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Miyoko Matsubara, who took part in World Peace Pilgrimage, dies at 85

Miyoko Matsubara, who shared her account of the atomic bombing during the World Peace Pilgrimage and on other occasions, died at her home in Minami Ward, Hiroshima on February 10. She was 85. Her death was announced on March 29 by her nephew.

Ms. Matsubara experienced the atomic bombing in Tsurumi-cho, about 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, on August 6, 1945. At the time she was helping to tear down buildings to create a fire lane in case of air raids. With the support of writers and other prominent figures, she traveled to the United States in 1952 in a group of women dubbed the “Hiroshima Maidens” and underwent skin graft surgery to address the severe burns she suffered in the bombing.

In 1962, she took part in the World Peace Pilgrimage organized by an American, Barbara Reynolds, who was recognized as an Honorary Citizen of Hiroshima and passed away in 1990. Ms. Matsubara shared her account of the atomic bombing in 14 countries including the United States and the former Soviet Union. After joining the second World Peace Pilgrimage in 1964, she stayed in the United States to study English.

She became a staff member of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, which the City of Hiroshima established in 1967, and at the same time she spoke regularly about her A-bomb experience to students visiting Hiroshima on school trips. In 1982, she toured 29 cities in the United States with drawings of the atomic bombing that were made by Hiroshima citizens, and voiced a strong appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons. After she retired, she made further visits to Western countries at her own expense. She also made use of the Internet to continue conveying the catastrophic destruction that resulted from the A-bomb attack.

(Originally published on March 30, 2018)

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