In 1945, World War II ended with Japan’s surrender to the United States, as announced over the radio by Emperor Hirohito to his country on August 15th of that year. The events of the preceding week, on the 6th and 9th of August, forced Japan’s hand. After making the calculation that it was in the United States’ best interest to end the war in the Pacific without sacrificing untold thousands of soldiers trying to invade Japan’s mainland, President Harry Truman ordered that the first ever atomic bombings of another country take place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. And so they did, and the cities were reduced to rubble. However, the obvious but originally lesser reported aspect of the bombs’ damage was the human cost.
Historian David Serlin, in his book Replaceable You – Engineering the Body in Postwar America, covers in great depth the case of the so called Hiroshima Maidens. In summary, the Hiroshima Maidens were 25 women chosen to receive reconstructive surgery in New York City to conceal their radiation burns. This was a coordinated effort between Japanese reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto and his American acquaintance, magazine editor Norman Cousins. With great sensationalism by the American media ensuing, the women toured America for a couple of weeks before convening with Quaker hosts in Philadelphia. These Quakers, who were some of the most prominent protesters of nuclear bombs, were quick to house the women in preparation for their operations.
The Maidens came to characterize how Americans perceived the atom bombings and their effects on Japan. Serlin makes clear in his book that the Maidens were the first highly visible example of radiation burn victims that the American people were allowed to see. Previously to the Maidens’ 1955 journey to America, the State Department essentially censored photographs and recording of these victims to avoid the spread of antinuclear sentiments (Serlin 2004, 74). However, the Maidens’ visit to America was too visible to cover up and resulted in Americans forming their own opinions, though somewhat misinformed, about postwar Japan. Most notably, the Hiroshima Maidens’ experience in America promoted the idea that Japan was a modernizing and westernizing country which was giving encouragement to women in professional life. Given the publicity of pictures of the Maidens enjoying America, such as the one below, it is no wonder people had this impression.
The Hiroshima Maidens wave goodbye to America.
Bibliography
Serlin, David. Reconstructing the Hiroshima Maidens, in Replaceable You- Engineering the Body in Postwar America, 2004.
Wahrman, Aron D. “Caring for the Hiroshima Maidens.” The Bulletin, February 28, 2020. https://bulletin.facs.org/2020/03/caring-for-the-hiroshima-maidens/.
You bring up the power tool of how media can sculpt and portray what they want without addressing the consequences of thier actions. By fixing 25 women America then appears to be exonterated for their role in destroying and killings hundreds of thousands.