Hiroshima Diary: The Journal of a Japanese Physician, August 6-September 30, 1945 Paperback – August 28, 1995

On the morning of August 6, 1945, Dr. Hachiya, the Director of a hospital in Hiroshima, was at home preparing to leave for work when the atomic bomb struck. He remembered a blinding flash followed by a devasting blast that upended his entire world. His home was destroyed, and he was badly injured, but he miraculously made his way to the hospital, where he was immediately attended to by his surviving coworkers. When he awoke, out of a sense of responsibility despite his frail condition, he turned his attention to the ever-growing stream of patients in the hospital. Dr. Hachiya began keeping a daily diary, recording his own and others' accounts of where they were and how they experienced the blast, along with his professional observations of the patients' symptoms and prognoses. He continued the diary for eight weeks until September 30, 1945. As he was writing it, Dr. Hachiya didn't intend for it to become public, but colleagues convinced him it was an important account, which he allowed to be published in serial form in a Japanese medical journal. Six years later, an American physician, Dr. Warner Wells, who was serving as the surgical consultant for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Committee in the United States, learned of the existence of the diary. He met with Dr. Hachiya, who consented to have the diary translated into English. It was published in America in 1955 and again in 1995.Because atomic weapons had not been used before, victims had no initial comprehension beyond their personal experience of the magnitude of the destruction. All communication and electricity were instantly wiped out. Dr. Hachiya and others traded stories about where they were, what they saw and heard, and what happened in the immediate aftermath as they made their way to the hospital, which was one of the only buildings standing. The hospital was far enough away from the blast and was constructed out of reinforced concrete. In the absence of facts, rumors ruled the day. One was that a similar weapon had been deployed by the Japanese in California. Despite the dire circumstances and even after Nagasaki had also been bombed, the citizens were shocked that the emperor surrendered. Dr. Hachiya and his acquaintances had nothing but admiration and affection for the emperor. Instead, they blamed their own military for the unexpected defeat. Many feared the arrival of the occupying forces, but surprisingly, in Dr. Hachiya's account, the Americans came to be regarded as gracious victors who assisted the populace.Much of the diary is devoted to Dr. Hachiya's observations of his patients. The first ones to die, mainly from catastrophic burns, had been closest to the blast. In the remaining patients, patterns of anomalies began to develop. Patients would get better, and then begin to deteriorate, with a strange set of symptoms. Small dots of blood just beneath the surface of the skin would appear and multiply. Their hair would fall out. Samples showed extremely low levels of white blood cells and platelets. Dr. Hachiya became one of the first physicians to diagnose and document the effects of radiation sickness. As the diary continued, more and more patients came to the same inevitable end of a slow and painful death. The sadness was personal, because many of the dying were friends or family of the doctor. The stark realities of the diary are quite disturbing, but as a firsthand account by a survivor, this is a compelling read. Hopefully, it will serve as another deterrent to the use of nuclear weapons in the future.

Dr. Hachiya was obviously a noble person. The same can be said for the staff of his hospital as they dealt with a decent approximation of the worst possible circumstances humans can face. Somehow they kept going amidst everything and managed to help those who were not too far beyond the simple measures available to them in their devastated hospital. His descriptions in his diary have the clinical detachment expected of most doctors - i work with many. But he also records his non-clinical thoughts. The presence of both sides of his personality give a vivid picture. The forward to the book makes note of the fact that Dr. Hachiya is recording observations of radiation sickness without knowing what it is. He tries to hypothesize what could be causing the symptoms they find, and at one point, for example, he suggests an atmospheric pressure etiology, due to other conditions he had seen elsewhere. The gradual discovery of the actual condition, along with observations by other doctors he mentions, is interesting.He kept his humanity and his professionalism when it would be easy to not. His patients were the better for it. And the reader is the better for his allowing his diary to be translated and printed.

This book shows a unbiased story from the Japanese point of view. I found this book interesting, sad and very believable. I had previously read the Enola Gay and wanted to read this book to put world war II in perspective. The two book versions of the war shows how two countries are such polar opposites. The books were very disturbing, its shows we have not learned from our conflicts and continue to go to war. I can understand why we dropped the bombs and why today nuclear power keeps this from happening again (hopefully). This book showed how being isolated, poor and indoctrinated keeps people oppressed generation after generation.

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I read this account when it was first published in about 1957 - it was horrifying as there was no need for the bomb to be dropped - the Japanese emperor had conceded defeat & the american boats were in the nearby harbour. I loaned my copy to a friend who gave it to her husband to read & it disappeared. I searched until I found a 2nd hand copy in the US & had it sent to me.

I first read this amazing account many years ago, and thought that the 70th anniversary a fitting time to revisit it. The effect of the sheer unfolding horror of the circumstances was, if anything even greater, but what struck me this time was something I had probably missed as a young person. The kindness, humanity and unselfish behaviour . . . the gentle manners and dignity of these poor wretched people shines through above all. I recommend this book to anyone who still has some trust in the rightness of nuclear warfare. Remember that the Hiroshima bomb would be like a pinprick compared with the monsters we have today.

In my opinion, this book is a treasure. Dr. Michihiko Hachiyas detailed insight on Hiroshimas darkest hour and the weeks to follow as a victim and Doctor is one of the most interesting things I've ever read. To read about it from a Japanese point of view makes it a lot easier to understand the culture and feel empathy for the people mentioned in his diary.As a German, it was not hard for me to read at all, I was actually surprised how beautifully it was written. The medical terms used are easy enough to understand and not too technical in my opinion. One of the reasons I bought the book was because I was interested in the medicine that was used to treat patients. There were a couple of instances where I had to put it down to catch my breath, I might not recommend to read this before bedtime if you have a very vivid imagination.

This book stands alongside John Hersey's "Hiroshima". It is written by an eye witness who happened to be the physician in charge of the Hiroshima hospital to which survivors of the atomic bomb streamed. The harrowing tales are extraordinary in their pathos and power, all the more so because they are written in the matter-of-fact style of a scientist. It is unbelievable that these weapons still exist and that nations who hoard them, boast about them, or are busy making them can claim any ethical sanction for them.