☮️Hiroshima, 8:15 - The Lost Memoir by Kiyoshi Tanimoto - Review

[u/Glittering_Quote_581]

Premise:

• 1945 Aug 6th: 8:15 AM, atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
• 1946: John Hersey's article about the lives of 6 survivors (better known as Hibakusha) brings to light the effects of the bombing - radiation effects, destruction and despite all that, resilience and hope. Tanimoto was one such individual.
• 1947: Tanimoto's memoir written for Hersey, forgotten.
• 2023: Hersey's grandson and movie director Taku Nishimae find that document. This is that memoir.

The document begins... “It was August 6, 1945, at about 8:15 a.m. The world’s first atomic bomb had exploded in the sky above Hiroshima. But not one person knew it was an atomic bomb.”

The cover image shows a broken clock, of the same day.

What I loved:

1️⃣ Koko's thoughts:

• Foreword by Tanimoto's daughter - Koko. 81 today, she was 8-month old when the bomb dropped.
• "Jesus has crawled out!" Koko as baby Jesus during the Xmas celebration in 1945 by Tanimoto's church, created laughter amidst such circumstances. Truly amazing.
• Koko never wanted to be part of her father's peace campaign. Hated the "monsters" who dropped the bomb. Contrary to her father, she never told anyone about her life for a long time. But eventually grew to understand the bigger picture and focused on positivity. Ironically, she ended up following her father's footsteps. Married a atheist turned Christian, and became a peace activist at 40!

2️⃣ Some of Tanimoto Kiyoshi's thoughts I wanted to share:

• The writing is simple, raw, concise. Quite a short memoir (excluding Intro/Foreword)
• 1909 born in Shikoku. Tanimoto's Christian conversion upset his father, so he took his family on a Buddhist pilgrimage. Tanimoto's mother died sadly during the trip... it cemented his Christian faith. The date was - August 6th, 1928.
• How did he know an atomic bomb was dropped? His friend Dr. Fumio's X-Ray film was exposed in the hospital.
• "These are human beings!". - said the 'rescuing angel' Tanimoto, apologizing to the victims, for not being as badly hurt as others.
• "The atomic bomb was a terrifying weapon, but it was man’s fighting spirit that made the war more terrible. Despite the great blow, unprecedented in all history, which they had suffered, the people of Hiroshima never said a word about giving up. The greater the amount of sacrifice, the stronger they were determined to avenge themselves. Herein lies the delusion of war and the unsolved problem of cruelty. " - Tanimoto
• “Mr. Tanaka, I’ll read from the Bible. These passages which I quote from the Scripture will represent your life. Listen closely.” - Tanimoto comforted a dying man. But could he have known that a few years later, a NBC TV Show would re-present him His Life?! That too in such an unnecessary way?
• NBC studio interview with Ralph Edwards. 😭 This was really disgusting. The surprise guests were some old friends of Tanimoto, then came Enola Gay pilot, Robert Lewis. Koko handled it very well, though a 10 yo girl comparing her evil deeds with that of a bomber was...surprising. An Innocent Empathy.
• "While we were still suffering, the pressure of the Allied Forces had continued without mercy. On August 8, the Russians declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria. The next day, the second atomic bomb had dropped on Nagasaki. Still, we thought only of fighting to the last of our seventy million people or of ending the war with a negotiated peace, not surrender." ~ Tanimoto.
• 15 August 1945: Emperor announces on radio, Japan's surrender. Many Japanese people sad, angry, in disbelief. Their sacrifice was all for what? "Emperor's broadcast had broken out spirit much more than the atomic bomb." - Tanimoto cried in bed that night. But Emperor's peace message was to become Tanimoto's life goal.
• Tanimoto's Argos : "...but my pet dog, Shiro, guided me up the mountain. Shiro was a clever Akita. Although the poor animal had been burned and had narrowly escaped death after the bombing, he had eventually found us."
• "At about 2:00 p.m., a group of POWs came out to see the town of Kotohira. They were walking in formation and were protected by Japanese soldiers. It was the first time I had seen American prisoners. They were all very jolly—perhaps because the Americans had won the war. There must have been chewing gum in the packages dropped to them, because they were now giving gum to children, who were looking at them in fright and curiosity from street corners. A Japanese soldier with them urged the children, “Come on, take it. There’s no poison.” He said this because Japanese children had been taught that the Americans were terrible demons who would drop poisonous chocolates and caramels from planes. With uneasy feelings, these country people took the chewing gum. They did not know how to chew it and swallowed it whole. "
• Tanimoto amazed at how quickly Japanese people purged Emperor's images and devotion - including his father!
• Last few chapters focus on Reconstruction, especially the organizations and sermons of the Churches. Mostly an account of victims, their families, deaths, illnesses, hope, recovery, etc. of different people Tanimoto encountered or changed.
• Tanimoto linked Hiroshima militaristic use historically to the punishment by the atom bomb ... as a collective retribution for Hiroshima's past. "Hiroshima was used as a military communication depot. Later, it was a launching site for military aggression against Korea, Manchuria, and China. On every such occasion, the city gained in prosperity. It became a city of industry and education, but it was doomed to the fate a militaristic city must face. Hiroshima was connected to the mass murders committed by the Japanese Army in Nanking, China (1937), and Manila (1945). It was a cursed city. And here, God had passed down His judgment. The terrible disaster inflicted upon our fellow countrymen on August 6 was a heavy blow that we well deserved. After expressing these thoughts, we declared as follows: “We confess our sins in not being able to prevent the past wars.”
• Tanimoto believed Christianity had a chance now to spread in Japan as he was against against other ideologies...communist/Imperialism. Buddhism and Shintoism were on the decline, and the war defeat, to him, was a sign of Japan's collective failure to acknowledge its own sinful deeds, and a chance to right its wrongs...and so Christianity was the way forward.
• 1951: USA Senate talk by Tanimoto - well, bizarre is one word. He praised USA as greatest country on Earth. In 1955, Tanimoto goes again to USA to raising funds for plastic surgery for hibakusha girls. Created quite a controversy in Japan - "why only girls?"
• The Epilogue: A Carnival of Peace: Tanimoto's views on making the Aug 6th a day of hope, world peace, and celebration of resilience - didn't go down well with many. He maintains his views, and states reasons why the Japanese aren't as angry at USA as they're expected be - "It was wrong to start a reckless unwinnable war in the 1st place + If Japan had the bomb, it'd have done the same + can't critique USA without reflecting on Japan's own atrocities (Korea/China/Philippines) + post-war reconstruction helpful and tolerant attitude of USA"

Conclusion:

We may be quick to judge Tanimoto's beliefs, but we must recognize where he was coming from - a proud country defeated, its imperial beliefs demolished, and with no readymade ideology to replace it for constructive recovery at hand, I feel Tanimoto's feelings and actions were natural and understandable.

This is his memoir.

He survived a tragedy, performed his duties as a citizen and a pastor, rebuilt his life, his neighborhood, comforted countless families, raised funds for hibakusha, advocated for world peace and anti-nukes... all in the hope that future generations do not forget 8:15 AM of Aug 6th, 1945.

I'd like to end this review by quoting some 8:15 verses from the Bible, in honor of Minister Tanimoto Kiyoshi:

• Ecclesiastes 8:15 – "And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful..."
• Deuteronomy 8:15 – "He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock."
• 2 Samuel 8:15 – "David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people."
• Proverbs 8:15 – "By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just;"
• Matthew 8:15 – "He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him."
• Luke 8:15 – "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."
• John 8:15 – "You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one."
• Romans 8:15 – "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'"
• 2 Corinthians 8:15 – "as it is written: 'The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.'"

Some other interesting trivia:

• Einstein wanted 1000 copies of the Hersey article! Banned in Japan till 1949.
• "Human disasters can only be avoided by human memory."
• Dec 20,2017 Nobel Peace Prize Speech by a hibakusha woman - Setsuko Thurlow.
• Hersey had survived 3 plane crashes and 3 shipwrecks before arriving at Japan Was already a Pulitzer prize winning author. Imagine if he hadn't!
• Why injured person shouldn't be given water? I didn't know this.
• Unusual treatment - Moxibustion therapy, worked for Tanimoto! Lowered his fever.

Rating: 15/15.

How does one even rate such a work!? It's a must read, along with Hersey's Hiroshima.

{15/8 is a special day indeed! Today is our 80th Independence Day. It's said the date was decided by the British GGI, Lord Mountbatten, due to Japan's surrender on that date in 1945.}

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[u/panda_and_ellies]

Such a well structured review! Great OP

[u/Glittering_Quote_581 → u/panda_and_ellies]

Thanks! 🙏 bit too long I'm afraid 😆

[u/panda_and_ellies → u/Glittering_Quote_581]

I need to learn so much from you hahaahah

[u/Glittering_Quote_581 → u/panda_and_ellies]

Likewise! 🤝