Hiroshima

Today I had a life changing experience.

I had the opportunity to attend a Peace Education seminar. There were three different presenters at the seminar, all of which were incredible. However, a gentleman named Mr. Koji Ikeda that I will remember as long as I live.

Mr. Ikeda is currently 90 years old. However, he was a young man when the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He was only about 1 mile from the hypocenter of the bomb. When the bomb was dropped he was holding his 20 day-old son in his arms. His wife, who was on her way home, came in a while later. He explained that she had been so badly affected by the radiation that she was physically unable to feed their child. He said that in her youth she was very, very beautiful, but the skin on her face was melted and she was left with keloid scare for the rest of her life. In addition, he explained the high rate of otherwise rare cancers that have plagued the lives of the people living in Japan since the A-bomb was dropped. Also, many of the people that came into the city to look for loved ones or to assist in the rebuilding efforts were later diagnosed with various types of radiation illnesses (cancer included). He said that, as long as he is lucky to live, he will go around and spread the message of peace to anybody that will listen.

I cannot easily express in my own words his story. Perhaps this is because I was so deeply moved by what he had to say that, being an emotional experience, I was not taking detailed notes.

I am ashamed to say that, as much as I have studied this topic on an academic level, I’ve never had the opportunity to hear from a survivor of the Atomic Bomb. It is a perspective that I wish I had heard when I was younger, but I am glad that I had the chance to hear today. The type of devastation and death is not something that I am interested in witnessing in the future, and it is also something that is painful to think about a man holding his 20 day-old baby having to experience in the past.