Nearly 80 years ago, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
in an instant claiming the lives of many ordinary citizens, including children.
The survivors of the nuclear blasts, or "hibakusha," are still struggling with the trauma and immense pain induced by radiation.
According to the health ministry's tally, as of March 2022,
there are still 118,935 hibakusha, with an average age of 84.53 years old, living across the country.
Although the word hibakusha is frequently used to refer to the survivors of nuclear blasts in this article,
it also includes those who were killed by the atomic bombs.
The survivors continue to tell their stories to younger generations
in the hope that such tragedies will never be repeated.
With the use of nuclear weapons remaining a possibility amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine or other geopolitical tensions,
Kyodo News presents historical graphics from its archive that captured one of the most horrific moments of the 20th century.
Warning: this content includes sensitive graphics.
Index
Chapter Ⅰ Tragedies of Hiroshima
At 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped
a uranium-type atomic bomb on the western Japan city of Hiroshima
in the first-ever use of a nuclear weapon during wartime in the world.
The bomb, dubbed "Little Boy," exploded at the height of roughly 600 meters (1,970 feet)
over a neo-baroque-style building now named "the Atomic Bomb Dome,"
located at the heart of the city.
The blast and intense heat caused by the explosion devastated wide areas of the city in the blink of an eye.
Black rain that contained radioactive materials was also observed.
The city estimates the attack had resulted in some 140,000 deaths by the end of 1945,
out of 350,000 civilians and military personnel who were in Hiroshima at the time.
Atomic bomb survivors are still suffering from health problems linked to the bombing,
including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was the first in human history.
(Footage courtesy of the National Security Research Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory of the United States/Kyodo)
The atomic bomb devastated central Hiroshima.
This photo was taken from the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry building, sometime between late September and October,1945. (Kyodo)
A damaged building now known as the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, taken sometime between late September and October,1945 (Kyodo)
The heat and radiation emitted by the blast was so intense
that only the imprint of a passerby remained on the bridge surface. The photo was sometime between late September and October,1945. (Kyodo)
Scientists measure radiation in Hiroshima, taken sometime between late Septemeber and October, 1945 (Kyodo)
Hiroshima in the aftermath filmed by a Soviet investigation team.
According to several records, the film was apparently shot in October or November of 1945.
(Footage courtesy of the Hiroshima municipal government/Kyodo)
A scene of devastation seen from a central government office near Tokiwabashi bridge in Hiroshima on Aug. 10 or 11, 1945.
The photo was taken by Satsuo Nakata, a reporter for Domei News Agency, predecessor of Kyodo News,
who was accompanying an investigation team led by Osaka University Professor Tsunesaburo Asada. (Kyodo)
A tram car that burned up in the blast photographed by Domei's Satsuo Nakata near the epicenter on Aug. 10 or 11, 1945. (Kyodo)
The atomic bomb blast scorched the city's urban area, leaving intact only the smokestack of a soy sauce factory.
The upper part of the chimney is preserved at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
This photo was taken sometime between Aug. 10 and 17 in 1945 from the local newspaper Chugoku Shimbun's headquarters. (Kyodo)
A body lies near an Imperial Japanese Army installation in Hiroshima,
photographed sometime between Aug. 10 and 17 in 1945 by Domei's photographer Takashi Saeki.
The black spots appeared during a film development process. (Kyodo)
Damaged rail tracks about 1 kilometer east of the Atomic Bomb Dome pictured in August 1945.
An atomic bomb victim with severe burns is pictured sometime
between Aug. 10 and 17 in 1945 near an Imperial Japanese Army installation in Hiroshima. (Kyodo)
An aerial view of Hiroshima in a photo shot in August 1945 by the U.S. Army.
The darker-shaded area inside of the circle refers to an area completely destroyed by the bomb's blast.
The numbers are assigned to military installations and industrial plants, each showing the degree of destruction. (ACME)
Hiroshima one year after the attack. (Kyodo)
One year after the bombing, Hiroshima's central area remains in ruins. This photo was shot from local department store Fukuya on Aug. 5, 1946. (Kyodo)
A panoramic view of Hiroshima. The Atomic Bomb Dome is seen near the center. This photo was taken in 1947. (AP/Kyodo)
A peace memorial ceremony was held for the first time on Aug. 6, 1947, two years after the attack. (Kyodo)
Chapter Ⅱ Tragedies of Nagasaki
On Aug. 9, 1945, just three days after the first atomic bomb dropping in human history, on Hiroshima,
the U.S. B-29 "Bockscar" aircraft dropped a plutonium-type atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" on Nagasaki.
At 11:02 a.m., the bomb exploded at the height of 500 meters (1,640 feet) over the city's Matsuyama district.
Land surface temperatures are said to have reached 4,000-5,000 ℃ (7,230-9,030 ℉) around the hypocenter.
The death toll totaled roughly 74,000 by the end of 1945 because of the blast, heatwave, fires and other causes. Some 75,000 others were injured.
A mushroom cloud appears above Nagasaki. The photo was taken on Aug. 9, 1945, by the U.S. Army. (ACME)
This film showing the scenes of Nagasaki was taken apparently on Sept. 16, 1945, by a Soviet investigation team.
(Footage courtesy of the Hiroshima municipal government/Kyodo)
Nagasaki in ruins after the atomic bomb attack, pictured on Aug. 9, 1945. (Kyodo)Nagasaki in ruins after the atomic bomb attack, pictured on Aug. 9, 1945. (Kyodo)
Photo taken in August 1945 shows a bomb shelter built on a hillside near the epicenter of the Nagasaki bombing.
An aerial view of devastated Nagasaki after the atomic bombing, photographed by the U.S. Army in September 1945. (ACME)
This photo, whose date is unknown, shows a residential district in Nagasaki.
The hills behind it apparently protected the district from severe damage by the atomic bombing.
A man stands in front of Urakami Cathedral, which was left in ruins after the bombing, in a photo taken in September 1945. (ACME)
Catholics pray on Aug. 1, 1947, roughly two years after the bombing, as rebuilding work continues at the port of Nagasaki. (Kyodo)
Catholics pray for peace at the epicenter in a photo taken in 1947. (Kyodo)
Chapter Ⅲ Cry for Peace
Hibakusha lived with pain as Japan grew rapidly into an economic power.
Their pain came not just from damage associated with their radiation exposure but from their sense of guilt as survivors,
discrimination they faced and a sense of isolation.
In solidarity with their peers, hibakusha finally found their mission: promote a movement toward a world without nuclear weapons.
A survivor sickened by exposure to radiation receives a blood transfusion at Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital in 1956. (Kyodo)
This undated photo showing a Nagasaki hibakusha is included in a report by a U.S. Navy investigation team.
The report notes a partial hair loss and burns on the left shoulder arm that have healed. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Security Archive/Kyodo)
This photo of a child injured by an atomic bombing was kept at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington along with pathological specimens.
An Army investigation team had returned to the United States with it shortly after World War Ⅱ. (Kyodo)
The first World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs held in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1955 (Kyodo)
Members of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Aug. 2, 1974,
calling for new legislation for survivors as well as an anti-nuclear international accord. (Kyodo)
At a 1982 U.N. disamarment meeting in New York, Senji Yamaguchi,
holding a photo of the injuries he sustained in the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing of Nagasaki,
appealed to the international community to ensure there will be “no more hibakusha.” (UPI/Kyodo)
Holding a photo of his own injuries sustained in the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing of Nagasaki,
Sumiteru Taniguchi speaks about his experience at a review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in New York in May 2010. (Kyodo)
Sunao Tsuboi (right), a prominent Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor,
speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on May 27, 2016. (pool photo) (Kyodo)
People protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine outside the Atomic Bomb Dome on April 10, 2022. (Kyodo)
A mother and child put their hands together in front of candles lined at the Nagasaki Hypocenter Park in Nagasaki on Aug. 8, 2022. (Kyodo)
The Peace Statue at the Nagasaki Peace Park picutred in February 2023 (Kyodo)
Photos and artifacts of victims displayed at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima (Kyodo)
Sueichi Kido (center), secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations,
makes remarks at a meeting with members of the "International Group of Eminent Persons for
a World without Nuclear Weapons" in Hiroshima on Dec. 10, 2022. (Kyodo)
