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Hiroshima Maidens: A remarkable survival story
Hiroshima was one of the great tragedies of WWII.
But out of the devastation of the first atomic bomb, some survivors emerged - twenty-five courageous Japanese women who became part of a remarkable humanitarian epic.
Victims of the atomic blast that ushered in the Nuclear Age, these women were brought to the United States in 1955, where they underwent reconstructive surgery to repair the ravages of the bomb.
Schoolgirls when the bomb destroyed their futures, they began to remake their lives and re-create themselves.
This is the compassionate, often bittersweet chronicle of the Hiroshima Maidens.
It follows their lives from the terrifying moments of the detonation of the bomb, through their years as outcasts in their own country, to their not always idyllic stay in America, and on to their lives since — some tragic, some heroic, some affectingly ordinary.
But out of the devastation of the first atomic bomb, some survivors emerged - twenty-five courageous Japanese women who became part of a remarkable humanitarian epic.
Victims of the atomic blast that ushered in the Nuclear Age, these women were brought to the United States in 1955, where they underwent reconstructive surgery to repair the ravages of the bomb.
Schoolgirls when the bomb destroyed their futures, they began to remake their lives and re-create themselves.
This is the compassionate, often bittersweet chronicle of the Hiroshima Maidens.
It follows their lives from the terrifying moments of the detonation of the bomb, through their years as outcasts in their own country, to their not always idyllic stay in America, and on to their lives since — some tragic, some heroic, some affectingly ordinary.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 6, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
May 26, 2019
Very interesting topic. Uneven book. It felt like most of the early book was about the men who arranged for the "Hiroshima Maidens" to come to America for plastic surgery. While that's an important part of the story, if you took it out there wouldn't be much story. I've noticed this in several books that claim to be about women in history - it ends up being more about the men in their orbit, in a strange way, than it is about the women themselves. I didn't feel like I got to know most of the women until the final chapter of the book. When the book focused on the women, both in the US and in Japan, it was a fascinating story.
February 4, 2019
This book is the true story of 24 young Japanese women who were caught in the blast of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and how they came to the U.S. to get treatment for the horrendous scars they had suffered on their faces, necks, and arms. I had never really thought about the people of Hiroshima after the blast and how the Japanese culture viewed these victims.
January 1, 2024
This was an amazing story. It touched a part of humanity that is being flushed today by social media. It reminded me of my inner spirit and why I live the way I do. It encouraged me to quickly stop self-pity I still encounter in my life. Because I still have a life, a job, features I can see in a mirror, etc. And, if you have ever been a host family to a Japanese exchange student... I would recommend it. It doesn't have a Disney ending. Not everyone feels good in the end. Life is challenging, but this is the real world. However, the transformation all the involved parties received is truly a great reminder of our better selves.
I kind of created a trilogy - Fallout - The Atomic Cover-up (How John Hershey came to wrote Hiroshima), Hiroshima, and Hiroshima Maidens. I would read them in that order.
I kind of created a trilogy - Fallout - The Atomic Cover-up (How John Hershey came to wrote Hiroshima), Hiroshima, and Hiroshima Maidens. I would read them in that order.
July 2, 2016
Fantastic
I could not put this book down I finished it in 8hrs, I'm a military historian I know all about the military aspects of the bombings I've also read about the lives of survivors,but I never heard of the Hiroshima Maidens,what a story I'm a big bike guy but it made me cry I was born a few months before the maidens came to the US.
I have studied the Pacific War since I was eight I always thought we should have dropped the bomb but after reading this I'm not so sure we should have used it on a city,yeah the Japanese did terrible things,the bombed Pearl Harbor and they perpetrated the Nanking Massacre, but that was the military not the poor people,anyway I've never been to Asia but I love the people and culture
I could not put this book down I finished it in 8hrs, I'm a military historian I know all about the military aspects of the bombings I've also read about the lives of survivors,but I never heard of the Hiroshima Maidens,what a story I'm a big bike guy but it made me cry I was born a few months before the maidens came to the US.
I have studied the Pacific War since I was eight I always thought we should have dropped the bomb but after reading this I'm not so sure we should have used it on a city,yeah the Japanese did terrible things,the bombed Pearl Harbor and they perpetrated the Nanking Massacre, but that was the military not the poor people,anyway I've never been to Asia but I love the people and culture
February 18, 2017
As someone who lived in Los Alamos, where the atomic bomb was created, I am always curious about "the rest of the story". Well written, compassionate book.
Two things in this book are particularly memorable. The first person accounts of witnessing the explosion are searing (no pun intended). It was also eerie as to how similar each girl's story was for the first three days after the bomb.
The second was how generous Americans can be, during the year+ that the Hiroshima Maidens were in the United States. It was magical to see the results of this on the Japanese women, and how they were affected emotionally. Made me feel a little prouder in these politically divided times.
Two things in this book are particularly memorable. The first person accounts of witnessing the explosion are searing (no pun intended). It was also eerie as to how similar each girl's story was for the first three days after the bomb.
The second was how generous Americans can be, during the year+ that the Hiroshima Maidens were in the United States. It was magical to see the results of this on the Japanese women, and how they were affected emotionally. Made me feel a little prouder in these politically divided times.
September 1, 2019
Finely nuanced telling of the personal journeys of twenty-five young women who survived the atomic blast and the people closest to them. After ten years of suffering physical and social injury, they were brought to the U.S. for plastic surgery. Rodney Barker was nine years old when two Maidens came to live with his host family. The range of attitudes towards the Maidens, in Japan and the U.S., and how everyone responded makes for a broad portrait of the times, the cultures, and the people involved.
"For an anthology of the lives of the Hiroshima Maidens to be complete it would have to include not only themes of transformation, resurrection, and reclamation, but tales of disillusionment, dashed hopes, and defeat."(1)
I was moved by the women's attitude towards the atomic bomb.
"She said she was representing others - all the innocent people who died in Hiroshima and will have died in vain if there is another nuclear war."(2)
"The best way to forget the nightmare of her past, was to devote herself wholeheartedly to her work."(3)
In reply to an insensitive question, "Aren't you concerned that the bomb could kill you at any time?" a Maiden replied, "Do you think that because you weren't in Hiroshima you are promised a long life?"(4)
(1) author, p.185
(2) Shigeko Niimoto p.201
(3) Toyoko Morita p.207
(4) author, p.226
"For an anthology of the lives of the Hiroshima Maidens to be complete it would have to include not only themes of transformation, resurrection, and reclamation, but tales of disillusionment, dashed hopes, and defeat."(1)
I was moved by the women's attitude towards the atomic bomb.
"She said she was representing others - all the innocent people who died in Hiroshima and will have died in vain if there is another nuclear war."(2)
"The best way to forget the nightmare of her past, was to devote herself wholeheartedly to her work."(3)
In reply to an insensitive question, "Aren't you concerned that the bomb could kill you at any time?" a Maiden replied, "Do you think that because you weren't in Hiroshima you are promised a long life?"(4)
(1) author, p.185
(2) Shigeko Niimoto p.201
(3) Toyoko Morita p.207
(4) author, p.226
July 31, 2017
The Hiroshima Maidens by Rodney Barker tells about a project in which 25 Japanese young women from Hiroshima were brought to the United States to have reconstructive and plastic surgery done to improve horrendous scars and enable them to be able to use their hands and fingers again. They were all victims of the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima in 1945 and they were brought to the US in 1955 where they multiple surgeries at a hospital in NYC. They were hosted by Quaker families in private homes and Rodney Barker's family was one of those families. A Methodist Japanese minister was the one who initiated the project to obtain help for these women who had become social outcasts in their homes and in Hiroshima. Barker spent 5 years working on the research for this book between 1979 and 1984 and has done an outstanding job in how he has compiled the true story of these women in this book.
Barker does more than just write dates and facts but has given the reader a more personal look at the young women involved and a larger background of their experiences. He is also gifted at giving depth to the key figures in the project, such as Norman Cousins.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about different cultures and WWII history.
Barker does more than just write dates and facts but has given the reader a more personal look at the young women involved and a larger background of their experiences. He is also gifted at giving depth to the key figures in the project, such as Norman Cousins.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about different cultures and WWII history.
May 10, 2017
This is an e-book version of an account first published in 1985, and is an account of one particular group of hibakusha. These women were children at the time of the A-bomb, and happened to look up at the sky in 1945, a moment which changed their lives for ever. The Maidens were women whose scarring as a result of nuclear radiation had affected their ability to live independently, and who were chosen as suitable for treatment by plastic surgeons working in the very country which was responsible for their injuries.
The book not only covers how this happened, the relationships they formed with their American hosts, their subsequent lives and their different reactions to their situation. Given that they were a disparate group to start with, their individual reactions to the publicity and ongoing interest in their lives were very different. This is sensitively described. The postscript has some timely discussion on the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
This book concurs with my observations while visiting Hiroshima; that the people who survived were not angry or looking for revenge, just wanting us all to know that this should never happen again.
The book not only covers how this happened, the relationships they formed with their American hosts, their subsequent lives and their different reactions to their situation. Given that they were a disparate group to start with, their individual reactions to the publicity and ongoing interest in their lives were very different. This is sensitively described. The postscript has some timely discussion on the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
This book concurs with my observations while visiting Hiroshima; that the people who survived were not angry or looking for revenge, just wanting us all to know that this should never happen again.
July 17, 2017
Book 18 of Nuclear Studies:
The introduction to this book made me cringe. I looked up the video itself on YouTube and watched the whole segment for myself. For about half of the book, I wondered why the author would begin with such an insensitive narrative. Then I got to the section where the author discusses the reasoning behind the events of the introduction and it all made sense. In this, it comes full circle and brings a rounded understanding of the biases of the time period.
The author, having lived with one of the families who sheltered the Hiroshima Maidens during their stay in the U.S., treats the entire story with compassion and sensitivity (besides referring to people as "Orientals"). He recounts the journey of these women honestly, treating readers to the exuberances and the tragedies. I also liked how he delved into the psyches of the advocates along the way. Some of their purported advocates had other not-so-selfless objectives in mind!
This is an easy read only in the way it was written; the story itself is hard to bear.
The introduction to this book made me cringe. I looked up the video itself on YouTube and watched the whole segment for myself. For about half of the book, I wondered why the author would begin with such an insensitive narrative. Then I got to the section where the author discusses the reasoning behind the events of the introduction and it all made sense. In this, it comes full circle and brings a rounded understanding of the biases of the time period.
The author, having lived with one of the families who sheltered the Hiroshima Maidens during their stay in the U.S., treats the entire story with compassion and sensitivity (besides referring to people as "Orientals"). He recounts the journey of these women honestly, treating readers to the exuberances and the tragedies. I also liked how he delved into the psyches of the advocates along the way. Some of their purported advocates had other not-so-selfless objectives in mind!
This is an easy read only in the way it was written; the story itself is hard to bear.
May 28, 2023
Really interesting real life account about a group of women seriously maimed and affected by the atomic bomb in hiroshima.
These 25 women were sent to America to undergo countless reconstructive surgeries to repair the crippling damage caused by the atomic bomb. They'd become outcasts in their own country
I didn't know much about this part of history so it was interesting to read and learn. I love books of a historical nature. The hiroshima maidens were so resilient, compassionate and full of courage.
These 25 women were sent to America to undergo countless reconstructive surgeries to repair the crippling damage caused by the atomic bomb. They'd become outcasts in their own country
I didn't know much about this part of history so it was interesting to read and learn. I love books of a historical nature. The hiroshima maidens were so resilient, compassionate and full of courage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2018
A wonderful and fascinating book about a piece of history i had never heard of. Sensitively handled, this book covers all aspects of life - from the horrifying and unthinkable to the joy and wonder life holds. The most interesting bit for me was the young girls eyewitness accounts of when the Hiroshima bomb went off and its immediate aftermath. Will almost certainly feature as one of the best books i have read this year!
December 22, 2018
Fascinating true story about the journey of 25 young women who suffered horrifying physical effects from the atomic bomb, and their journey to the US for plastic surgery. Not just to look presentable but to be able to use their limbs normally and function in the world. The young women stayed in Quaker homes and changed in ways that went far beyond surgery. A little-known piece of history sensitively handled by the author, who was in one of the host Quaker families.
May 20, 2019
Published in 1985 originally. There is an afterward and an after-afterward (when the book became available as an e-reader.)
The horrors of the effects of the A-bomb on a group of young Japanese women is told in a very human and compelling way.
In the after-afterward, the author reminds the readers that the world has been kept safe from other such horrific bombings through arms limits and agreements.
The horrors of the effects of the A-bomb on a group of young Japanese women is told in a very human and compelling way.
In the after-afterward, the author reminds the readers that the world has been kept safe from other such horrific bombings through arms limits and agreements.
November 2, 2019
This was a subject about which I knew very little. The author obviously worked very hard finding the Maidens and getting them to speak with him. However, I found the book very dry with little emotional impact. I didn't really feel that I had gotten to know any of these girls emotionally. I'm glad I listened to it, but wouldn't listen again. This audi cartridge was produced by the Talking Book Service of the NLS.
July 3, 2018
Everybody in politics and everybody in the industry of creating weapons should read this.
It encompasses so many things, the destruction and chaos war causes, the lives it reaps even after, but it's also a tale of humanity and strength and finding purpose and the way to oneself again after all is lost.
It encompasses so many things, the destruction and chaos war causes, the lives it reaps even after, but it's also a tale of humanity and strength and finding purpose and the way to oneself again after all is lost.
February 19, 2023
DNF at 85% just couldn’t take the American Exceptionalism anymore. Interested in the topic but the author got in his own way, telling their story the way he wanted instead of letting us see into the story of the Maidens ourselves. Ironic, seeing as that’s the exact patronizing that made many of these women media-reclusive to begin with, and is mentioned at the very start
April 28, 2019
I loved this book, from the moment I started it, all the way to the last page of the second Afterward. I highly recommend this to everyone. Very important story to hear, and written in an accessible and entertaining way. Kudos to Mr. Barker!
April 6, 2018
A fascinating yet harrowing story. I don’t see how anyone could read this and remain unmoved or in favour of the atom bomb. A definite recommendation for
anyone interested in the history of nuclear warfare.
anyone interested in the history of nuclear warfare.
June 2, 2018
Excellent Read
Satsukikai. Kai is Japanese for “association”; satsuki is the word for “azalea.” It’s the way they view their lives: like a gathering of flowers that bloom in May, the month they arrived in America.
Satsukikai. Kai is Japanese for “association”; satsuki is the word for “azalea.” It’s the way they view their lives: like a gathering of flowers that bloom in May, the month they arrived in America.
June 1, 2019
Intriguing topic, though the book could have been better written. As a physician, I wanted to know more about their surgeries. Although I understand why there weren’t pictures, a few well-chosen photos would have made a big impact.
July 28, 2019
Intimate view of what it was like to be a survivor of Atomic Bomb
Read this book as a prelude of a visit to Hiroshima, this September. I will go with the feeling that I have met some of the survivors and know of their suffering.
Read this book as a prelude of a visit to Hiroshima, this September. I will go with the feeling that I have met some of the survivors and know of their suffering.
November 27, 2020
Whilst a very interesting story, I feel only half of the book is about the maidens theirselves. I would have also have liked more on the author’s experience with the maiden that stayed with him as a young child
September 13, 2021
Fascinating. I have to say it is not something I have ever really thought about. Very informative. Lives of the maidens and the politics surrounding it all. Highly recommended. Start is a bit disjointed but stick with it.
February 25, 2023
Pivotal life stories
The author recounts the life stories of several women maimed by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. A very different view of WWII and the unintended consequences of wartime decisions. Courage, determination and hope are exemplified by the labeled Maidens as well as all those who become a part of the project.
The author recounts the life stories of several women maimed by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. A very different view of WWII and the unintended consequences of wartime decisions. Courage, determination and hope are exemplified by the labeled Maidens as well as all those who become a part of the project.
January 28, 2018
Review
The first half was Interesting but the last half almost put me to sleep. I did not know anything about this subject.
The first half was Interesting but the last half almost put me to sleep. I did not know anything about this subject.
May 24, 2019
World War II Story
This is a good book. It tells the story of twenty five young girls who were disfigured by the Hiroshima bomb
This is a good book. It tells the story of twenty five young girls who were disfigured by the Hiroshima bomb
June 15, 2019
An important story of historical importance and future warning.
July 23, 2019
Very interesting portrait of a time little known in our history. While I found the writing a bit disjointed, it was well researched. And I appreciated the 2016 update also.
July 29, 2019
A well written and interesting book on a complicated subject.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews