Although the war ended with Japan surrendering following the United States dropping the second atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the suffering for the people of Japan would continue. The casualties from this attack did not stop with the initial explosion, as people would continue to ultimately perish due to complications such as radiation sickness. The battles being fought by those innocent individuals infected with radiation could continue on for various amounts of time, with some individuals still losing their battles years after the US dropped the bomb. However, one consistent factor with the majority of this suffering, is that it happened underneath the surface.
For some individuals in Japan near the site of the bombing in Hiroshima, there was significant physical damage done to them, due to the extreme heat from the bombing, which caused burning of the skin to those victims. Although the burning of their skin was without a doubt extremely painful, what about the pain these victims were left with feeling on the inside. One source even further describes events these victims, specifically young females faced, saying, “… (The Japanese Prime minister believed) he could raise enough money and support for the young women to undergo plastic reconstructive surgery, permitting them to hold jobs and lead ‘normal’ lives. Japanese surgeons who had tried to repair the Maidens’ damaged bodies had done a bad job…” (Serlin, pp. 63). This idea that these young women in Japan were unable to live their lives, and the severe side effects that come with that, are heartbreaking to even think about. Already in society do people, and typically more women struggle with body image issues, and comparison issues to others in society. These women almost certainly played no role in responsibility for this devastating bomb, yet now they are forced to live their lives with a constant reminder of this pain and suffering, every time they even glance in a mirror, let alone go out in public. Luckily, the US was able to take 25 of these young women, as those who were selected were deemed those ‘who could benefit the most from reconstructive surgery’ (Serlin, pp. 64).
Although this was something to celebrate for a variety of reasons, there is a singular aspect not emphasized enough. Now that these women had been physically repaired, were they now expected to be ‘normal’ functioning members of society? What about the struggles and battles these women could have been continuing to fight inside their own heads in the years to come?
This issue of mental health is a consistency seen from the blogpost last week as well from the Veteran’s post and an issue I’m sure will continue to be brought up, but not emphasized enough. Especially with the veterans, these issues of mental health are not ones we as a whole can afford to ignore any longer. The stigma surrounding mental health is a topic that is very close to me and one that I will continue to bring attention to, especially as I notice areas in which I feel it was not given enough attention in the history of that time period. Not all issues can be solved with some reconstructive surgery, some issues lie underneath the surface.
Serlin, David. Reconstructing the Hiroshima Maidens, in Replaceable You- Engineering the Body in Postwar America, 2004.
Author: leimann16
2 thoughts on “Beneath the Surface”
It’s good that you touched on the mental aspect of these women as I feel many who research the subject of Hiroshima would never come across the issue. The fact that only 25 women were selected for surgery sounds like a slap in the face, considering the untold numbers of those that were still suffering from disfigurement. From what I could read you didn’t mention much of Dr. Michihiko Hachiya’s diary which was written just after the blast. There could have been a lot of good information that would have helped you argument about the mental pain that was suffered after the detonation.
You bring up a good point about life after the surgeries and what hat would look like for them when they returned to Japan, and as we later discovered they face social out-casting, it seems like America did not think about the emotional repercussions of mending the women.
It’s good that you touched on the mental aspect of these women as I feel many who research the subject of Hiroshima would never come across the issue. The fact that only 25 women were selected for surgery sounds like a slap in the face, considering the untold numbers of those that were still suffering from disfigurement. From what I could read you didn’t mention much of Dr. Michihiko Hachiya’s diary which was written just after the blast. There could have been a lot of good information that would have helped you argument about the mental pain that was suffered after the detonation.
You bring up a good point about life after the surgeries and what hat would look like for them when they returned to Japan, and as we later discovered they face social out-casting, it seems like America did not think about the emotional repercussions of mending the women.