 85.46. The youngest was 78, who was exposed in utero, and the oldest 106. Of all respondents, 59.6 percent were exposed in Hiroshima and 39.7 percent in Nagasaki. Responses from those without the Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificate, which grants formal hibakusha status and government benefits, were still deemed valid. The government considers this group of survivors ineligible because they were outside the government-designated exposure zone in and around Nagasaki. Nihon Hidankyo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. 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The most common reason was vague or lost memories, picked by 24.8 percent. Others cited a lack of opportunities (13.2 percent), fears of discrimination or prejudice (9.2 percent), emotional pain of recalling experiences (7.7 percent) and despair of ever being understood (7 percent). 'I wish people would listen seriously, but I am worried that they may brush off (my account),' a 94-year-old woman in Nagasaki said in a response written by a welfare facility employee. While some elderly hibakusha try to avoid recalling painful memories, those who were exposed as children struggle to speak because they have faint recollections. 'I have no recollection myself, so it is difficult to pass anything on,' an 80-year-old woman in Hiroshima wrote. 'I do not know what to do.' IMPLORING THE YOUNG As they grow older, some hibakusha can no longer express themselves as they once did. 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This year, The Asahi Shimbun partnered with The Chugoku Shimbun and The Nagasaki Shimbun, the newspapers based in the cities destroyed by the atomic bombings, which have continued to confront the reality of the catastrophe. We believe it is our duty to go beyond corporate boundaries and gather as many testimonies as possible. We received 3,564 responses, which contain shaky or blurred handwriting as well as densely written letters. Each and every one deserves to be preserved for future generations. We will publish articles based on these responses. We hope they inspire readers to reflect on what we can do to ensure no one ever suffers from atomic bombing again. * * * Takaaki Tamura heads The Asahi Shimbun's News and Analysis Center on Nuclear Issues.

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