My Life: Interview with Sunao Tsuboi, Chairperson of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, Part 1
Jan. 21, 2013
“Face of Hiroshima”
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
Gratitude for having survived
Hiroshima resident Sunao Tsuboi, 87, has traveled throughout Japan and the world calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. He first got involved in the atomic bomb survivor movement in 1993 when he retired as principal of a junior high school and became deputy director of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations. In 2004 he assumed the post of chairman of the organization. Since 2000 he has also served as one of the chairmen of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) and is known as the “face of Hiroshima.” Mr. Tsuboi nearly died as a result of the atomic bombing, which took place when he was 20, but he survived thanks to the help of others. His struggle for peace is one way for him, as a survivor, to convey his gratitude.
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I was about 1.2 km from the hypocenter when the A-bomb was dropped. I was unconscious until September 25. But I’m still alive. I couldn’t walk on account of my injuries from the A-bombing, so a friend took me to a temporary field hospital on Ninoshima Island (now part of Minami Ward). I was barely conscious. My mother found me among the crush of survivors there.
On account of my exposure to radiation, my blood-forming function was impaired, and I nearly died three times. Fellow teachers donated blood for me. I survived because of the support of all those people. When I thought about that, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I wanted to devote my life to giving something back. I became a teacher because they had a lot of days off and the job wasn’t too demanding physically, but I gradually came to feel that I wanted to show my gratitude in some way, and I decided that after I retired I wanted to be of help to atomic bomb survivors.
Mr. Tsuboi recounts his A-bombing experience 60 to 70 times a year. He stops in at the office of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations nearly every day. He also travels to Tokyo every month for meetings of a committee that is reviewing the certification system for A-bomb diseases and to attend Nihon Hidankyo meetings.
I seem healthy. Some people even say I’m “superhuman.” But I get an intravenous drip for anemia once every two weeks. That’s what keeps me alive. That’s what’s so scary about the A-bomb. I’m also battling colon and prostate cancer. I also have heart trouble and always have nitroglycerine on hand. Sixty-seven years have passed since the atomic bombing, but I’m still suffering the effects. I’m covered with scars, but I’m still on the job.
My parents named me “Sunao” because they wanted me to live my life on the straight and narrow. War, nuclear weapons, terrorism, murder – all of them are wrong. Human life is what’s most important. I will continue to proceed in a straight line toward peace.
(This series is being prepared by Sakiko Masuda of the Hiroshima Peace Media Center.)
(Originally published on January 16, 2013)
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
Gratitude for having survived
Hiroshima resident Sunao Tsuboi, 87, has traveled throughout Japan and the world calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. He first got involved in the atomic bomb survivor movement in 1993 when he retired as principal of a junior high school and became deputy director of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations. In 2004 he assumed the post of chairman of the organization. Since 2000 he has also served as one of the chairmen of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) and is known as the “face of Hiroshima.” Mr. Tsuboi nearly died as a result of the atomic bombing, which took place when he was 20, but he survived thanks to the help of others. His struggle for peace is one way for him, as a survivor, to convey his gratitude.
◇
I was about 1.2 km from the hypocenter when the A-bomb was dropped. I was unconscious until September 25. But I’m still alive. I couldn’t walk on account of my injuries from the A-bombing, so a friend took me to a temporary field hospital on Ninoshima Island (now part of Minami Ward). I was barely conscious. My mother found me among the crush of survivors there.
On account of my exposure to radiation, my blood-forming function was impaired, and I nearly died three times. Fellow teachers donated blood for me. I survived because of the support of all those people. When I thought about that, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I wanted to devote my life to giving something back. I became a teacher because they had a lot of days off and the job wasn’t too demanding physically, but I gradually came to feel that I wanted to show my gratitude in some way, and I decided that after I retired I wanted to be of help to atomic bomb survivors.
Mr. Tsuboi recounts his A-bombing experience 60 to 70 times a year. He stops in at the office of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations nearly every day. He also travels to Tokyo every month for meetings of a committee that is reviewing the certification system for A-bomb diseases and to attend Nihon Hidankyo meetings.
I seem healthy. Some people even say I’m “superhuman.” But I get an intravenous drip for anemia once every two weeks. That’s what keeps me alive. That’s what’s so scary about the A-bomb. I’m also battling colon and prostate cancer. I also have heart trouble and always have nitroglycerine on hand. Sixty-seven years have passed since the atomic bombing, but I’m still suffering the effects. I’m covered with scars, but I’m still on the job.
My parents named me “Sunao” because they wanted me to live my life on the straight and narrow. War, nuclear weapons, terrorism, murder – all of them are wrong. Human life is what’s most important. I will continue to proceed in a straight line toward peace.
(This series is being prepared by Sakiko Masuda of the Hiroshima Peace Media Center.)
(Originally published on January 16, 2013)
