Peace Archives

As a broadcasting service based in the city hit by an atomic bomb, the Hiroshima Broadcasting Station has been creating many programs depicting the terrors of the atomic bomb and the preciousness of peace in the hope that atomic weapons will never cause such tragedies again. Some of these programs will be offered in multiple languages in an effort to hand down the experience of being hit by the atomic bomb.
[Available languages: Japanese, English, French, Chinese, Russian]

NHK Special

• Atomic bomb drawings by survivors
  ～Memories of Hiroshima told by citizens～

  (Original air date: August 7, 2002)

  

  57 years after the bombing, the average age of A-bomb survivors is over 70. As people are increasingly worried about the memories of the A-bombing to be forgotten, City of Hiroshima and NHK Hiroshima station solicited for the “Atomic bomb drawings by survivors” this year. 725 pieces of pictures were donated by survivors so far. 28 years ago in Hiroshima, there was also a campaign for these drawings, and over 2,000 pictures donated at that time are now in store. Adding the pictures collected this time, a total of over 3,000 A-bomb drawings are now compiled into a database, identifying the time and place of the scene each picture depicting.(58 minutes)
  (Note: This text is written as a description of the program contents when it was originally aired.)
  *Subtitles are shown by means of an AI translation system.

• Can you hear the
  “Voice of Hiroshima”?
  ～The Peace Memorial Museum
  after the complete renewal～

  (Original air date: August 6, 2019)

  

  In April 2019, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum had gone through a complete renewal. New exhibitions see “the A-bomb experience” from “the viewpoint of the people under the mushroom cloud on that day”, and display the relics and documents with “stories of the owners” and “the heartaches of the families who lost their loved ones”.
  This program delves into the experience and thought of each one of the A-bomb victims through following episodes: Terrifying account of the day told by a tattered shirt worn by a boy who dreamed of becoming a baseball player. The endless sorrow of a mother as she cherished a leather belt left behind by her son killed by the A-bomb. A secret story behind a photo on display at the Museum, about a mother who survived the A-bombing and her child born after the war.(49 minutes)
  (Note: This text is written as a description of the program contents when it was originally aired.)
  *Subtitles are shown by means of an AI translation system.

Voice of the A-bomb survivors

• Sunao Tsuboi

  (Original air date: Dec. 20, 2019)

  

  Tsuboi, as a representative of the A-bomb survivors, has been at the forefront of the campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons. We asked him his view on the coming 75-year milestone after the bombing.
  (Note: This text is written as a description of the program contents when it was originally aired.)
  *Subtitles are shown by means of an AI translation system.

• Emiko Okada

  (Original air date: Apr. 21, 2021)

  

  Emiko Okada has testified her A-bomb experience at home and abroad, calling for the abolition of the nuclear weapons. Just before her passing away at the age of 84, she was actively involved in the conference held by a peace advocate group. We met Okada many times and she share us her valuable ideas. In this program, we dig into the message Okada left.
  (Note: This text is written as a description of the program contents when it was originally aired.)
  *Subtitles are shown by means of an AI translation system.

• Tomoyuki Mimaki

  (Original air date: Jan. 14, 2022)

  

  Tomoyuki Mimaki has been actively working to promote peace at home and abroad for nearly 20 years. He is now the president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Hidankyo, Confederation of A- and H- bomb Sufferers Organization, succeeded late Sunao Tsuboi, who had been a life-long advocator of peace. Mimaki shared to us his determination to work for the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
  (Note: This text is written as a description of the program contents when it was originally aired.)
  *Subtitles are shown by means of an AI translation system.

animation Letter from hibakusha

• To you

  

  The letter expresses the writer’s feelings when he walked around Hiroshima soon after the bombing looking for his first love. The story is adapted from the letter in light of refreshing episodes during his boyhood. (10 minutes)

• Fumiko, I will never forget that day

  

  The writer’s childhood friend Fumiko became exposed to the bomb’s radiation. She died at age 16, leaving words caring for her family and friends. Local university students made her last time into an animated film.(5 minutes)

• Senpai

  

  The letter was about the writer’s senpai (her senior) who was exposed to the bomb’s radiation with her newborn child. She survived the radiation, but she still faced many difficulties. What was a miraculous encounter that saved her and her child? (5 minutes)

• Overcoming Grief

  

  The letter was written combining the writer’s experience at the 2011 earthquake disaster and his memories of atomic bombing experience in Hiroshima. It tells about rehabilitation inspired by a willow that came back to life after it got struck by the atomic bombing. (5 minutes)

• My Balsam Grandpa

  

  The letter was to the writer’s grandpa who experienced hell soon after he was struck by the atomic bombing. The atomic bomb explosion was painted by sand art using the sand near where he was exposed to radiation. (5 minutes)

• Mucchan

  

  The letter was to her elder sister called Mucchan who became exposed to radiation in Hiroshima. Her body is not found, and she is still missing. The writer’s feelings about her elder sister were made into an anime film by Hiroshima City University students.(5 minutes)

• To Our Children throughout
  the World

  

  Overcoming the radiation experience in Nagasaki when he was 3 years old, the writer wishes in his letter for a bright future for children in the world. A Latvian animator made the letter into an animation as a message to the world. (5 minutes)

• Letter to Yaman

  

  The letter is about the writer’s refreshing memories of his youth with his friend Yaman who worked with the writer at the army headquarters near Ground Zero. Animation Director Kato Michiya who made such animation as “Odenkun” and “Wakaokami Wa Shogakusei” made the letter into an anime, bringing back a story appealing in modern times. (10 minutes)

• Farewell, Father

  

  One day when the writer was 5 years old, he parted from his father, saying, “See you later.” He became exposed to radiation on that day and returned home suffering severe burns. He was in critical condition and died the following day. For the young writer, his father was everything. University students will talk directly with the writer to make the letter into an anime. (5 minutes)

• Your Life, My Life

  

  On the day when the atomic bomb fell, the writer was in her mother’s womb. Mother desperately protected the fetus, gave birth to her, and brought her up with great attention and care in a harsh post-war environment. A young woman animator will make the letter to mother into an anime rich in emotions.(5 minutes)