Regret over not satisfying “still living” requirement, family gives up application
Jun. 2, 2022
by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer
The City of Hiroshima will launch a “Family A-bomb Legacy Successors” program in fiscal 2022, in which family members of A-bomb survivors have the opportunity to share the experience of their family stories. Fifty-four citizens have signed on to this new effort to pass on their family accounts of the atomic bombing. Other citizens who attended the program’s briefing session, however, have not been able to participate in the program as they are not able to satisfy the program’s requirement that their A-bombed family members are still living. Those who have been discouraged by the “still living” requirement as well as some A-bomb historians and experts have called for a more flexible approach to the design requirement of the program.
Hiroko Konishi, 73, a housewife from the city’s Higashi Ward, attended a briefing session in May with the hope of sharing the memories of her five family members who experienced the atomic bombing. Her grandfather died two months after the atomic bombing from burns over his entire body, while her brother, who was two years old at the time, was repeatedly hospitalized due to leukemia and died 20 years after the bombing. She hoped to tell the story of the tragedy immediately after the bombing that she had heard from her family over and over, the death of her brother, which she witnessed firsthand, and the suffering and turmoil experienced by her family. However, at the briefing session, she soon realized that her family did not meet the requirement for application because all her A-bombed family members had already passed away.
Ms. Konishi compiled her memoirs in 2017, and continues to hold family-related records that would pass along her family’s experiences. She stresses, “I usually listened to their experiences over and over. I believe that I can tell my family’s story and provide my family photo that will make our story that much more meaningful.” She expressed her regret over the city’s selection method and requirement that an A-bombed family member still be living, and said that the requirement seems a little too strict.
Of the 74 people who attended the four briefing sessions held in May with the hope of becoming a family legacy successor, 54 people actually filed an application. One woman, a 66-year-old office worker from Hatsukaichi City, gave up the application because her mother, who had survived the atomic bomb, already passed away. She said in disappointment, “I attended the briefing session in hope that I could be of some help to society.”
Staff at the Hiroshima City’s Peace Promotion Division say that as A-bomb survivors have been aging, they would like to uncover the accounts of all those who are still alive. Since time and manpower are limited, they have no choice in how requirements are prioritized and seek the public’s understanding. The Peace Promotion Division also intends to ensure that the content of the A-bomb testimony will be acceptable to the survivors themselves.
Satoru Ubuki, 75, a former professor at Hiroshima Jogakuin University and a resident of the city of Kure, who specializes in research of materials and memoirs related to the atomic bombing, suggests that, regardless of the requirement that A-bomb survivors are still be living, the program and the city should widely support people who are willing to share their family’s experience and history. Mr. Ubuki says, “If the expertise and records held by public institutions such as the Peace Memorial Museum are used, this would be key to upholding oral records of the experience of the atomic bombing. I hope the City of Hiroshima will support education and provide an opportunity for citizens who have an interest and want to become knowledgeable about the history of the atomic bombing to learn in the community.”
(Originally published on June 2, 2022)
The City of Hiroshima will launch a “Family A-bomb Legacy Successors” program in fiscal 2022, in which family members of A-bomb survivors have the opportunity to share the experience of their family stories. Fifty-four citizens have signed on to this new effort to pass on their family accounts of the atomic bombing. Other citizens who attended the program’s briefing session, however, have not been able to participate in the program as they are not able to satisfy the program’s requirement that their A-bombed family members are still living. Those who have been discouraged by the “still living” requirement as well as some A-bomb historians and experts have called for a more flexible approach to the design requirement of the program.
Hiroko Konishi, 73, a housewife from the city’s Higashi Ward, attended a briefing session in May with the hope of sharing the memories of her five family members who experienced the atomic bombing. Her grandfather died two months after the atomic bombing from burns over his entire body, while her brother, who was two years old at the time, was repeatedly hospitalized due to leukemia and died 20 years after the bombing. She hoped to tell the story of the tragedy immediately after the bombing that she had heard from her family over and over, the death of her brother, which she witnessed firsthand, and the suffering and turmoil experienced by her family. However, at the briefing session, she soon realized that her family did not meet the requirement for application because all her A-bombed family members had already passed away.
Ms. Konishi compiled her memoirs in 2017, and continues to hold family-related records that would pass along her family’s experiences. She stresses, “I usually listened to their experiences over and over. I believe that I can tell my family’s story and provide my family photo that will make our story that much more meaningful.” She expressed her regret over the city’s selection method and requirement that an A-bombed family member still be living, and said that the requirement seems a little too strict.
Of the 74 people who attended the four briefing sessions held in May with the hope of becoming a family legacy successor, 54 people actually filed an application. One woman, a 66-year-old office worker from Hatsukaichi City, gave up the application because her mother, who had survived the atomic bomb, already passed away. She said in disappointment, “I attended the briefing session in hope that I could be of some help to society.”
Staff at the Hiroshima City’s Peace Promotion Division say that as A-bomb survivors have been aging, they would like to uncover the accounts of all those who are still alive. Since time and manpower are limited, they have no choice in how requirements are prioritized and seek the public’s understanding. The Peace Promotion Division also intends to ensure that the content of the A-bomb testimony will be acceptable to the survivors themselves.
Satoru Ubuki, 75, a former professor at Hiroshima Jogakuin University and a resident of the city of Kure, who specializes in research of materials and memoirs related to the atomic bombing, suggests that, regardless of the requirement that A-bomb survivors are still be living, the program and the city should widely support people who are willing to share their family’s experience and history. Mr. Ubuki says, “If the expertise and records held by public institutions such as the Peace Memorial Museum are used, this would be key to upholding oral records of the experience of the atomic bombing. I hope the City of Hiroshima will support education and provide an opportunity for citizens who have an interest and want to become knowledgeable about the history of the atomic bombing to learn in the community.”
(Originally published on June 2, 2022)
