Koonizo Hatanaka's daughter was born in 1946 with microcephaly. He thinks radiation also caused the cancer that killed his wife in 1978. After 50 years, she had the intellect and IQ of a child two years and three months old. Many Hibaksha lived out their days as poor and alone, outcasts in their own country.
The word “Hiroshima” may bring to mind a black-and-white image of a mushroom cloud. It’s easy to forget that it’s an actual city with a million people and a popular baseball team. In 1995, John Biewen visited the city to speak with survivors and to ask: What did the world’s first atomic bombing mean in the place where it happened?
Hearing Hiroshima is a production of Minnesota Public Radio, from American Public Media.
Photo: Selections from the 1995 tapes. Photo by John Biewen.