An essential message of peace from tragedy

5 stars

I would have said I had a good grasp of the Second World War until I watched World War II with Tom Hanks. An eye-opening account of the war that proved I knew very little beyond the conflict in Europe. As much as I learned of the Asian conflict from watching the documentary, I was keen to know more, leading me to Hiroshima, 8:15. 

The story of this amazing memoir is a remarkable one. Written by a survivor of the bomb, Kiyoshi Tanimoto was a 36-year-old Methodist minister living in Hiroshima with his family. He documented the aftermath in English which was then lost for decades, eventually unearthed in a university archive. A phenomenal find! 

This is a heartbreaking first hand account of all Kiyoshi Tanimoto saw and did moments and months after the detonation of the atomic bomb. It is not an easy read but an essential one. The devastation cannot be calculated and must never be repeated. This is a harrowing cautionary tale but one of hope in its message of peace. This account could have easily descended into recrimination but instead was gracious in Tanimoto's thankfulness for all America did to help the stricken Japanese after the bomb was dropped. His charitable spirit will have had roots in his Christian faith but also in the strength of character he possessed. Humbling beyond words. Hiroshima, 8:15 was a keyhole view into a culture previously unknown to me and the tenacity it takes to carry on after such a horrific tragedy.