by Michihiko Hachiya, M.D.

Dr. Michihiko Hachiya was director of the Communications Hospital about 1500 meters (about one mile) from the "hypocenter," the site exactly under the aerial detonation of the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. When it exploded 500 meters above ground, the doctor was at his own home, a few hundred meters farther from the hypocenter than the hospital. He made his way to the remains of the hospital even though wounded by debris nearly 150 times. Badly hurt and sewn together with more than 400 stitches, the doctor regained his intellectual and professional curiosity enough within two days to begin a two-month record of observations on the effects of the bomb.

Events in History at the Time the Diary Takes Place

The evolution of Japan. The foundation for the Japanese events of 1945 have a history that dates back to at least 1853. Before that year, unfortunate experiences...