“I was exposed to the atomic bomb when I was three years old in Nishiku-Mukainada, 4.8km from the hypocenter. I have no recollection of what happened on August 6. We were likely not affected by the heat or air blast because our home was nestled on the other side of Ougonyama (a mountain west of Hiroshima). Still, I was exposed to nuclear radiation via the ‘black rain’ that followed the explosion, and at age 50, I was diagnosed with dyshormonism, or endocrine dysfunction – a disease that I am fighting to this day.

In 2008, I joined the Peace Boat initiative as a hibakusha and visited 20 countries over a period of four months as part of a global cultural exchange campaign with other victims of war and ongoing nuclear tests. Since then, I have been working as a peace monument guide at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and have taken many students across the city to speak about Hiroshima’s brief history as a military capitol. What I wish to communicate through my guided tours is what I believe to be Hiroshima’s modus operandi – to break the cycle of retaliation.”