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KOYANAGI Emiko(KOYANAGI Emiko) 
Gender Female  Age at time of bombing 14 
Recorded on 2003.10.30  Age at time of recording 72 
Location at time of bombing Nagasaki(Direct exposure Distance from the bombing hypocenter:2.8km) 
Location when exposed to the bombing Yaoya-machi, Nagasaki City [Current Nagasaki City] 
Status at time of bombing Civil servant 
Occupational status at time of bombing Nagasaki District Court 
Hall site Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims 
Dubbed in English/
With English subtitles
Dubbed in English 

1. Emiko Koyanagi was exposed to the bomb in Yaoya-machi, 2.8 km from the hypocenter. She was 14. The bomb affected her grandchild and she continues to live in fear of radiation.
2. [work and family life before the A-bomb]
3. My mother, my elder sister, me, my two younger sisters and my brother. We're all hibakusha.
4. My elder sister worked at the shipyards. Being summer break, my younger sisters and brother were at home.
5. I was working. Next door to our house was the residence of the chief justice. Across from that was Katsuyama Elementary School.
6. In the olden days, Nagasaki used to have an appeals court and it was directly behind the elementary school.
7. When the appeals court was moved to Fukuoka, the chief justice decided it would be better to go there too. On the day of the A-bomb, we were helping them pack.
8. That's when the A-bomb fell.
9. I worked in the general section of the courthouse. Being fresh out of school, my job was to serve tea or write addresses on envelopes and such.
10. that morning and the moment of explosion
11. Oh it was such a fine day. Really quite beautiful, with a bright blue sky.
12. My mother was out shopping when she was exposed.
13. My elder sister was working at the Mitsubishi Shipyard. She and a friend were reading in the paper about a new type of bomb that had been dropped on Hiroshima,
14. when suddenly they heard a plane and the sky flashed. They dove under desks in shock.
15. There was a noise. I didn't know about B29s so I thought it was a Japanese plane and looked up in search of it.
16. Then there was a bright flash. It was the B29.
17. [finding out about the atomic bomb]
18. We had no idea, but there were people that knew, I'm sure.
19. My sister had actually read in the newspaper about a new type of bomb and her friend had seen that article too, but at the time, they didn't expect the one that fell on Nagasaki to be the same.
20. But it was something horrible and they ran and ran until they reached home.
21. [tragedy immediately after]
22. There was a light. It was pure white. You couldn't see a thing. My friend and I thought that a fire bomb had been dropped out front and went inside.
23. Less than 30 seconds after we took cover, there was a wind blast and the house was a wreck.
24. That big sturdy chief justice residence. Both the ceilings on the first floor and second floor were blown out. You could see the sky.
25. Pieces of glass flew like confetti. It was August and men were helping with only a tank top or no top at all.
26. They were stabbed with glass all over. Their heads, faces, hands, everywhere was bleeding.
27. Things fell from above. I was so surprised when I walked in. Everybody was covered in blood.
28. The school next door served as a rescue center, so I rushed to get people there. Well we got there but is was a mountain of rubble.
29. Roof tiles and telephone poles had fallen and electrical lines were hanging loose. Saying ""don't touch the lines,"" we took people across.
30. Injured people started coming from everywhere. Nobody would have imagined anything like it. The rescue center didn't have enough people to care for the injured.
31. And the injured were all lined up now, screaming and crying. Just looking at them made me feel I was in a living hell.
32. [evacuation with family]
33. My house was very close to the courthouse so after I took the injured people over, I went to check on my brother and sisters.
34. They were already preparing to leave the house. My brother ran out with no shirt on so I put a shirt on him and we hurried away.
35. There was a communal bomb shelter, so we decided to run there.
36. On our way, I saw a man or a woman, I couldn't tell, but the person was bare naked and had been blown in the blast.
37. This person probably ran this way through the hills and sat on a rock. I heard; ""Lady, please give me water. Lady, please give me water.""
38. Everyone was fending for themselves and couldn't be bothered with such a person.
39. I was only 15 and was in a hurry to get away. I didn't have a canteen with me either. Even if I did, I probably wouldn't have given it.
40. Anyway, we had to get out of there. Only the eyes and teeth were white. The hair was gone and the clothing was torn off.
41. I felt sorry, but I continued to run to the evacuation center.
42. [memories of after the bombing]
43. All of Nagasaki was burning and there was smoke everywhere. On top of that, the atomic cloud started to form and the city turned dark.
44. Fires were spreading. I was afraid our house would burn down too.
45. We stayed in the bomb shelter until around six and then went home, thinking my mother and sister might be back.
46. They were at home so we all decided to evacuate to Yagami Village, where my mother had friends.
47. We loaded the baby carriage with necessities and walked to Yagami, about 12.1 km.
48. You know how on TV you see refugees leading children by their hands and carrying all of their belongings as they walk along? That's what we looked like.
49. I wasn't leading a child by the hand, but other people were doing so, carrying their luggage. We were just like refugees.
50. We walked with the lines of people, pushing the baby carriage, but when we got there, the wheels of the carriage were bent.
51. When we arrived at Yagami, the women's group had prepared big white rice balls with plum inside and served us pickles too. That's what we had for dinner.
52. That night, we slept under a camphor tree.
53. [scenes during evacuation]
54. There were just so many injured. People with their skin hanging off and bleeding from their head. I saw people being carried on stretchers.
55. I didn't see much on the way out to Yagami, but then again, I was running for my life. I don't remember much else.
56. [disorders caused by the bomb]
57. In two or three years my liver was damaged. My hair fell out, too.
58. I suffered from anemia, even after marriage. I have a bad hip. The joint hurts when I walk.
59. [family's symptoms]
60. My brother had a bad hip joint too and ended up not being able to get out of bed. This was bad news.
61. So we called a hospital we knew in Fukuoka. They told us to bring him in. My sons took him.
62. Well he needed immediate surgery. They operated on the left side and his knees were bad too, so they inserted artificial bones.
63. He can no longer sit on his knees, so he always sits on a chair.
64. [anxieties about A-bomb casualty]
65. My eldest son fathered a child. Our first grandchild. However, this child was born with hydrocephalus.
66. He is still in a wheelchair. Secretly in my heart, I wondered if this was caused by the atomic bomb.
67. Then I spoke to other hibakusha friends and found that most of their children or grandchildren have been affected.
68. Although my children didn't show any symptoms, I figured that it skipped a generation. I still worry.
69. [speaking about the experience]
70. I have books about the atomic bomb and show them as I tell my story.
71. Every summer, I go to elementary schools and junior high schools to talk. This will be my 17th year.
72. The children listen intently without getting restless. They sit and listen.
73. [anger towards the A-bomb]
74. I really wonder who it was that made the atomic bomb. Such a frightful weapon should disappear from the face of the earth.
75. People all over the world are trying to get rid of nuclear weapons. At the same time, somebody is testing them. I wonder why they're still around.
76. Without nuclear weapons, I imagine people of the world living in peace. Truly.
77. My cousins died in the bomb. They were in the city center. My cousins and another, my mother's brother. They were just below Shiroyama Elementary School.
78. Both families died immediately. I can't imagine anything more brutal.
79. I really truly wish that nuclear weapons will completely vanish from the face of the earth.
80. [as a hibakusha]
81. Of course at first, it was hard being looked at as a hibakusha. But I no longer feel that way.
82. I just want to continue telling my story and strongly hope that everyone can live in peace, soon.
83. So if possible, I try to go to two or three schools each summer, to tell my story. This is my 17th year.
84. And now the schools call me up to ask me to come. They don't call the A-bomb society, they call me directly.
85. I put on my work clothes like I wore back then and carry my anti-air raid hood and emergency bag.
86. I make name tags with my blood type, address and age on them and sew them onto my clothes, before heading out to talk.
87. [the children's reaction and work toward peace]
88. They appreciate it. They say: ""Thank you for telling us such an important story."" When was it? I received a letter of encouragement.
89. At first I often had to go to the hospital because of my anemia but now it's mostly just my hip that is troubling me. Internally, I'm fine.
90. For as long as I live, I plan to continue telling my story.

*Many more memoirs can be viewed at both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Memorial Halls.
*These contents are updated periodically.
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