Preface
It has been 80 years since the end of the war.
Japan has maintained peace, but the number of hibakusha—atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki—is steadily decreasing.
I am not a peace activist but an individual artist, yet I feel that now, more than ever, as the voices of survivors fade, it is crucial to convey, remember, and pass on this reality to future generations.
If you oppose nuclear weapons, I believe you have a duty to understand, as a premise, what is truly terrifying about them.
On June 25, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump praised the use of missiles against Iran by comparing it to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, calling it a “wise decision.”
I am not a hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor), but as a Japanese person, I feel deeply angered by this disregard for the victims and the tragedy.
Those who threaten to use nuclear weapons sound like children playing with a power they don’t understand — immature and reckless.
“Do you know that atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?”
Can you imagine it?
That a human being can evaporate, leaving only a shadow.
That someone’s skin can melt and hang loosely and hang off, while they wander with arms outstretched.
That people collapsed by the river saying “Please give me water”—and died.
The river was piled with corpses.
This is not a spectacle or entertainment.
It’s more horrifying than an Anthony Hopkins horror movie.
The true horror of the atomic bomb is simple: it’s grotesque beyond words.
There are very few photos from that moment because many victims died instantly before anyone could capture the scene.
Some American personnel who did take photos afterward were themselves exposed to radiation.
This is not the same as the recent missile strike on Iran.
Because this was about hundreds of thousands of civilians living ordinary lives before the bombs fell.
Damage by Distance from the Hypocenter (from reliable sources)
Before the explosion, there was a bright flash.
Civilians later called it “Pika-don.”
The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was called Little Boy, delivered by the B-29 bomber Enola Gay.
Three days later, Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki.
These were cities where people lived normal lives—children going to school, workers commuting, families having breakfast. All of it vanished in an instant.
Within 1 km:
- Instant death or complete destruction of body tissues, resulting in death within days.
- In some cases, only a shadow remained.
1–2 km:
- Clothes burned into skin, severe burns.
- Keloids progressed over months.
2–3 km:
- Flash burns from the light.
- Even if no visible external wounds, keloids formed; radiation sickness led to death within weeks.
3–4 km:
- Burns and radiation injuries caused death from days to months later.
- Some survivors suffered discrimination because their keloids — thick, raised scars that grow beyond the original wound and can look quite disfiguring — made their scars visible and marked them as bomb victims.
(Note: This includes the issue of “black rain.”)
By the end of 1945, it is estimated that around 140,000 people had died in Hiroshima and about 70,000 in Nagasaki — not all at once, but over days, weeks, and months, due to burns, radiation exposure, and related illnesses.
Characteristics of the Atomic Bomb’s Blast Heat
Temperature:
- Directly under the hypocenter: over 3,000–4,000°C (hot enough to melt iron).
- Human bodies were exposed to extreme heat, instantly carbonized or evaporated.
Speed and Range:
- Blast wind speed: around 440 meters per second (approx. 1,500 km/h).
- Wooden buildings within 2 km were completely destroyed and set ablaze.
Burn Injuries:
- Even without looking directly, UV and infrared rays caused burns.
- Clothing patterns burned into the skin (known as “bomb shadow” effect).
The Manhattan Project and the Target Selection
The atomic bombs developed under the Manhattan Project required selecting appropriate targets for deployment.
Initially, the U.S. military compiled a broader list of Japanese cities as potential targets, considering their military and industrial significance, population size, and urban layout.
The list of possible target cities included, but was not limited to:
Primary Candidate Cities for Atomic Bombing:
- Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Area)
- Yokohama
- Nagoya
- Osaka
- Kyoto
- Kobe
- Yahata
- Nagasaki
Additional Cities and Areas Under Study:
- Tokyo Bay
- Kawasaki
- Yokohama
- Nagoya
- Kyoto
- Osaka
- Kobe
- Hiroshima
- Kure
- Shimonoseki
- Yamaguchi
- Yahata
- Kokura
- Fukuoka
- Kumamoto
- Nagasaki
- Sasebo
Major firebombing raids:
- Tokyo
- Nagoya
- Osaka
- Kobe
Why Kyoto Was Removed from the Atomic Bomb Target List
Kyoto was originally one of the candidate cities for the atomic bomb.
However, due to its high historical and cultural value, some U.S. government and military officials decided it should be spared.
Especially Arnold strongly recommended removing Kyoto from the target list to protect its beautiful traditional architecture and cultural heritage.
As a result, Kyoto was taken off the bombing target list.
Why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were ultimately chosen
- Hiroshima: A major military headquarters and logistics center, largely untouched by prior bombings, with a dense urban environment perfect to observe bomb effects.
- Nagasaki: A key naval port and industrial city, also largely intact, although more geographically complex than Hiroshima.
I don’t want more people to have to speak out for peace—because the need to do so comes from unbearable suffering.
That’s what I think.
Some people died instantly.
Others — 140,000 in Hiroshima, 70,000 in Nagasaki — died over weeks, months, or even years.
The bombs did not just destroy cities.
They created a living hell.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, by a miracle, became accessible relatively soon and are now modern cities.
We can imagine the fear of radiation and ecosystem collapse, but the greatest fear, I believe, is the creation of a real-life hell.
The atomic bombing—even if it was partly an experiment—my own city was once listed as a candidate.
If so, maybe by now I would be a third-generation hibakusha—or I might not exist at all.
If you say “nuclear weapons are wrong” without knowing this, and if you think you won’t get PTSD, try visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Isn’t that kind of them? Some rooms even have warning signs about entering.
I am Japanese, but I am too scared to go.
Shamefully, I can’t even get off at Hiroshima Station on the Shinkansen.
Why? Because I saw TV documentaries and the movie Grave of the Fireflies when I was a child—back when media regulations were looser.
Those images are burned into my mind.
(Grave of the Fireflies is not entirely an anti-war film.)
The atomic bomb possesses terrifying destructive power—both physically and psychologically.
Thank you for your reading.
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(This article was carefully translated from Japanese into English with the help of AI, through multiple revisions.)