Michihiko Hachiya (蜂谷道彦, Hachiya Michihiko, 1903 in Okayama Prefecture - 1980) was a Japanese physician who survived the Hiroshima bombing in 1945 and kept a diary of his experience. He was Director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital and lived near the hospital, about a mile from the explosion's center. A 1984 editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicates "At the urging of friends, Dr. Hachiya first published his diary in a small Japanese-language medical journal (Teishin Igaku) that circulated among medical members of the Japanese communications services. There it came to the attention of Warner Wells, MD, an American physician who was working in Japan in 1950 as a surgical consultant to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission." It was Dr. Wells, who in consultation with Dr. Hachiya, made the diary to be published in 1955, under the name of Hiroshima Diary.
Hachiya's diary covers the period from Aug. 6, 1945 to Sept. 30, 1945. He described the effects of the atomic bomb blast from its first flash in the early morning as he rested from his night shift as an air warden at the hospital. The force of the blast stripped all the clothes from his body but he and his wife survived, however they both received serious burns to their bodies and had to journey to the hospital Michihiko worked at. When Michihiko returned to the hospital that he worked in, the Hiroshima Communications Hospital, he spent the night in the care of the hospital staff who were not seriously injured.
After his injuries healed, Michihiko started making his daily rounds that he would have normally made as a doctor. The staff and patients at the hospital call the atomic bomb that hit their city "pikadon". Pika describes a flash of light and don describes an explosive sound. As time passes an understanding of what hit their city clears up, and historical events such as the surrender of Japan are brought up. The condition of the hospital also drastically improves as more medical supplies are brought into the city, allowing them to better treat patients. After the bombing he wrote the book The Hiroshima Diary. This book describes what happened to him and what he saw.
1945년 8월 6일, 히로시마시에의 원자폭탄 투하 로 피폭, 봉곡 자신은 체신병원 근처에 있던 자택에 있던, 허벅지를 중심으로 목재·유리 등의 파편이 찔리는 등의 큰 부상을 입어 30 가까운 상처의 봉합을 받았다. 8월 11일, 부상으로부터 회복해 직장 복귀, 원내 회진을 시작해, 환자의 병상록 작성을 의사에게 지시했다. 환자들의 백혈구 가 감소하고 있음을 밝혀 폭심으로부터의 거리, 피폭 위치와 백혈구 수의 관계를 지도로 하여 공표했다.
원폭 투하 직후 56일간의 직무기록( 종전일기 )은 1955년 '히로시마 일기'를 출판( 아사히신문사 ). 이후 세계 18개국으로도 번역되었다. 인세는 피폭 고아들을 위한 장학기금 ‘히로시마 유인장학회’ 설립에 사용됐다. 봉곡은 1966년 8월 15일에 히로시마 체신병원원장을 사직하고, 오카야마현으로 귀향하여 맑은 강우독의 생활에 들어가 있었지만, 1980년 4월 13일에 사망했다[2 ] .
Hiroshima Diary: The Journal of a Japanese Physician, August 6-September 30, 1945 Paperback – 28 August 1995 by Warner Wells (Editor) 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 239 ratings
The late Dr. Michihiko Hachiya was director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital when the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on the city. Though his responsibilities in the chaos of a devastated city were awesome, he found time to record his story daily. His diary was originally published by the UNC Press in 1955 with the help of Dr. Warner Wells of the University of North Carolina, who was surgical consultant to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and became a friend of Dr. Hachiya. In the foreward, John Dower reflects on the enduring importance of the diary 50 years after the bombing.
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Sandi's mum 5.0 out of 5 stars Sole record of the Bomb that was dropped at end of WW11Reviewed in Australia on 2 June 2023 Verified Purchase I read this account when it was first published in about 1957 - it was horrifying as there was no need for the bomb to be dropped - the Japanese emperor had conceded defeat & the american boats were in the nearby harbour. I loaned my copy to a friend who gave it to her husband to read & it disappeared. I searched until I found a 2nd hand copy in the US & had it sent to me.
Top reviews from other countries Book Club Member 5.0 out of 5 stars Firsthand Account of the Eight Weeks After the Atom BombReviewed in the United States on 1 February 2022 Verified Purchase
On the morning of August 6, 1945, Dr. Hachiya, the Director of a hospital in Hiroshima, was at home preparing to leave for work when the atomic bomb struck. He remembered a blinding flash followed by a devasting blast that upended his entire world. His home was destroyed, and he was badly injured, but he miraculously made his way to the hospital, where he was immediately attended to by his surviving coworkers. When he awoke, out of a sense of responsibility despite his frail condition, he turned his attention to the ever-growing stream of patients in the hospital. Dr. Hachiya began keeping a daily diary, recording his own and others' accounts of where they were and how they experienced the blast, along with his professional observations of the patients' symptoms and prognoses. He continued the diary for eight weeks until September 30, 1945. As he was writing it, Dr. Hachiya didn't intend for it to become public, but colleagues convinced him it was an important account, which he allowed to be published in serial form in a Japanese medical journal. Six years later, an American physician, Dr. Warner Wells, who was serving as the surgical consultant for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Committee in the United States, learned of the existence of the diary. He met with Dr. Hachiya, who consented to have the diary translated into English. It was published in America in 1955 and again in 1995.
Because atomic weapons had not been used before, victims had no initial comprehension beyond their personal experience of the magnitude of the destruction. All communication and electricity were instantly wiped out. Dr. Hachiya and others traded stories about where they were, what they saw and heard, and what happened in the immediate aftermath as they made their way to the hospital, which was one of the only buildings standing. The hospital was far enough away from the blast and was constructed out of reinforced concrete. In the absence of facts, rumors ruled the day. One was that a similar weapon had been deployed by the Japanese in California. Despite the dire circumstances and even after Nagasaki had also been bombed, the citizens were shocked that the emperor surrendered. Dr. Hachiya and his acquaintances had nothing but admiration and affection for the emperor. Instead, they blamed their own military for the unexpected defeat. Many feared the arrival of the occupying forces, but surprisingly, in Dr. Hachiya's account, the Americans came to be regarded as gracious victors who assisted the populace.
Much of the diary is devoted to Dr. Hachiya's observations of his patients. The first ones to die, mainly from catastrophic burns, had been closest to the blast. In the remaining patients, patterns of anomalies began to develop. Patients would get better, and then begin to deteriorate, with a strange set of symptoms. Small dots of blood just beneath the surface of the skin would appear and multiply. Their hair would fall out. Samples showed extremely low levels of white blood cells and platelets. Dr. Hachiya became one of the first physicians to diagnose and document the effects of radiation sickness. As the diary continued, more and more patients came to the same inevitable end of a slow and painful death. The sadness was personal, because many of the dying were friends or family of the doctor. The stark realities of the diary are quite disturbing, but as a firsthand account by a survivor, this is a compelling read. Hopefully, it will serve as another deterrent to the use of nuclear weapons in the future. Read less
2 people found this helpfulReport MaineGirl 5.0 out of 5 stars A unique perspective of the atomic bombing and its aftermathReviewed in the United States on 23 April 2023 Verified Purchase
Dr. Michihiko Hachiya was home when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He lived roughly a mile from the hypocenter, near the hospital where he was director. He and his wife were injured by debris, but made it out of their house before it collapsed. They headed for the hospital, but it was on fire. Colleagues saved them, and he underwent surgery. While recuperating in the burned out hospital, he began a diary, which he continued for the next seven weeks. In it he records his experiences, both as a patient and a doctor, as well as the stories of his colleagues and patients. It is a remarkable document both for its content and tone.
As Dr. Hachiya recovered, his scientific curiosity returned, and he began working with his colleague to discover who was dying and why. Some patients recovered from horrible burns, while others seemed fine at first but then succumbed rapidly. Without a microscope, he first postulated dysentery, because of the prevalence of diarrhea, and even germ warfare. But once they began doing autopsies and had a microscope they discovered the internal hemorrhaging and extremely low white blood cell and platelet counts, as well as damage to red blood cells. I found the evolution of his thinking in just a few weeks to be fascinating.
Equally interesting were his views on the Emperor, Japan's military leaders, and the American occupiers. But these larger issues take the backseat to his interest in his patients' stories and the details of life. His diary is foremost a warm tribute to his colleagues and friends, whose work throughout the disaster he admired, and to the triumph of life over death. His pleasure in small successes and little luxuries (a clean bathroom, tea, a letter delivered) offsets the grim horrors that surround him. Highly recommended reading. Read less
One person found this helpfulReport Incuvast 5.0 out of 5 stars Simply put: a review of 'Hiroshima Diary'...Reviewed in the United States on 1 November 2010 Verified Purchase
I don't normally review books. I don't know if it's because I'm lazy or because I just don't care to do so. However, with this book I feel the need to talk about it. Maybe that's because I've never had a book that was assigned to me (albeit I chose this particular book from a long list of books that discuss the atomic bomb) that I found hard to put down.
Let me start out by saying 'Hiroshima Diary' is written from the perspective of Dr. Michihiko Hachiya - the director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital (located about 1,500 meters from where the bomb hit) - and contains his thoughts and experiences from the moment the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 up through September 30 of the same year.
Now, what draws you (and when I say you, I clearly mean what drew me) into this diary is not just getting a first hand perspective of someone who witnessed this momentous event in human history and its impact on the city and its people (along with the recollection of second hand accounts of NUMEROUS other witnesses of the event), but that we as the reader take this journey with him as he strives to make sense of what's happening around him. Hachiya really has no hindsight as he writes his entries on what's going to happen in the future, which is what makes this such a compelling read. You get to understand the mayhem of that period in time, the fear, and the attempt to make sense out of this disastrous event.
The diary starts out with general speculation on what actually happened in Hiroshima. When word reaches that it was an atomic bomb, for a while there is speculation that Japan also had a similar weapon and had actually used it in retaliation against America. Also rumors about whether Japan is going to surrender, when and how occupation will occur, how allied troops will treat them - and how those rumors turn from...well...rumors to facts. Then comes the radiation sickness and Hachiya and the rest of the hospital staff trying to figure out what exactly this sickness is. How to differentiate the symptoms of radiation sickness to those who are sick in other ways, what caused it, what the treatments are for it, if there are treatments, why are some people getting sick with symptoms later than others, why do some symptoms lead to death sometimes in certain people, but don't necessarily in others?
And yes, there are some medical words used in the book, but in no way does that hinder its readability. Any term or medical event that does occur is explained in a way that someone not familiar with medical knowledge would understand (and trust me, I'm FAR from doctor material, and I had no problem with anything in here). If you can understand two terms: Epilation and Petechiae (which he explains about a hundred times), if you've heard of such organs as the lungs, the liver, the spleen, the pancreas, etc., and what white blood cells, red blood cells, and blood platelets are, then you're golden. And besides, while an important part of the book, it's not the only part of it.
Overall, this is just a great first hand account of an important moment in the history of the world from the viewpoint of a man who lived through it. The book is not about the facts of the bombing, it's about speculation and an attempt to recover the facts. It's about getting into the head of someone experiencing that moment in time - someone who doesn't really know what's going on around him. It's about the reaction he and others have to their whole world getting turned upside down, to seeing the dead and dying everywhere, the suffering, the rumors, and the uncertainty of whether they'll live another day or whether more bombs are going to come and finish the job they started on August 6. Read less
10 people found this helpfulReport macman2 5.0 out of 5 stars Firsthand account of what the bomb did to the Hiroshima peopleReviewed in the United States on 29 December 2022 Verified Purchase
A remarkable account by a physician and director of a hospital near the epicenter of the explosion. You hear his personal witness and horror of the immediate days and aftermath of the atomic bomb and the eventual surrender of Japan. What was the impact of the bomb on thousands of Japanese lives? What did radiation sickness do to the bomb victims? And how were they treated by their new occupiers from America? The book is both clinical and historical and a must read for anyone who wants to know about the horror of a nuclear war.
One person found this helpfulReport Kindle Customer 5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it downReviewed in the United States on 30 March 2023 Verified Purchase
Harrowing depiction of the bombing of Hiroshima in its effect on the people. The injuries described were ghastly. I highly recommend and wish that every head State on our planet would read this. Never forget.
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