Taniguchi, Sumiteru

In 1943, Sumiteru began working as a postman at one of Nagasaki's post offices ^[3] . On the morning of August 9, 1945, at the time of the explosion of a nuclear bomb, he rode his bicycle, delivering mail. The explosion severely wounded him and threw him to the ground ^[4] . Despite the fact that he received severe burns and his skin on the back and left arm was charred, he noted that he had neither bleeding nor pain, due to the fact that the nerve endings were literally burned. Being disoriented, he followed to the nearest ammunition factory, where he was given first aid , his damaged skin was cut, the wound was treated with machine oil ^[5] .

At night, he, along with other victims, was taken to one of the hills surrounding Nagasaki. By morning, everyone except him had died. The next two days, rescue teams passed him, as he was too weak to call for help ^[3] . Taniguchi was found on August 11 and taken to a clinic located about 30 kilometers from Nagasaki. In mid-September, he was transferred to a Nagasaki primary school clinic. Sanitary conditions and treatment there left much to be desired, as a result of which infection was brought to Sumiter's wounds, and his condition worsened ^[5] .

In November, Sumiteru was transferred to a military hospital in the city of Omura , where he spent 21 months, lying on his stomach because he had severe burns on his back. At this time, he developed severe pressure sores on his chest, through which his internal organs became visible ^[5] .

In May 1947, Sumiteru could already sit, and on March 20, 1949 he was discharged from the hospital ^[3] . Due to radiation exposure during and after the bombardment and improper healing of burns that were not treated properly until 1960, Taniguchi developed numerous tumors in subsequent years. In 2007, he underwent 10 operations to remove benign tumors ^[6] . Sumiteru Taniguchi died in Japan at the 89th year of his life from cancer ^[7] .

Sumiter Taniguchi devoted his life to educating the masses about the consequences of the 1945 nuclear explosions and the need to ban nuclear weapons ^[3] . Until his death, he often appeared in public, talked with students and participated in rallies, calling for nuclear disarmament . Taniguchi also participated in the filming of the documentary White Light / Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ^[8] .