Event Host: Institute for Japanese Studies
Short Description: Michiko Yamaoka shares her family's story about experiencing the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II.
The Institute for Japanese Studies presents:
Michiko Yamaoka
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Lecture: 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Reception: 3:30 - 4 p.m.
Abstract: “Why do you go to the hospital so often?” I asked this question to my mother when I was in 6th grade. “Because I am an atomic bomb survivor and a victim of radiation sickness caused by the bomb.” It was the first time I heard about the atomic bomb from my mother who suffered a series of ill-defined diseases and had been constantly in and out of the hospital. She and her sister were bombed on August 6th, 1945. Her sister was a middle school student and at the time when the bomb was dropped, and she was 1.2 km from the hypocenter while helping with the demolition of buildings. My mother, who was not externally injured, searched for her sister in the city of Hiroshima after the bomb. It took her two days to finally find her sister. She was severely wounded, and her face was swollen from burns. Her sister passed away two days after she was brought home. My mother frequently said “thousands died in my sight and Hiroshima looked like hell. It is difficult to describe what it was like. Only atomic bomb survivors who saw everything can understand how the bomb destroyed the city and claimed many lives.” A great number of people were killed, injured, and tormented by the war. We need to look back and study history in order not to make the same irremediable mistake. The purpose of this presentation is to show the harsh reality of what happened in Hiroshima in the events and aftermath of the atomic bomb. By sharing the memoirs and experiences of atomic bomb survivors, we hope to prevent this kind of suffering from happening to anyone again. I think that unless we can overcome hatred, we will never be able to achieve a truly peaceful world.
Bio: Ms. Yamaoka is a daughter of atomic bomb survivors and a certified A-Bomb Legacy Successor who closely works with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Her parents are victims of radiation sickness caused by the bomb. As an A-Bomb Legacy Successor, she passes on the survivors’ stories and wishes on their behalf. She participated in a meeting for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2015. She travels around Japan for her talks, and also gives talks abroad in cities such as New York and Toronto. Audiences of over 10,000 attended her talks since 2015.
Free and Open to the Public
This event is co-sponsored by the OSU Environmental Science Graduate Program (ESGP) and the Japan America Society of Central Ohio (JASCO). The IJS Lecture Series is supported by a U.S. Department of Education title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.
