New A-bomb artifacts on display at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Jun. 23, 2010
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
An exhibition of newly donated A-bomb artifacts, received during fiscal year 2009, opened at Hiroshima Peace Memorial museum on June 22. The artifacts include a number of belongings of A-bomb victims, which have brought some viewers to tears.
Sumiko Tomoda, 83, donated three fountain pens and a leather case, items that had belonged to her brother Koei. Koei was 16 when he was exposed to the atomic bomb near the hypocenter. Bathed in the bomb's radiation, his hair fell out and he suffered a high fever. He died three weeks later on August 27, 1945.
Ms. Tomoda found the belongings a few years ago when she was putting her house in order. A piece of paper with Koei's name and address and a lucky charm were in the leather case. Ms. Tomoda said that their mother probably kept these things in memory of Koei, who lost his life before completing his education. Ms. Tomoda experienced the bombing, too, and her father and another brother were also A-bomb victims. "Nuclear weapons must never be condoned," she said. "I hope children around the age of 16 will see my brother's belongings, too."
The exhibition features 124 newly arrived artifacts, including a coin found in the ruins of the home of one donor's parents and a parasol owned by another donor's grandmother, who died in the bombing. The exhibition will run until June 12, 2011.
(Originally published on June 23, 2010)
An exhibition of newly donated A-bomb artifacts, received during fiscal year 2009, opened at Hiroshima Peace Memorial museum on June 22. The artifacts include a number of belongings of A-bomb victims, which have brought some viewers to tears.
Sumiko Tomoda, 83, donated three fountain pens and a leather case, items that had belonged to her brother Koei. Koei was 16 when he was exposed to the atomic bomb near the hypocenter. Bathed in the bomb's radiation, his hair fell out and he suffered a high fever. He died three weeks later on August 27, 1945.
Ms. Tomoda found the belongings a few years ago when she was putting her house in order. A piece of paper with Koei's name and address and a lucky charm were in the leather case. Ms. Tomoda said that their mother probably kept these things in memory of Koei, who lost his life before completing his education. Ms. Tomoda experienced the bombing, too, and her father and another brother were also A-bomb victims. "Nuclear weapons must never be condoned," she said. "I hope children around the age of 16 will see my brother's belongings, too."
The exhibition features 124 newly arrived artifacts, including a coin found in the ruins of the home of one donor's parents and a parasol owned by another donor's grandmother, who died in the bombing. The exhibition will run until June 12, 2011.
(Originally published on June 23, 2010)
