Japan Book Club: Hiroshima – part 3
Chapter three of Hiroshima is called Details are Being Investigated, and in this chapter John Hersey goes into intense detail to describe the suffering taking place in Hiroshima.
Once again, the story follows the same six survivors – some of them hanging on as best they can, and others doing everything they can to help other people.
However, what seems to be missing is any help from the Japanese government or military. At one point in the chapter, a naval ship makes announcements as it traverses the river, letting people know that help is on its way. It never seems to come, but the hope of help arriving soon appears to help some people.
The chapter ends with a speech to the people by the Japanese emperor.
What did the Japanese government do to help the people in Hiroshima in the days following the bombing? Did they do enough? What could they have done? Finally, some people say the Americans went to far by dropping “the bomb,” but others say that the Japanese government allowed horrible things to happen to the people by refusing to surrender and end the war. Who do you think is to blame? Why?
Here's a map of Hiroshima to help you keep the locations straight in your head while you read.
Every student in our Japan group is required to participate. You must comment on this post with your thoughts, then come back and comment on what other people have said – you are required to make an effort to keep the conversation going by replying to at least 2 other students (more than just “I agree” or “you are right.” Give them reasons why you agree/disagree or what they said that was meaningful – make this a discussion).
Minooka TAP 
1 The Japanese government said they would send out hospital boats, but they never did. The troops that were in Hiroshima were in the most terrible of conditions, in the book it said,” Their faces were wholly burned, their eye sockets were hollow, the fluid from their eyes had run down their cheeks. (They must have had their faces upturned when the bomb went off.” This leads me to believe that the Japanese government didn’t help that much at all and maybe thought there was nothing worth trying.
2 I think both the American’s and the Japanese are to blame because the Americans dropped the bomb that killed thousands of people and then the Japanese didn’t provide much aid and then didn’t surrender for quite some time.
This was supposed to go in the first question…
I do not think the Japanese government did enough i think they just left everyone to die or try to survive themselves. I think if they actually sent boats with good medicines and bandages they could have saved lots of lives.
I agree if the Japanese made the effort to send any help they could’ve saved more lives, but they probably wouldn’t have to much of a difference.
If America wouldn’t have fought back, what do you think would have happened instead?
I think that none of this would have happened if the Japanese didn’t bomb Pearl Harbor. We wouldn’t have bomed Hrioshima, and people wouldn’t have died innocently.
Thaat’s true Syd, they didnt have to start anything. But we didnt have to finish it either.
Nate i really enjoyed reading your passage because you gave so much detail and went above and beyond.
I agree nate. If america knewq the destructive force behingd little boy, why would they even send those bombs onto the area, and why did the government not do anything for the hiroshimans
1. The Japanese Goverment said they would bring Hospital Boats that they never bothered to send. So the people were forced to live in harsh conditions such as the troops of HIroshima. Their faces were pretty much falling apart with burns and hollowed eyes and eye fluids dripping down onto thier checks. So the Japanese Goverment practicaly did nothing, but they probably couldn’t have done much to save them.
2. I think we are both to blame becaus during the time period ( World War II) the Japanese were doing horrible things to other Asians. Yet we were the ones that dropped the bomb to kill all those people. Even when some were innocent.
I think we shiuld’ve never dropped the bomb in the first place because the bomb killed mant innocent people.
Why do you think the Japenese were doing bad things to other Asians?
I think they were doing bad things to other Asians because they had more military power and they thought they were better than other Asians.
I agree that we shouldn’t have dropped the bomb but they also shouldn’t have bombed Pearl Harbor.
Sydney , I agree that we should not have dropped them bomb but they should not have bombed Pearl Harbor
i disagree i think the japanese government could have helped the people in Hiroshima by sending supplies or help from other cities.
1. Japanese government said that they would bring boats to save people, even though they never did really send them out. People were forced to live in bad conditions in Hiroshima. Many were burned and dying, with burns on their faces and missing eyeballs with liquids and puss running out. Although Japanese government should have done something, they couldn’t have really done anything to save that many people.
2. In my opinion it was both Japan and Americas’ faults. I think this because Japan did not have a fair and meaningful reason to drop the bomp in the first place, but then to “get back” America had to drop a bomb right back at them and make the fighting even worse. Also killing many non-guilty people in the proscess.
I disagre with you tyler when you say that America dropped the bomb to “get back” at Japan for bombing Pearl Harbor. I think they dropped it to bring a quick end to the war and to save the lives of our soilders and the Japenese if we had to invade Japan.
I do agree by how you say that we wanted to end the war quick. Even though president Truman had never said anything about why we dropped it, some say that he targeted the most populated locations just to kill as many as possible because of Pearl Harbor.
I agree with you wholeheartedly Jacob. Had we invaded Japan more lives would have been lost than if we had dropped the atomic bomb.
Jacob, I honestly can’t say that I agree. It wasn’t to get the war over quick. There was MUCH more bombing that we did than the two atomic bombs in cities all around the country even before 1944 and 45. It is more likely that it was a revenge attack.
Jacob , Good point but i cant say what America did was right it was wrong to kill as INNOCENT many people as America killed .
1. The government promised to send Hospital Boats, but never really sent them. Many people were forced to suffer including the troops, priests, and the two little girls they found in the river. The government, in my eyes, most likely just passed it over saying that it wasn’t that big of a deal. The damage was done and there wasn’t much they could do now.
2. We were all to blame, they bombed Pearl Harbor, we bombed Hiroshima, then the government ignored it. The government probably thought that the damage was done and you can’t prevent it now. There was no point in putting in effort to save people that were mostly too damaged beyond saving.
I agree with you Sydney. The government most likely thought that the damage was already done so what was the point of putting in the time and effort to save the people who were hurt.
That might be true, but they still could have tried to save people and help.
1.The Japanese Goverment said they would bring Hospital Boats that they never bothered to send. so the people were foced to live in terrible conditions. In these conditions people were dying, burning, and looseing some eyes.So the Japanese Goverment technically did nothing, but they probably couldn’t have done much to save them.
2. I think we are both to blame. The Japaneese were doing horrible things to other Asain countries and they also blind sided us by bombing pearl harbor. But on the other hand we went too far and killed to many. Some of those people were to blame for their actions, but others were innocent.
I agree when you say that is unfair that so many innocent people died. They had nothing to do with it, but they suffered at our hands.
The bombing of Hirosima was sad, but I don’t think we killed too many. In the context of the war, this needed to be done. The bombings of Dresden, London, Warsaw, Stalingrad, Munich, Colonge and many more were a direct attack on civilians, but the bomb dropped on Hirosima is looked upon as terrible and unneccesary. But, the Japanese didn’t even surrender arter that!
1 The Japanese government said they would send out hospital boats, but they never did. The Japanes goverment did little to help, so people were forced to live in horrible conditions.
Many people were burned and dying, or had missing eyes.
2 I think both the Japenese are mostly to blame because they bombed Pearl harbor and they didn’t surrender. Also, we were kind of forced to drop the bomb on Japan because they didnt surrender and it would of taken forever to invade Japan. A lot of our soilders would of died.
You’re right when you say we were kind of forced to drop the bomb. Not completely forced, but to the point where there weren’t many options.
i definitely agree if we went into japan any more we would have lost alot of more lives because before we dropped the bomb when we went into japan the japanese were digging trenches and burring our men alive.
1. The government promised to send out boats to help the citizens of Hiroshima, but they never actually sent anything. People were dying, their bodies were burnt, and it was basically like a battlefield. The government either didn’t care, or were confident that they could make any change. They probably could have at least put some effort into it.
2. I think this is equally America and Japan’s fault. America promised to stay out of the war, but Japan took a cheap shot with Pearl Harbor, and there was not much point in doing that. Then they said, “come at me bro”, so the U.S. came at them. We killed MUCH more people, but revenge hurts sometimes. It was everyone’s fault in this situation.
“Come at me bro.” hahaha. I agree that it was both their faults but we did kill a lot more people and I would think Americans are better than killing innocent people. But I guess we will go to any level to get them to surrender. It was both of their fault.
Lawl. You really went there with that “Come at Me?” That just made my day 😀
Yeah, I agree, it was more a revenge attack. Considering America’s war history, it would make a lot more sense. America can be that spoiled little brat no one wants. Britain would have been better off just letting us free.
I agree if Japan didn’t bomb Pearl Harbor and said,” Come at me bro” then we (America) wouldn’t have bombed Hiroshima, in fact we probably wouldn’t have been involved in the war.
1. Though they never appeared, boats were promised from the government to help the people. I think they both did and didn’t do enough. On one hand, the government was possibly worried about future bombings than saving people in Hiroshima, but they could at least send more boats for them, since many were dying.
2.In my opinion, both Japan and America are to blame. Even though Japan attacked us first, we went to far and killed many lives that some may consider “inhumane”, but in the end its both our faults since they attacked us and we attacked them for revenge.
1.The Japanese government helped the people in Hiroshima in the days following the bombing by sending hospital boats. The people in Hiroshima never recieved them even though the Japanse government promises to send them. They didn’t seem to do enough either. People in Hiroshima were dying left and right. There wasn’t much they could or many people to be saved. Still, the government could have at least sent more boats and supplies.
2. It is hard to say how is to blame, but i think I’m pushing more blame on the Japanese. It was there own innocent people that they were risking the lives of. They should have surrendered before we had to drop the bomb. It was selfish of them and almost like they were murdering their own people. The Americans had no other choice. On the other hand, the Americans killed way more people and they were innocent people. That isn’t right either, but i think the Japanese and Americans both have to take the blame.
You’re right when you say they should have surrendered before we dropped the bomb. What you have to keep in mind, however, is that prior, we only asked for their surrender. We had never told them that we would drop the bomb if they didn’t.
I agree that the Japanese didn’t do enough to help the suffering because everyone really needed help and they didn’t receive it. The government should have kept its promise to send hospital boats because people died from receiving no help at all.
I agree with you about sending the hospital boats. The government should of atleast sent supplies over like you said because this just shows that their goverment didn’t care about the people effecting by the bombing.
1. The government of Japan had said that they were going to send out boats to help the people of Hiroshima. The city had never recieved those boats. I believe that the boats were never sent, because the government thought that there were more important things to do then to help their citizens. They may have just said that so that the citizens wouldn’t lose faith in the government for the days to come. They definetly could have done more, but I do see their reasoning behind not sending the boats.
2. In my opinion, I think both America and Japan were at fault, moreso America than Japan. It was America’s fault that they seeked revenge after Pearl Harbor, and that they decided to participate in unconventional warfare. It was partially Japan’s fault for attacking us in the first place and not caring enough about their citizens to prevent the bombing.
I agree with you on how America was guilty but also Japan. It was our fault for bombing the innocent people in Japan but it was their fault for attacking Pearl Harbor in the first place.
I agree with both of you. it seems America always tries to get even, even though we know first hand how bad the aftermath is.
1. the government said they would send hospitals boats but they never came. Most people were serverly injured and couldn’t be helped. Maybe the government didn’t think there was much they could do to help people. I just think the littlest bit of help could’ve saved lives.
2. Well you know both sides are to blame here, it is equally distributed. If the Japanese hadn’t tride to take over eastern Asia and bombed Pearl Harbor than they wouldn’t have been in that perdicument. The U.S.’ attack on the other hand was kinda out of control one bomb was enough but two was a bit absurd. Not to mention a few years earlier they had already bombed them. It could’ve been handled better on both sides.
I agree that both countries could have handled the situation they were in better because America was isolated in the war and the Japanese were only tying to take over Asia. I think the war between the two shouldn’t have happened because it was unnecessary to bomb Japan and for Japan to attack America.
1. The Japanese government did almost nothing to help the people of Hiroshima. There was a ship that said that help was on the way, but it never came. They did not do nearly enough. Doctors, food, even simple suplies could have been sent into the city to help its residents. Also, alerting the people about what the bomb was could have helped alot too. Many people died as a result of the radiation from drinking contaminated water. Keeping the media supressed probably did more harm than good.
2. I tend to comapre this to the war between Russia and Germany. Had the technology been availible at the time, and Germany assulted Moscow instead of Stalingrad, would the Germans had bombed Moscow with this new bomb? I think yes. In short because of two reasons. 1. It was said that the Russians would have defended Moscow with every last man. With the Russian army numbering in the millions, that was a bloody fight that the Germans would probably not come out on top in. 2. The Germans loathed the Russians with a passion, and vice versa. Germany would have not minded obliverating the Russian capitol. Now, what does this have to do with America and Japan? Well, the first reason that the Germans would have droped the bomb is the same reason that we would have. The Japanese would have spent every last man defending their mainland. This wouldn’t neccecarly mean we would have lost an assult on Japan, but it would have been bloody for both sides. There were over 62,000 US casualties on Okinawa alone. If the mainland were attacked there would be even more astronomical numbers. All in all, the bomb saved lives, ultimately for both sides.
that’s a good answer for number 2 it is very long and detailed.
1- The Japanese government said that they would send out hospital boats but the didn’t. The people who were hurt were in great pain. The government didn’t do enough because people were suffering and received little help. They could have sent out boats and medics to help the suffering.
2- I think that both countries are to blame because the Japanese were relentless with not giving up. The Americans were quick to hurt thousands of innocent people while only a handful were causing the real damage. Dropping two atomic bombs is unnecessary, and the Japanese shouldn’t have attacked America because we were isolated from the war.
That’s probably the whole reason why Japan bombed us. They wanted us to be draged into the mess that Germany and them had made.
1. the government said they were going to send out hospital boats but never did. the government didn’t do really any thing. they obviously could have done more anything could have really helped the people of Hiroshima, even if the just sent some doctors and some food it would still help.
2. I honestly think both Japan and America were to blame. i think Japan was to blame because they didn’t just surrender they just let their citizens get bombed. However America is to blame as well may be even more then Japan. Sure Japan attacked us first but they attacked an navel base witch had people who were trained to know how to defend them self against things like that and they were trained to prepare fast and to fight. However we attacked a city full of innocent people (women, children, babes, mothers ,and fathers.) it wasn’t a trained militarily base.
That is an interesting view point on who was to blame, because that is true. We bombed innocent civilians, while the Japanese attacked a military base with soldiers who were indeed there to fight in the war.
1. The Japanese government didn’t bother to help Hiroshima very much. They told the people in hiroshima that they would send a boat but it never arrived. The government could have helped by sending supplies or neighborly assistants from other cities but they didn’t. Many were severely injured such as the the soldiers who eye were burned out of hollowed from the explosion. they really didn’t do all they could.
2. I think both the japanese government were to blame because it was the japanese governments fault for issuing the attack on pearl harbor and then not even helping their own country but it was also the americans fault for dropping the bomb.
i think that the Japanese were caught in our own rage more than their own stupidity. Both sides in my opinion were to blame.
i agree that both Japan and America were to blame. However i think that we were more to blame because we attacked innocent people that were no threat to us and were not trained for war.
1. Prior to the bombing, the Japanese said they would bring hospital boats but they never happened to do so. This meant that people were left in very harsh conditions which made me come to believe that the Japanese government didnt care much about the people effected by the bombing and they thought nothing was worth trying. People’s faces were burned, their eyes were missing, and their eyes were watering but yet, the government didnt help them.
2. In my opinion, I think we are all to blame. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, we bombed Hiroshima, and now the Japanese government is ignoring the situation. Although Japan harmed our citizens, we still bombed a city of many innocent people that didnt deserve the punishment.
In your first answer, you said that it was prior to the bombing, but they said that they would send the hospital boats after the bombs, not before.
Yeah, the Japanese government wasn’t the best when it came to Hiroshima’s recovery. They promised hospital boats to aid to those who truly needed the help and who did not have life-threatening conditions. However, they never showed up, so it was up to the doctor who lost their hospital in the Kyo River were the only help the people of Hiroshima got. Even though soldiers were brought over to help, they were in to bad of shape to do anything helpful themselves. This, unless the boat was lost and sank during it’s travel over, was a pathetic attempt to even help relief the people’s spirits by the Japanese government, in which I say they could and should have done more to help.
Now, with the debate who was the more to blame, there is no real way of who was the blame. Japan acted like a pushover by bombing Pearl Harbor, and we took it a bit too far by bombing their own country. Not just bases like Pearl Harbor was, but entire CITIES like Hiroshima. Both sides would have been better off without the conflict.
I agree. The Japanese government was absolutely horrible in this situation. They could have saved an unimaginable amount of lives, but instead let them die.
1).The Japanese Government said they would bring Hospital Boats that they never bothered to send.The government could have sent supplies or assistants from other cities but they didn’t. Which showed they didn’t try that hard.There were people who were hurt who were in great pain, but no one came to their assistance
2) I think its both America and japan’s fault . It’s japan fault for bombing pearl harbor and killing 1,998 Navy personnel, 109 Marines, 233 Army personnel and 48 civilians and its Americas fault for seeking revenge and killing over 140,000.
i absoulutly agreee with u on the fact that it was also their fault because of bombing pearl harbor, and how it also changed our lives as well
1)The Government in Japan at the time seemed to have quite a lot on their plate, but in the events that fallowed after Hiroshima many lies were told by them and gave false hope. Their were promises of hospital boats that were never followed, as well as many other things that could have been done instead. Even just sending in a few groups of able people to assist them would have been more than enough to encourage them. They were responsible for those who could have lived after, and may never really be forgiven by the people’s families.
2)I that both sides were to blame, and that even though it was a very dark day in history it should be exactly that, history. The American’s did suffer from the events at Pearl Harbor, but a hit on the shoulder doesn’t deserve the hand to be cut off. Japan did refuse to surrender, which was very stubborn and foolish on their part, but they didn’t drop the bomb. But, all is fair in love and war.
1. The government said that they would send hospital boats to the rescue, but the boats never showed up. I don’t think the boats were even ever sent. The government thought they had more to worry about then the citizens. They might have said this just to giv e them hope. The Japanese were forced to live in horrible conditions. The government could have at least sent supplies, like food and water, or doctors.
2. I think that both countrys are to blame, but that Japan is a little bit more to blame. Japan did drop the first bomb which made a horrible day in U.S. history, so i think that droping a bomb on them was just retaliation, considering they were at war with each other. Japan also gave no help to their citizens by sending nothing to help and by not surrendering to the United States.
i agree with u on them not really sending the boats, im sure that the government had something to do with the fact that the boats didnt show up
1. the Japanese government had helped the people in Hiroshima in the days following the bombing by sending rescue boats out to help the injured, but never arrived at the scenes they were required to , as they had said they would. i don’t think they did enough to help out with what/ whom they should have, even though they are their people also. i believe they could have helped by sending needed materials such as food sources, water, and help for the injured.
2. i think that both counties are to blame for the war. since us Americans dropped the bomb, but also because the Japanese caused us to do it.
ebony, there is always the fact that the bomb was meant for the civilians not for a military base like pearl harbor. Of course japan did cause us to do it they probably didn’t think it would do this much damage.
Sending supplies would have been an amazing idea, seeing as how the bombing area had little supplies left, and needed all the help they could possibly get.
In the days following the bombing, their government promised to send help through a “naval hospital ship” This caused, in the author’s words, “havoc across the river,” and “cheered the people in the park tremendously” This promise was not kept, however, as the boats never came. I understand that the conditions were extreme but they could have at least sent more medical help from doctors, nurses, or just simply supplies. They shouldn’t have given them false hope.
As for the second part of the assignment, on whether I believe the bombing was a rational decision, I can’t give a yes or no answer. When we are young, we are taught violence is never the answer. I am still a very strong a believer in that fact and can’t seem to support war in the first place. With that, I certainly believe we went to far on harming innocent civilians. What causes me to falter is that I don’t know what was happening then and I don’t completely understand their situation. If it was so drastic that action needed to be taken and verbal complaints wouldn’t do it, then I guess I can see why it would happen. I can’t pin the blame on either side. It may seem obvious but now I’m going back to the morals. If we are “the bigger person”, how can we do something like using an A-bomb on an entire city? This assignment has really got me thinking about right and wrong. Is the answer really in just black or just white?
I love your answer to the second section. I agree completely. At first, you may think, “well they did bomb Pearl Harbor, why not bomb them?” I’m a huge supporter of peace, but I can still see why we bombed them. After you read this, though, you understand what these innocent people went through. You can’t take sides..
I think false hope is better than no hope at all. It’s what can keep a person to live, rathar than give up and just die Day 1.
1. the Japanese government had helped by sending rescue boats out to help the injured, but the boats never arrived as they had said they would. i think they could’ve done more to help their people, by sending supplies such as medicines and food/water.
2. I think both countries are to blame. Yes, Japan provoked us, but we didnt need to retaliate. But we did anyways
Japan’s government said that they’d send rescue boats and meds to aid those in need… They never came…. It was just the sheer hope that one day the boat would come… The government could have at least sent them some clean food and water since everything was contaminated. But hope can do a lot for a person. Not only does it give them something to look forward too, but also another reason to live. “I just have to hold on. It’ll be here soon.”
I think both sides are to blame. If Japan hadn’t been pushing our buttons, we’d never drop the bomb. But we also could have used a regular bomb. Not some new type of weapon that hasn’t even been tested on mice yet.
I agree with you a regular bomb would have been okay too. if it wasn’t even tested on mice it kinda of shows that american wanted to get this war over with which is understandable.
1.) The government promised to send Hospital Boats, but never really sent them. Many people were forced to suffer. Considering that I do not believe they did enough to help people out. the government probalay didn’t see it as such a big deal. they could have actually sent hospital boats, but with world war two the hospital boats was probalay wthe last thing one their minds.
2.) Both sides are to blame in my opinion. the japanese for the pearl harbor attack and not giving up. then pushing it further with nagasaki. America for knowing what could happen and dropping it on civilians while the pearl harbor attack was only meant for the military. besides that the fact that it was kind of a way to show off the A-bomb and its effects. a normal bomb could have worked too.
1. The Japanese government defiantly didn’t do enough. They only said, but never acted. The government said that they would send out rescue boats over to Hiroshima, but never did. Many people, including the troops themselves were just left there to pretty much die. The government had to pay attention to the war as well, but it showed how careless the Japanese government was at that time. All they cared about was winning the war at all costs.
2. I believe that both are here to blame. Japan first of all could have not even gotten America to get as involved as they did and drop the atomic bombs. It is all a cause and effect situation in which both Japan and America were involved and are to be blamed.
1. The Japanese government handled the bombing terribly. They could have actually attempted to save lives, instead of getting peoples’ hopes up. It wouldn’t be very hard to drop of supplies, at least. I suppose a false sense of hope is better than none, though.
2. Everyone is to blame. Never fight fire with fire, as you will only create a bigger fire. Sure, we shouldn’t have bombed them, but I doubt we would have surrendered if we were in their place. You have to see this from many different point of views to really comprehend that both countries are at fault here.