Trigger Warning: This blog discusses events that took place and death. This may be distressing to readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki had always been on my bucket list. I am fascinated by history, and I like to visit places of historical interest. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were no different. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting arriving into Hiroshima, but I know, I left the city feeling deeply saddened by the sufferings of the citizens in these cities. I will not write anything more beyond this about the two cities. I feel writing about these two cities needs time and to be thought out very carefully. In due time there may be something that I publish. For now, I want to share some anecdotes that I heard when visiting, which may or may not be known to all. I’m writing this from what I recall from memory, if you spot something inconsistent, please leave me a comment, so that I can fix it.

The Story of Sadako | Hiroshima

Sadako was just 2 years old when the atom bomb dropped in Hiroshima in August 1945. Despite living as close as 1 mile away from the epicentre, miraculously she came out of the incident without a scratch on her. A few years later, she was diagnosed with leukemia as a result of radiation. Her family dabbled with the idea of telling her the truth, but ultimately decided against it. She was a young girl loved by all, and she was very good in sports. As the leukemia started to spread, she got sicker by the day, ultimately getting hospitalised. The nurses, doctors, and everyone in the hospital grew fond of her, and her fighting spirit. The Japanese believed in a legend, that if a sick person folds paper to make a 1000 paper cranes, he/she will get well soon. Everyone around Sadako, including herself made a 1000 paper cranes. Her eagerness and fighting spirit gave everyone hope but ultimately, she lost her battle at age 12. When you visit Sadako’s statue in Hiroshima, outside the museum, you will see a paper crane above her head.

Our Tour Guide’s Story | Hiroshima

Our tour guide, who took us around Hiroshima, shared her story with us. She’s not originally from Hiroshima but has lived in the city for over 30 years. She recently found out the story of her elderly neighbour, who lived close to the epicentre. Her neighbour survived the bombing, but her younger brother did not make it. Her elderly neighbour is now in her 80s. Each year, on the 6th of August, she attends the memorial service that is hosted in honour of the lives that were lost.

The Story of Pope Francis | Nagasaki

The current Pope, Pope Francis, on his visit to Nagasaki was moved by the photo below, which is placed at the museum. What does this image show? This is the photo of a young boy, who would have been no more than 8-9years old himself. He is carrying a baby on his back, likely to be his younger sibling.

In this photo, he is standing at the crematorium, waiting for his turn to get his younger sibling cremated, who did not survive the A-bomb on August 9th, 1945.

The Story of the Urakami Cathedral | Nagasaki

Nagasaki has historically always been a city where the citizens mostly practiced Christianity. In the grand scheme of things, this was a small percentage in all of Japan. Under the Shogun empire, those who practiced Christianity were executed. To check if anyone was lying when asked about their faith, as people looked for ways to avoid sharing the truth, the Shogun made an amulet with Jesus Christ carved on it. As you were asked about what religion you follow, you were asked to step on the amulet. If you couldn’t step on it, it was because you followed Christianity, and you were killed immediately.

In the latter part of the 19th century, the Christianity ban was overthrown, and the construction of the Urakami Cathedral began. The construction of the Cathedral was completed in 1914, and at the time was considered the largest Cathedral in East Asia. Urakami was also the epicentre of the Nagasaki bombing, and the Cathedral stood only 500m away. In the photo below, you’ll see what is left of the Cathedral, a partial entrance.

The Story of the Two Sisters | Nagasaki

Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo for this one, but I’m sure if you Google it, you’ll be able to find something. This is an astonishing story. In Nagasaki, a few years after the a-bomb was dropped, doctors, forensic specialists, scientists, and other experts, kept finding remains of human bodies. A lot of the locals had been in search of answers or were hoping to find out some/any news about their families and loved ones following the incident. As the experts found more and more remains, they decided to host an exhibition with photographs of these remains. Many people decided to visit, including the two sisters that I’m writing about.

The experts had found a body that was burnt to a crisp, with no recognisable features. They’d taken a photo of it and put it on display at this exhibition. Not much was expected given there was nothing recognisable left on this body. The two sisters that I mentioned earlier, also visited this exhibition. Whilst visiting the exhibition they came upon the picture. In an instant, they knew it was their baby brother in that photo. They were asked for their DNA, and they tried to retrieve whatever DNA they could from that body, but that proved difficult due to the extensive damage on that person’s body. Whilst the results were inconclusive, the doctors did say that if they were able to gather more DNA, there is a very high probability that this person is who these two sisters claimed he was.

As mentioned before, this blog has been written mostly from memory, and as such there may be some facts that may not have come across correctly. However, overall these are the stories that I heard whilst visiting the two beautiful cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If you have visited these places, and have some stories that you’ve heard, I would love for you to share it - either in the comments, or reach out, and we can collaborate on another blog.

Until next time,

MiliG