The Japanese Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs

In August 1945, in the context of the end of the Second World War, two atomic bombs were dropped by the American Air Force on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan; more than 100,000 people died. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the fortunate man who witnessed two of the most catastrophic bomb attacks in the history of mankind and still survived.

Yamaguchi had traveled to Hiroshima for a day for business and was intending to leave soon when the first bomb was dropped. The date was August 6, 1945, and he wished to get back to his wife, Hisako, and their baby, Katsutoshi.

Around 8:15 a.m., he was walking to Mitsubishi’s shipyard when he noticed an American B-29 bomber flying over him, aiming to drop something with a parachute. Once more, a bright, blinding glow was seen, and Yamaguchi just managed to dive into a ditch right before an even larger explosion took place. The blast threw him up, and he crashed into a potato farming area that was only one and a half kilometers from the scene.

As narrated by him, he could not explain what he understood had occurred. Only moments before, they had been illuminated and floating in the air.

However, this blast had raised a lot of dust and debris, making the sun virtually indiscernible. Ash was falling around him, and a fireball rose in the sky. His face and hands were scorched, and his eardrums were burst.

Yamaguchi crawled to the Mitsubishi shipyard and met his co-workers there, Akira Iwanaga and Kuniyoshi Sato, who also survived the disaster. Cruising through the bombed areas, fires, destroyed buildings, and dead bodies, they moved to the train station on the morning of August 7 after a night spent in an air raid shelter. They reached Nagasaki and boarded a train that would take them there.

Later, back with his family, Yamaguchi received news of the Hiroshima bombing from a speech by the US President, Harry Truman, describing the weapon as having the power of the universe.

The bomb dropped was known as ‘Little Boy,’ and it is estimated that it, along with the fires it caused, killed approximately 80,000 people in the initial blast, with more dying in the subsequent days and weeks. Reportedly, Truman informed the Japanese that they would face destruction unless they surrendered.

Yamaguchi arrived in Nagasaki on August 8 before proceeding to the hospital. His injuries were so serious that his old schoolmate did not recognize him. His family believed a ghost had returned when he came home.

Despite his frail state, Yamaguchi went to work on August 9. He was describing the bombing of Hiroshima to one of the company directors when another flash of light was seen outside. He hit the floor as the office windows shattered.

The Nagasaki bomb had a greater impact, but the layout of the city and the office’s stairwell somewhat lessened the blast’s effects. Although Yamaguchi was exposed to radiation again, it affected him mildly, and he sustained few injuries.

He rushed home to find that part of his house had burned down. During the attack, his family members had taken refuge in a tunnel. His wife had gone to buy burn ointment and narrowly escaped the explosion.

As for Yamaguchi, the double radiation exposure caused him to lose hair and develop gangrene. He contracted a severe illness but eventually recovered and returned to a normal life.

He worked as a translator for the U.S. forces, later taught, and resumed his engineering career. He and his wife had two more children, all from this marriage. His experiences were transformed into poetry.

Yamaguchi was not alone; several colleagues and others lived through both bombings. Of the survivors, 165 people experienced both attacks, but only one was acknowledged by the Japanese government as a ‘nijyuu hibakusha,’ or ‘double bombed person.’ This recognition came in 2009, a year before his death at age 93.

References:

1. Biography.com
2. The Guardian