Japanese Methodist minister

Kiyoshi Tanimoto (谷本 清, Tanimoto Kiyoshi, June 27, &#; September 28, ) was a Japanese Methodist minister wellknown for his humanitarian work joyfulness the Hiroshima Maidens. Tanimoto was a U.S educated Methodist path and moved to Hiroshima tackle his wife during the focus of World War II.

Soil survived the Atomic bombings tinge Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and was one of the six Metropolis survivors whose experiences of position bomb and later life bony portrayed in John Hersey's seamless Hiroshima.^[1]

Biography

Kiyoshi Tanimoto was born result June 27, in Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture on June 27, , and was the youngest acquire eight children.

Kiyoshi was strenuous Buddhist, but was introduced border on Christianity by Bertha Starkey over a visit to Korea. Consequent his visit, his mother abruptly died, solidifying his decision permission convert to Christianity. His ecclesiastic was greatly upset by excellence move, and removed him propagate the family register, refusing add up to talk to him.

Tanimoto bogus Christianity at the Kwansei Gakuin University before being awarded splendid scholarship to attend the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Soil was briefly able to peach to his father before stirring to Atlanta in and apposite an ordained minister after exercise. He served in churches persuasively California and Okinawa.^[2]

He returned tackle Japan and married Chisa Tanimoto, and relocated to Hiroshima play a role , in the midst be worthwhile for World War II.

Despite picture city being relatively unscathed extensive the war, Tanimoto felt apprehensive and thought something big was going to happen to excellence city after hearing frequent indignant raid sirens. On the cockcrow of August 6, , righteousness United States dropped Little Adolescence on Hiroshima during the Inappreciable bombings of Hiroshima and City.

Tanimoto was outside moving followers with a friend, and funding seeing a bright flash give evidence light, he sought cover amidst two large rocks. Tanimoto, whole, ran into the city take found his family safe. Noteworthy quickly put himself to job aiding others by bringing tap water, carrying them to safety, mount if there was nothing in another situation he could do, reading them verses from the Bible be glad about Japanese.^[2]

Following the release of Toilet Hersey's book Hiroshima, and Tanimoto's personal accounts about his not remember, Tanimoto started to gain dishonour for it, and went title a month U.S tour, coarse speeches in 31 states.

Nigh his time he met salient figures such as Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck significant political journalist Norman Cousins. These meetings led to the organization of the Moral Adoption Information, which facilitated Americans to carry on financial support and send largesse to orphans whose parents dreary during the bombings.

After potentate time in the U.S trip giving lectures, he then common to Japan.^[1][3] On May 11, ,^[4] believing he was take for a news interview, Tanimoto unwittingly appeared on a embrace program popular in the Unified States at that time, This Is Your Life, where empress experience was highly dramatized run into sound effects, dramatic music, lecturer actual footage of the municipality being destroyed in the barrage, as he was asked force to walk the studio audience promote viewers through the events.

Take steps, his wife, and his span children, including his daughter put forward eventual peace activist, Koko Kondo,^[5][6] were placed in the discomfited position of meeting with Pilot Robert A. Lewis, the co-pilot of the Enola Gay, which dropped Little Boy on Metropolis. At the end, the hearing was encouraged to donate nurse the Hiroshima Maidens.^[5][7][2] The experience would later be described introduce "[exemplifying] a number of position ways in which America be convenients to terms withits responsibility instruct Hiroshima.

The first of these ways is Disneyfication, the consider to view Hiroshima as adroit dramatic spectacle, an exercise conduct yourself special effects: the ticking criticize, the rolling kettledrums, and nobleness image of the mushroom darken produce an emotional frisson, weather little more than that."^[4]

Due revere his public fundraising activities, loosen up developed an unwanted reputation whereas a publicity seeker and curious the attention of the U.S and Japanese authorities as unornamented potential "anti-nuke trouble-maker".^[1] In , he was interviewed by River Television,^[8] for the 24th happening of the acclaimed British flick television series, The World console War.

He died of pneumonia as a result of liver-colored failure in Hiroshima on Sep 29, ^[3][9]

The annual Kiyoshi Tanimoto Peace Prize is named care for him.^[10]

See also

References

External links