50 years as a story teller

On his left arm from shoulder to elbow keloid remains.

74 year-old Uchida Yasunobu, who has been telling his Hibakusha story for 50 years, said, "Go ahead and touch my burned skin," to his audience of students on their school trip.

"Touching is a part of my story. By feeling my burned skin, students start to listen to my story closely," said Uchida.

Uchida started talking about his atomic bomb experience and taking part in a struggle against nuclear weapons during the Korean War. At that time Uchida, who was worried about getting illness caused by radiation, was working as a tutor and trade union secretary in order to make money for his 4 little brothers.

"I am one of the forerunners of atomic story telling," Uchida said. It was at that time when he started to see his life as a Japanese Communist Party member.

'My best friend died'

In 1945, 16-year-old Uchida was working at a factory of the Mitsubishi Nagasaki dockyard as part of the student mobilization program.

On that day, Uchida was making geta (Japanese wooden clogs) with his best friend Nakamura on the porch of Nakamura's house, 1.4 kilometer away from the hypocenter.

Surrounded by a brilliant yellow flash, Uchida felt like he was hit hard with a hammer. He floated in the air and was thrown meters away.

Nakamura, who was sawing a board next to Uchida, was under the collapsed roof. His whole body was burned. Calling his mother, Nakamura died at midnight in front of Uchida.

Without making any contact with his family, Uchida was carried to Isahaya by train. There he was put on a straw mat. His heavily burned left arm was crawling with maggots.

When Uchida turned 20 years old, his white corpuscles increased rapidly. His wife, also a Hibakusha, gave a premature birth to a baby boy who suffered a high fever and hovered between life and death. "I detested the A-bomb from the bottom of my heart," said Uchida.

Whenever the U.S. government made its move towards the use of nuclear weapons, Uchida felt depressed. 12 years ago during the Gulf War, he desperately collected signatures for the "Appeal from Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

'I want to save the earth'

Since he became 60 years old, Uchida has been busy working as a story teller. In summer, when many schools have school trips, he works 10 to 15 days a month.

"The good part is children who send me letters." Uchida has received about 1,000 letters so far. Some of them say, "It was hard for me to hear such a story. I won't forget your burned skin," and "I will work hard to eliminate nuclear weapons."

Although the story is very serious, students enjoy listening to it with their eyes sparkling. Uchida feels good that he is able to pass the voice of Hibakusha on to them.

"Whenever I have that feeling, I hear Nakamura's last crying. I feel thankful to live this long. I know I am telling students my story with Nakamura at my side."

At the end of his story, Uchida always tells children, "I told you my story because I want you to work to eliminate nuclear weapons. It is as important as studying. To abolish nuclear weapons is to save the earth." (end)