Granddaughter of Hiroshima survivor shares her family’s story

Granddaughter of Hiroshima survivor shares her family’s story

msc

Wed, 08/05/2026 - 23:22

Erin Tsutsui is a 16-year-old rising junior at Henry M. Gunn High School in California. She visited the World Council of Churches on 5 August with a group from the League of Creative Minds. She shared her grandfather ’ s story of surviving the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

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Photo: Pauline Tete/WCC

You have been growing up listening to your grandfather's stories. Could you tell me a little more about your background and his?

Tsutsui: My grandfather was born and raised in Hiroshima. He was four-and-a-half years old when he became a survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. He tells me that in the morning, he was playing outside behind a large tree when the bomb hit. Everything around him blew up, and he got glass shards stuck in his hand, which he pulled out. Blood came out of his hand, but his life was saved because he wasn't actually that far from the epicenter. He wasn't close enough to die instantly, so it is a miracle that he survived. His family also happened to be safe; his mom and…