Yamamura Satoko-san, a 93-year-old woman, has the essence of a thoughtful and gentle warrior. This week, we had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Ms. Yamamura san about her experience as a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor. As we spoke with Yamamura-san, she intrigued us with an unbelievable remark, a remark so inconceivable, that we are bewildered till today. Enthralled by her story, we watched as Yamamura-san smiled and stated, “My sweet tooth was the reason I survived that day…”

Yamamura Satoko-san was sixteen years old when she remembers the day Hiroshima City was destroyed by the unexpected atomic bomb. Before the incident, she was thirty minutes away from the bombing site, visiting and helping her grandmother and other elderly neighbors to protect themselves from Hiroshima’s intense bombing. However, she was originally supposed to meet up with her friends in Hiroshima city but decided to create candy due to her adoration for sweet goodies. While talking outside with her grandmother, Sataoko-san sighted an enormous cloud form from the “Pika-don” (the bright light released from the atomic bomb) outside of Hiroshima CIty. Later, she sadly learned all her beloved friends in Hiroshima city had passed that day, and non-ironically, her sweet tooth had saved her life.

Today, Yamamura-san is an accomplished artist who spends her days crafting art pieces with beautiful watercolor and paintbrushes. She calls her art style, “The Art of Staying Genki”, a direct translation of “The Art of Staying Happy. With much hope and faith for the youth of our next generation, she wishes we do “the right thing”, which is to further educate ourselves and the world about disarmament and non-proliferation. No one should ever have to experience the horrific and awful effects of nuclear weapons. Satoko-san warmly smiled and exclaimed, “I hope we can create a peaceful world in honor of my past friends, our people, and you.”Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.