Study Guide Questions for Hiroshima
Chapter 1: A Noiseless Flash
Mr./Rev. Tanimoto
1. What kind of raid did most Hiroshima residents expect? B-29 air raid
2. What kept Rev. Tanimoto up the night before the bombing? the air raid warnings
3. What was the first thing noticed when the bomb went off? bright light
4. What protected Mr. Tanimoto from the blast? a rock garden
Hatsuyo Nakamura
5. Why didn't Hatsuyo move the children when the new air warning went off? They were tired from the night’s sirens.
6. How did Hatsuyo's husband die? in the war
7. How did Hatsuyo support herself and her children? sewing/seamstress
Dr. Masakazu Fujii
8. Why did Dr. Fujii get up early that morning? to take a guest to the train
9. What was Dr. Fujii's single doctor hospital built next to? Kyo River
10. Specifically, what did the explosion do to his hospital? It fell into the river.
11. How did Dr. Fujii keep from drowning? He was held up by two beams.
Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge
12. What was Father Kleinsorge suffering from the morning of the blast? diarrhea
13. What did Father Kleinsorge change into for air raid alerts? a military uniform
Dr. Terufumi Sasaki
14. Why was Dr. Sasaki scolded by another doctor earlier? for treating patients illegally
15. How many doctors in Sasaki's hospital were unhurt? only him
Toshiko Sasaki
16. What was Toshiko in charge of at the factory? personnel records
17. What large objects were located behind Toshiko's desk? bookshelves and books
18. What injury did Toshiko suffer from in the blast? severely broken left leg
Chapter 2: The Fire
19. What was designated as a temporary hospital in case of emergency? a school
20. What was falling out of the sky? large raindrops
21. What did Hatsuyo go back inside her wrecked home to retrieve? clothes, bandages, and sewing machine
22. Where did she stash her sewing machine? in a cement water tank
23. Where did Father Kleinsorge end up right after the blast? wandering in the vegetable garden
24. What condition did Father Kleinsorge find his paper mache briefcase in? perfect, while his room was destroyed
25. What is a Molotoffano hanakago? a Molotov Flower Basket, a bunch of little bombs
26. Where did Dr. Sasaki finally obtain eyeglasses? from a wounded nurse
27. What had the explosion done to clothing patterns on some of the victims? The pattern was burned into their skin.
28. What provided Miss Sasaki shelter after she was pulled from the tin factory rubble? a metal sheet/shanty
29. What did the refugees fear the Americans would do? drop more bombs
30. What did the victims fear when it began to rain? That is was gasoline.
Chapter 3: Details Are Being Investigated
31. Who did Mr. Tanimoto find standing up to their necks in water? 2 children
32. How many hours had Dr. Sasaki worked before he tried to sleep? 19 hours
33. What delighted Hatsuyo Nakamura's children that night? a gas storage tank exploded
34. What did Mr. Tanimoto realize when he saw what was in the river? that the people around the boat all died at the same time
35. What was the first duty according to the army doctor? to help the lightly wounded
36. How many days was Miss Sasaki left under the lean-to? 2 days and 2 nights
37. Where were Miss Sasaki's mother, father, and baby brother when the bomb went off? pediatric hospital
38. How many hours of sleep did Dr. Sasaki get during the first three days? one hour
39. What happened at 11:02 am, August 9th? atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki
40. What is a greater moral responsibility to the Japanese than caring for the living? caring for the dead
41. What did the emperor do that Mr. Tanimoto called a "wonderful blessing?" He spoke to all of Japan in person.
Chapter 4 - Panic Grass and Feverfew
42. What did Father Kleinsorge believe had a talismanic quality? his suitcase
43. What did they eventually call the "strange capricious disease" people were coming down with? radiation sickness
44. What covered everything that gave Miss Sasaki the creeps? plants and flowers- panic grass and feverfew
45. What was it that Miss Nakamura could not retrieve that upset her greatly? her sewing machine
46. What was the most useful therapy for bomb patients? plasma and penicillan
47. How many stages did Dr. Sasaki identify in radiation sickness? three
48. What group of patients "delighted" Dr. Fujii? members of occupying forces
Chapter 5: The Aftermath
Hatsuyo Nakamura
49. What marked the lowest, saddest moment of Mrs. Nakamura's life? when she had to sell her husband’s sewing machine
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
What term did the Japanese shy away from when referring to those who went through the blasts? hibakushu
How did non-hibakusha employers treat survivors? with prejudice because they were sick
What did Mrs. Nakamura take up for pleasure after she retired? embroidery and dressing Japanese dolls
What was Mrs. Nakamura's state of mind when she returned home from the Yasukuni Shrine? uneasy
What happened to Mrs. Nakamura when she danced on the Emperor's birthday 4 decades later? she was woozy and went to the
hospital
Dr. Terufumi Sasaki
55. What would be Dr. Sasaki's life work? doctor
56. It took most interns 5 years to get their doctoral degree; how long did it take Dr. Sasaki? 10
57. What often happened when keloid scars were removed? they often came back
58. What disease was much higher in hibakusha than normal? leukemia
59. What was Dr. Sasaki's one regret? He couldn’t identify all the dead at the Red Cross Hospital.
Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge
60. What did one of Father Kleinsorge's colleagues jokingly say about him and Japan? He was married to Japan.
61. What did Father Kleinsorge file for and get? Japanese citizenship
62. What was Father Kleinsorge's most disturbing complaint? a weird infection in his fingers
Toshiko Sasaki
63. What new blow did Toshiko Sasaki experience? Her fiancé left her.
64. What did the surgeries finally do for her legs? They were both the same length and she could walk almost normally.
65. Where did Sasaki go when she knew she would never marry? to a convent to become a nun
66. What was her greatest gift? her ability to help inmates die in peace
67. What was one of the happiest moments of her life? She was honored at a banquet in 1980 for being a nun for 25 years.
Dr. Masakuzu Fujii
68. What was Dr. Fujii's hobby for years? studying foreign languages
69. How did her obtain penicillin for his patients? through his occupational friends
70. How did Dr. Fujii deal with psychological effects of the bomb? pleasure principle- he enjoyed life to the fullest
Rev. Kiyoshi Tanimoto
71. Where did anger of many hibakusha "modulate" toward? the Japanese government
72. What did Rev. Tanimoto realize he needed to build? a center where the experience of the bomb could be studied
73. What did American occupation personnel do to supply depots?
74. Where was Rev. Tanimoto invited to raise money? America
75. What show did Mr. Tanimoto find himself featured on? This Is Your Life