Kikuyo Nakamura (94) and Mitsuko Yoshimura (95) are aging hibakusha of the atomic bombings that leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In these haunting accounts, they navigate the deeper psychological impact of these events on their sense of motherhood. At 101 and 102 years young, these two extraordinary women offer some valuable wisdom on the permanent realities of irradiated innocence. Their stories show the emotional scars that continue to mark their lives to this day.
Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. At the time, Kikuyo Nakamura was just 21 years old. She lived only a little over 5 km (3.1 miles) from where the old munitions factory exploded. The traumatic occurrence inflicted the wounds of injury and trauma inwardly, not only on herself but her future family as well. A year after the war ended in Europe, she married another survivor. The following year, in 1948, they welcomed their son, Hiroshi, with great happiness and jubilation. Soon after, their joy turned to sorrow when Hiroshi contracted leukemia, ultimately passing away in 2011 at the age of 55 years old.
Nakamura recalls how a doctor suggested that radiation passed through her breast milk could have contributed to her son’s illness. This notion has haunted her for decades.
“I was overwhelmed with guilt and suffering… Even now, I still believe what the doctor said, that I caused it. That guilt still lives in me,” – Kikuyo Nakamura
Although Mitsuko Yoshimura’s tale goes off in a different direction, it too is rooted in the soil of longing and damage. She had long dreamed of raising a big family herself, but didn’t have any children. The impact of the bombings changed her understanding of what it means to be a mother. Combined, their stories underscore the long-term impact of maternal radiation exposure during pregnancy. This effect does not stop with first-generation survivors; it trickles down to their children.
The Physical and Emotional Toll
Yet Nakamura’s experience as a mother was emotional, physical, and spiritual agony. Her losses are made worse by the loss of her two unborn children through miscarriage and a stillbirth. She walks around with a pretty deep psychological pain. That pain is wrapped up in fear that all of this suffering resulted from her exposure to radiation while pregnant with her son.
Industry experts and advocates know that radiation exposure during pregnancy can have devastating consequences for healthy fetal development. The embryonic period, especially weeks 5 to 15, is a crucial interval for brain and organ development. For women of childbearing age exposed to radiation during this period, the risks are amplified. Their kids have a greater risk of developing intellectual disabilities, neurological malformations, and microcephaly.
As a writer, Nakamura is prone to wonder, even in the violent aftermath of war itself, why do we create war?
“People really need to think carefully. What does winning or losing even bring? Wanting to expand a country’s territory, wanting a country to gain more power, what exactly are people seeking from that?” – Kikuyo Nakamura
What she said touches the hearts and minds of everyone who knows the true humanity of unconfined and violent conflicts.
Yoshimura vividly remembers her experiences on that tragic day in Nagasaki. Her eye-witness testimony provides a stark picture of the confusion, devastation and horror that characterized the days immediately after the bombing.
“When I got out to the road, there were people with blood gushing from their heads, people with the skin peeled off their backs,” – Mitsuko Yoshimura
These photographs depict the horrific physical effects that the atomic bomb inflicted on its survivors. They deeply shape how these people conceptualize life and family.
The Legacy of Guilt and Silence
For Nakamura, stigma around her son’s complex illness meant silence among her family members. She feared that if people knew that Hiroshi had died of leukemia, it would ruin her grandchildren’s marriage prospects.
“If people knew that my son died of leukemia… I made sure my children understood that. We kept it within the family and didn’t tell anyone else about how he died,” – Kikuyo Nakamura
This silence reveals much about illness, inherited health conditions, and society’s expectations in Japan. All first-generation hibakusha have been through experiences like this as they rebuild their lives in the wake of such trauma.
Today, Nakamura still struggles with survivor’s guilt over her son’s death. She’s constantly apologizing, stressing how she feels obligated for his pain.
“I still feel so sorry. I keep apologizing to him. I say, ‘Forgive me,’” – Kikuyo Nakamura
Both women’s stories underscore the wide range of feelings that mothers of atomic bomb survivors often experienced, as well as the difficult position they were put in. They show us just how deeply war and its wake can shatter family ties and leave emotional scars that never heal.
Raising Awareness About Health Effects
As aging survivors, Nakamura and Yoshimura aim to raise awareness about the long-term health effects faced by those exposed to radiation. Their testimonies are all painful testimonies in many aspects, and they are reminders of how much more research needs to be done regarding inherited health issues in hibakusha families.
Nakamura has since fielded thousands of letters and phone calls from people inspired by her story. In part due to this empowering outreach, she has become an outspoken resource for her fellow riders. She fiercely illuminates the weighty, inherited consequences of health following nuclear warfare.
“I received phone calls and even letters from people who heard my story. It made me realize how serious the issue of inherited health effects is in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” – Kikuyo Nakamura
Many experts, including some at the National Cancer Institute, have raised alarms about potential genetic effects caused by radiation exposure. Definitive proof connecting first-generation hibakusha specifically to cancer-causing material inherited by their children remains undetermined.
These profoundly painful narratives by Nakamura and Yoshimura act, not just as memoirs, but as crucial historical primary sources. Together, they unveil the multi-faceted impact of war on motherhood and the structure of families. Personal experiences are deeply tied to broader societal concerns.
