Ms. Nobue Ashizawa

Ms. Nobue Ashizawa, a kind-hearted and compassionate 87-year-old woman, was only 6 years old when the atomic bomb destroyed her entire home and world. For Ms. Ashizawa, August 6th started like any other day; she was about to take an exam on the second floor of her school. Suddenly, in the middle of her test, the great (pika) light blinded everyone in the classroom, overwhelming her senses. A powerful wind swept every test out of the classroom, and all her classmates were covered in glass cuts from the windows that had always seemed unbreakable until now. No one in her immediate class was injured, however, unfortunately, she could not say the same for the students on the first floor. Terrified and distressed, Ms. Ashizawa cried as she witnessed her injured friends’ melted skin slough off their bodies. All the wounded people’s bodies were completely burned; as Ms. Ashzawa narrated, “They no longer looked human.” Ms. Ashizawa still recalls today, “They looked like the procession of ghosts (Yuurei no gyouretsu). I can never erase that image even till today.” Gradually, as more of the effects of the bomb began to occur, such as the residue radiation exposure and the black rain, Ms. Ashizawa developed thyroid cancer, and lymphoma, and bore with the fact she could no longer have children. She emphasized how the world never truly realized the lingering nightmares of the bomb, both physically and mentally. She wishes that no more people would have to suffer from the severity of the atomic bomb or the losses she experienced. As she ended her story, Ms. Ashizawa profoundly stated, “Please don’t have any more wars. For the younger generations, please eliminate all the nuclear weapons.”