Newly discovered letters, photographs from early days of Hiroshima Peace Center show support for orphans and women
Aug. 4, 2023
by Michiko Tanaka, Senior Staff Writer
Documents and materials from the early days of the Hiroshima Peace Center, an organization established in the A-bombed Hiroshima in 1950, have been found. The organization worked to boost the “moral adoption” movement, which linked A-bomb orphans and overseas supporters, as well as to arrange medical treatment in the United States for women A-bomb survivors. Arihiro Yanagihara, 80, second son of Shigeto Yanagihara, former secretary-general of the organization who died in 1975 at the age of 75, confirmed the discovery of the documents at his home in Hiroshima’s Asaminami Ward. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in the city’s Naka Ward, views the materials as “important in that they show how the civic organization assisted A-bomb survivors at a time of scarce public support.”
The documents include letters, photographs, and newsletters, among other items. According to the organization’s fiscal 1955 business statement, the chair at that time was Arata Osada, emeritus professor at Hiroshima University who compiled Children of the Atomic Bomb, a collection of testimonies of children who experienced the atomic bombing. Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church’s Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto, who led establishment of the organization, and Tatsuo Morito, former president of Hiroshima University, were among 11 founding directors. The secretariat of the Hiroshima Peace Center was located in Nagarekawa Church.
One of the activities that the organization focused on initially was the “moral adoption” movement, proposed by American journalist Norman Cousins. The adoption by American “parents,” who sent funds for childrearing as well as letters, began with orphans who lived in orphanages. However, the Hiroshima Peace Center assisted in expanding the adoption system to children who lived outside of such facilities. Mr. Yanagihara was involved in the work of coordinating with collaborative groups in the United States and translating correspondences. The documents discovered recently include an overseas correspondence register from 1958 that recorded to whom and when more than 1,000 letters were sent annually, including letters written by the orphans to their parents in the United States.
Documents related to medical treatment of the women A-bomb survivors, another of the organization’s focuses, were found at the same time. The first edition of the Hiroshima Peace Center News (Japanese edition), published in October 1955, includes the name of Mr. Yanagihara as publisher and details how 25 women were sent off to the United States in May 1955 after undergoing medical treatment in Tokyo and Osaka. The first edition also included a field report titled “News of the Young Women.”
Mr. Yanagihara, who graduated from a university in the United States before the war, was fluent in English. After he returned to Japan, war broke out between Japan and the United States. His wife was killed in the atomic bombing. Mr. Yanagihara entered the city after the bombing and, as a result, was exposed to A-bomb radiation. After the war, while working for the Chugoku Finance Bureau and other organizations, he committed himself to the support of A-bomb survivors. In 1964, he participated in the World Peace Pilgrimage, an event championed by the American peace activist Barbara Reynolds, and called for recognition in the United States and Europe of the reality of the devastation caused by the atomic bombings.
Arihiro, Mr. Yanagihara’s son, said, “Wishing for renunciation of war, my father continued his involvement in the peace movement until the end of his life. I hope the documents and materials discovered at this time will be useful for future generations.” Arihiro is now considering whether to donate the materials to public institutions.
(Originally published on August 4, 2023)
Documents and materials from the early days of the Hiroshima Peace Center, an organization established in the A-bombed Hiroshima in 1950, have been found. The organization worked to boost the “moral adoption” movement, which linked A-bomb orphans and overseas supporters, as well as to arrange medical treatment in the United States for women A-bomb survivors. Arihiro Yanagihara, 80, second son of Shigeto Yanagihara, former secretary-general of the organization who died in 1975 at the age of 75, confirmed the discovery of the documents at his home in Hiroshima’s Asaminami Ward. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in the city’s Naka Ward, views the materials as “important in that they show how the civic organization assisted A-bomb survivors at a time of scarce public support.”
The documents include letters, photographs, and newsletters, among other items. According to the organization’s fiscal 1955 business statement, the chair at that time was Arata Osada, emeritus professor at Hiroshima University who compiled Children of the Atomic Bomb, a collection of testimonies of children who experienced the atomic bombing. Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church’s Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto, who led establishment of the organization, and Tatsuo Morito, former president of Hiroshima University, were among 11 founding directors. The secretariat of the Hiroshima Peace Center was located in Nagarekawa Church.
One of the activities that the organization focused on initially was the “moral adoption” movement, proposed by American journalist Norman Cousins. The adoption by American “parents,” who sent funds for childrearing as well as letters, began with orphans who lived in orphanages. However, the Hiroshima Peace Center assisted in expanding the adoption system to children who lived outside of such facilities. Mr. Yanagihara was involved in the work of coordinating with collaborative groups in the United States and translating correspondences. The documents discovered recently include an overseas correspondence register from 1958 that recorded to whom and when more than 1,000 letters were sent annually, including letters written by the orphans to their parents in the United States.
Documents related to medical treatment of the women A-bomb survivors, another of the organization’s focuses, were found at the same time. The first edition of the Hiroshima Peace Center News (Japanese edition), published in October 1955, includes the name of Mr. Yanagihara as publisher and details how 25 women were sent off to the United States in May 1955 after undergoing medical treatment in Tokyo and Osaka. The first edition also included a field report titled “News of the Young Women.”
Mr. Yanagihara, who graduated from a university in the United States before the war, was fluent in English. After he returned to Japan, war broke out between Japan and the United States. His wife was killed in the atomic bombing. Mr. Yanagihara entered the city after the bombing and, as a result, was exposed to A-bomb radiation. After the war, while working for the Chugoku Finance Bureau and other organizations, he committed himself to the support of A-bomb survivors. In 1964, he participated in the World Peace Pilgrimage, an event championed by the American peace activist Barbara Reynolds, and called for recognition in the United States and Europe of the reality of the devastation caused by the atomic bombings.
Arihiro, Mr. Yanagihara’s son, said, “Wishing for renunciation of war, my father continued his involvement in the peace movement until the end of his life. I hope the documents and materials discovered at this time will be useful for future generations.” Arihiro is now considering whether to donate the materials to public institutions.
(Originally published on August 4, 2023)
