Kyoko Gibson is a second generation Hibakusha, born three years after the horrific atomic bombing of that city. Kyoko was a guest speaker at CND’s parliamentary meeting to mark the 80th anniversary of the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Below is her powerful and moving testimony from that meeting. She has kindly agreed to let us share this. You can also watch her speech here.
“This is my experience as someone who was born and raised in Hiroshima. I am second generation of Hibakusha.
The late Soka Gakkai President, Josei Toda made a historical declaration about the abolition of nuclear weapons on 8 September 1957, in front of 50,000 young people. Mr. Toda’s declaration called for the destruction of this devilish nature lurking deep within the lives of human beings.
His aim was to establish the idea that the use of nuclear weapons was an act that would deny humanity its fundamental right to exist. He hoped that by allowing this idea to penetrate deeply into the hearts and minds of people throughout the world, particularly the leaders in each country – and by establishing this internal criterion – he would prevent the use of nuclear weapons. He meant to crush the tendency in people’s minds to justify the use of nuclear weapons. His goal was to expose and rip out the claws that lie hidden in the very depths of such weapons. Mr Toda was thus convinced that, it is the existence of Buddha nature within human beings that would guarantee the abolition of nuclear weapons without fail. Since human beings created the atomic bomb, it must also be human beings that make possible its abolition.
I didn’t understand the depth of Mr. Toda’s words, at that time in 1957, but my mother carefully explained it to me. It remains in my heart until today. Mr Toda’s true reason for this declaration was that nuclear weapons and their use must be absolutely condemned, not from the standpoint of ideology, nationalism or ethnic identity, but instead from the universal dimension of humanity. Nobody has the right to take a precious life, everybody has the right to live life! My faith believes in the dignity of life, because life is the most precious of all things.
On 6 August 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima with a population of 350,000. Hiroshima was apparently chosen because of the clear skies overhead that day. Good visibility made it easy to observe the destructive capacity of this new nuclear technology. That mushroom cloud was rising out of a temperature of 5,000 degrees, some say 7,000 degrees, centigrade. As we know, water boils at 100 degrees and steel melts at 1,500 degrees centigrade. Under that mushroom cloud, 70,000 died instantly and many more afterwards. Within four months, 140,000 died, and to this day, people continue to die from radiation- related illnesses. The actual dropping of the bomb took only 10 seconds but the effects have continued, and will continue for generations.
I was brought up in a community filled with families suffering tremendously from the effects of the bomb. Although I was born three years after the bomb was dropped, no information was available as to the possible consequences. Because of that, people were ignorant of the effect of radiation. We grew and ate vegetables from contaminated soil and ate fish from the polluted sea. However, people like me and others who were indirectly affected by the bombing that day, are not counted among the statistics.
Even now, there is a lot of suffering behind closed doors; marriage is very difficult, as it may produce babies with physical challenges.
People had lost hope and confidence for the future, because they felt that they didn’t have the ability to provide for, and care for their families and uncounted Atomic bomb orphans. We cannot imagine what kind of life they lived and who are never mentioned.
There was a high suicide rate among victims and their families. We did not use the condition called PTSD at that time, but there were many people who had PTSD. They saw loved ones who were melting in front of their eyes. They witnessed the horror of many burned people crawling to the rivers and dying in the water. This was an absolute land of hell, man-made hell! I remember when I was small, even though nobody told me, I knew not to stare or ask questions about people whose skin had melted with the intense heat.
There are three groups of people in Hiroshima. The first one: still can’t forget about what had happened to their loved ones. The second group: It is too painful and it’s past, so don’t wish to talk about it. I was this category until 2003. And thirdly, like Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist movement and other genuine people who dedicate their lives to ensure the peace and security of the land.
My family was no exception; all were affected physically and mentally in one way or another. Also, the mental and emotional stress that each one of us bore, because we didn’t know what illnesses could be residing in our bodies and whether they could be passed on unknowingly to our children and grandchildren.
One family I remember had their whole skin burned off by the heat. When you are skinless, your body is shiny and pink and it is agonizing. It was horrendous to see. Some people managed to live on for years like this. Another neighbour had such a huge burn scar on his back, that he looked a bit like a tortoise with a shell. One day the scar became very itchy, and his family said it was moving. Suddenly from underneath the scar came a huge amount of pus and live maggots! I can never forget those images, and even now after so many years it is very difficult to talk about. Can you imagine if you had to live with and watch those you care for and love undergoing such excruciating suffering?
Although I was born three years after the bomb was dropped, I was affected more than my siblings and had the most difficulties with my health. The only explanation was the after-effects of radiation. I was the weakest child in the family. I was told by my doctor that I had only a 50% effective immune system. My mother would encourage me each time I became ill by saying, ‘you have another opportunity to improve your physical karma’. That kind of encouragement lifted my spirits.
So far, I have had lymph nodes and cancers removed. The last cancer operation was on 20 January of this year. Sixteen stitches all over my body now, but doctors in Japan and in the UK are not able to say these are an effect of how I lived in a radiation-filled environment. Even though I never heard my mother talk about the bombing, she would quote from the writings of Nichiren Daishonin saying, ‘life is limited we must not begrudge it, what we should ultimately aspire to is the Buddha land’. She meant the land of humanity. I can feel from that my mother’s determination for all of us to be happy.
When I was a little older, I used to be involved in the peace movement. I carried a placard to demonstrate for peace, ‘no more bombing’, ‘no more war’ and ‘no more Hiroshimas’. Each time before I left home to take part in a demonstration, my mother would gently shake her head and say
‘you cannot change people’s hearts by carrying a placard’. I would say ‘I know mother but I want to change the world and change it NOW!’
But she never stopped me from doing it. However, she did ensure that I continued to practice the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin.
One day I heard a head of state say that he was horrified to hear what had happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After giving a long speech with many condolences, he then said “But I am glad this didn’t happen to us”. This statement horrified me, and I realized that we have a tendency to think “thank goodness that wasn’t me”. It was then that I realized the truth of what my mother had said, this was my turning point.
In 2003 Soka Gakkai President, Daisaku Ikeda, made a peace proposal to the UN, in which he talked about a life-sized paradigm for our age.
He said, ‘The way forward, I believe, lies in developing a life-sized paradigm by which to understand our world and where we stand in it.
By life-sized here I am referring to a way of thinking that never deviates from the human scale. It is simultaneously a human sensitivity to life, as a whole, and also to the detail of everyday human existence. I believe it is an approach that is urgently required in response to the challenge of our age’.
When scientists developed the atomic bomb and when those in power decided to use these weapons on people, and the bomber pushed the button, did they think that their actions would have such a devastating effect on all of those individuals who had names, faces, and felt the joy and sorrow of life?
In September 2000, I returned to nurse my dying mother in the hospital in Hiroshima which treats radiation victims. The doctors gave my mother two weeks to live and my sisters and I stayed with her round the clock. One day I heard a voice from the radio coming from the next room to my mother.
I soon realized that it wasn’t the radio but an elderly lady repeating over and over again “Mammy it hurts”. She was a little girl again calling out to her mother. She was a survivor of the atomic bombing who had lived so long and was ending her life in this way. When her sounds stopped after two days, I wanted to scream on her behalf.
Everybody knows that we should not destroy lives but many don’t know how to actually treasure life. I often used to feel overwhelming sorrow, but I know now how to transform hunger, anger and foolishness which all human beings have, into compassion, courage and wisdom and encourage others to do the same.
In October 2006, I finally visited the atomic bomb museum in Hiroshima, which I and my family have never been able to physically do.
I entered the building by myself and renewed my vow to work for world peace on behalf of my late parents, elder siblings, and the people of Hiroshima and world. I hope our voices are loud enough to ensure that this must never be repeated again. I am dedicating my life to creating the cause for peace, through the teachings and philosophy of Nichiren Daishonin, rather than trying to treat the effect.
There are still 13,100 nuclear weapons in the world and 3,750 are actually active warheads. We are sitting on those nuclear weapons every day.
And still in many people’s minds, nuclear weapons are a necessary evil. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought the threat of nuclear warfare to the forefront. But how would modern nuclear detonation impact the world today? It provides stark information on the global impact of nuclear war.
A group of scientists said ‘It doesn’t matter who is bombing whom. It can be India and Pakistan or NATO and Russia. Once the smoke is released into the upper atmosphere, it spreads globally and affects everyone’.
What is the purpose for using nuclear weapons to kill human beings? Many believed it was finishing the second world war with Japan. There are two other reasons in 1945. One – they’d like to see how their work performed, and two – they’d like to show what America can do to enemies. What a dreadful thought!
I no longer carry a placard to demonstrate for peace, but have a huge banner in my heart for world peace. Hiroshima is now the most beautiful and peaceful city because there are many thousands of people practicing philosophy of deeply respecting the dignity of life. My hope is no children go through what I went through in their life, ever again. So I will keep going with this humanistic work of abolition of nuclear weapons activities until the last breath of my life.”
There are commemorative ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings taking place across the country. See our map to find one near you.