Books on A-bombing presented to U.S. school by friends of A-bomb survivor; 30 volumes donated to pass on Michiko Yamaoka’s desire for nuclear abolition
Oct. 30, 2015
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
A group of friends of the late Michiko Yamaoka, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, will donate books on the A-bombing to a U.S. school Ms. Yamaoka was associated with. The group will present 30 volumes to the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. on October 30. The private school is attended by the daughters of U.S. President Barack Obama. The books to be donated in memory of Ms. Yamaoka, who died in 2013 at the age of 83, will be made available to students starting in November as the “Michiko Yamaoka Collection.” Her friends hope the books will convey Ms. Yamaoka’s desire for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The books will occupy a section of the high school library. They include the English versions of “No More Hiroshima, Nagasaki,” a collection of photographs that features Ms. Yamaoka’s account of her A-bombing experience, and “Barefoot Gen.”
Ms. Yamaoka, who was badly burned in the atomic bombing, was one of the so-called “Hiroshima Maidens” who traveled to the U.S. starting in 1955 to undergo treatment. In part because she had received support from a group of Quakers, starting in 1986 over a period of 22 years she gave talks to 88 people from the school, which was founded by a Quaker, when they visited Hiroshima as part of the school’s peace education program. In 1995 she spoke at the school.
Tokyo resident Hiroyuki Suda, 55, a friend of Ms. Yamaoka, and seven others formed a group to honor Ms. Yamaoka’s memory. The group approached the school about the book donation in May, and the school readily agreed to the proposal. The books were purchased or provided by citizens’ groups.
At a press conference in Hiroshima City Hall on October 26, Mr. Suda noted that President Obama’s elder daughter Malia attends Sidwell’s high school and his younger daughter Sasha is in the junior high school. Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State and a Democratic presidential candidate, heard Ms. Yamaoka’s account of her A-bombing experience while a student at Sidwell’s high school. “I hope the president’s daughters will look at the books. We’d like to send books to the junior high school also,” Mr. Suda said.
(Originally published on October 27, 2015)
A group of friends of the late Michiko Yamaoka, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, will donate books on the A-bombing to a U.S. school Ms. Yamaoka was associated with. The group will present 30 volumes to the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. on October 30. The private school is attended by the daughters of U.S. President Barack Obama. The books to be donated in memory of Ms. Yamaoka, who died in 2013 at the age of 83, will be made available to students starting in November as the “Michiko Yamaoka Collection.” Her friends hope the books will convey Ms. Yamaoka’s desire for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The books will occupy a section of the high school library. They include the English versions of “No More Hiroshima, Nagasaki,” a collection of photographs that features Ms. Yamaoka’s account of her A-bombing experience, and “Barefoot Gen.”
Ms. Yamaoka, who was badly burned in the atomic bombing, was one of the so-called “Hiroshima Maidens” who traveled to the U.S. starting in 1955 to undergo treatment. In part because she had received support from a group of Quakers, starting in 1986 over a period of 22 years she gave talks to 88 people from the school, which was founded by a Quaker, when they visited Hiroshima as part of the school’s peace education program. In 1995 she spoke at the school.
Tokyo resident Hiroyuki Suda, 55, a friend of Ms. Yamaoka, and seven others formed a group to honor Ms. Yamaoka’s memory. The group approached the school about the book donation in May, and the school readily agreed to the proposal. The books were purchased or provided by citizens’ groups.
At a press conference in Hiroshima City Hall on October 26, Mr. Suda noted that President Obama’s elder daughter Malia attends Sidwell’s high school and his younger daughter Sasha is in the junior high school. Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State and a Democratic presidential candidate, heard Ms. Yamaoka’s account of her A-bombing experience while a student at Sidwell’s high school. “I hope the president’s daughters will look at the books. We’d like to send books to the junior high school also,” Mr. Suda said.
(Originally published on October 27, 2015)
