An Old Japanese Doctor Who Survived Hiroshima

Japan is still (as of press time on this issue) the only country in the world that has been a victim of the atomic bomb. Since the demons dropped onto the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 63 years ago this past August, the country has continued to quietly suffer from the repercussions. One 91-year-old [that’s Japanese for “A-bomb survivor”] doctor continues to call out the dangers and brutality of the A-bomb to the rest of the world. His name is Shuntaro Hida. On August 1, 1944, a year before the bomb dropped on the city, Dr. Hida was posted to Hiroshima’s army hospital as a military doctor. He experienced the bomb blast at just 3.5 miles away from its epicenter, and he has since seen everything there is to see as a doctor specializing in the treatment of A-bomb victims. Dr. Hida knows the effects of the bomb not only from the perspective of someone who was actually there but also from the specialized viewpoint of an army medic. It’s no wonder then that almost 6,000 radiation-sickness sufferers in Japan and around the world have sought his expertise. So what exactly happened on that fateful day in Hiroshima? Vice spoke to Dr. Hida, who remembers every single detail about the experience.


Vice: How did you manage to avoid being hit by the bomb directly, despite being in Hiroshima at the time?

Dr. Hida: Did you actually see the moment when the A-bomb was dropped? That must have been the Enola Gay. Tell us what you saw when the bomb hit Hiroshima What was the first example of a human casualty from the A-bomb that you saw?

Dr. Hida in 1942, three years before the bomb hit.

That’s a really shocking image. Did you encounter any other traumatic scenes? hibakusha When did you start treating the surviving hibakusha? You said that you were exposed to radiation yourself. Have you suffered any symptoms? hibakusha