Atomic bomb survivor to recount her experience at Purdue event

Shigeko Sasamori

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Shigeko Sasamori was 14 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, the hypocenter of the explosion just two miles away from where she lived.

The School of Languages and Cultures at Purdue University will welcome Sasamori on Nov. 1 as she presents her personal account of the tragedy, “August 6th 1945: My Story.”

Sasamori sustained extensive burns, but she survived the explosion. In 1955, Kiyoshi Tanimoto, a Japanese reverend, and Norman Cousins, an American journalist, raised funds to bring 25 women from Hiroshima to the United States for reconstructive surgery. The women were later known as Hiroshima Maidens. Sasamori was one of them.

“August 6th 1945: My Story” will tell Sasamori’s story of what happened on that day and her life thereafter. Sasamori and Kazumi Hatasa, professor of languages and cultures at Purdue, will jointly tell her story in the aftermath of the bombing, her recovery period in Hiroshima and her life in America. Sasamori now lives in Los Angeles.

The event will begin with a poster exhibit of the atomic bombing, a gift from Hiroshima Peace Museum, at 6:30 p.m., followed by Sasamori’s presentation at 7 p.m. in the Wilmeth Active Learning Center, Room 3087.

The talk is sponsored by the School of Languages and Cultures, the Asian Studies Program and the Peace Studies Program, all in the College of Liberal Arts.

Media contact: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu  

Source: Kazumi Hatasa, khatasa@purdue.edu