Hiroshima Maidens
Originating from a support group organized by Methodist minister Kiyoshi Tanimoto, the Maidens attracted widespread media attention in Japan, with some undergoing surgeries in Tokyo and Osaka.
However, with the assistance of a journalist for the widely-circulated Yomiuri Shimbun, he took several of the women on an all-expenses-paid trip to Tokyo, Japan, where they drew the attention of the press, who called them the "Genbaku Otome" (lit.
[9] These surgeries, undertaken by Japanese doctors inexperienced in reconstructive operations, failed to achieve the desired results and in some cases exacerbated the women's injuries.
[11] Cousins consulted Dr. William Hitzig, his personal physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, about the feasibility of reconstructive surgery, asking him to assemble a team of doctors to perform them.
[14] With the aid of Kiyoshi Togasaki, the editor of The Japan Times, Cousins also convinced general John E. Hull to provide air transportation for the Maidens.
[19] Descriptions of the Maidens in the press emphasized the severity of their injuries, connecting them to the atomic bomb using epithets like "bomb-scarred", "A-scarred", and "Hiroshima-scarred".
[22] Tanimoto, who had been told that he was going to be interviewed about the Maidens, was surprised by the format of the show: a dramatic retelling of his life featuring sound effects, an orchestral score, and guest appearances from important figures from his past.
[23] At the end of the segment, two of the Maidens, Tadako Emori and Toyoko Minowa, appeared and thanked the people of the United States for their assistance, though they were hidden behind screens so as not to "embarrass" them.
[30] These host families bought the Maidens American clothing and encouraged them to participate in activities at local educational institutions, with many taking classes in cosmetology, nursing, painting, and secretarial work.
[b][33] As part of a plan to study their mental health, Hitzig brought in a psychiatrist to assess the Maidens without informing them ahead of time.
In order to accommodate the original timeline, it was determined that half of the Maidens would return to Japan while the rest would remain in the United States to complete their surgeries.
Pictures of three of the Maidens appear without credit in the book Principles and Practics of Plastic Surgery, written by Barsky and co-edited by Kahn and Simon, to demonstrate the effects of radiation burns.
Written by Hideo Kimura and scored by Shigeo Tohno, the drama portrays the experiences of hibakusha on the day that Hiroshima was bombed.
[52] According to Chung Simpson, Barker saw the Hiroshima Maidens project as a "story of love and compassion" that showed how people from different backgrounds could come together in "sacrifice and generosity".
[53] Chung Simpson herself rejects this premise, instead arguing that the project's primary allure was in its affirmation of "American domesticity" during the difficult postwar period.
[54] Academic David Serlin argues that supporters of the Hiroshima Maidens viewed them through "Western paradigms of beauty" and womanhood, suggesting that their public treatment allowed everyday people to see both the promise and "horror" of medical science.
[55] Later, in a 2010 paper, historian Robert Jacobs argues that the project allowed American media to portray America as a "healer" of atomic bomb survivors rather than as the source of their injuries.
In Jacobs's view, this narrative reinforced the representations of American "technological prowess" and goodwill that were used to justify dropping atomic bombs on Japanese citizens in the first place.
[57] According to historian Naoko Wake, the femininity of the Maidens made them "worthy recipients of care" despite the US government's refusal to recognize their right to treatment officially.
She further claims that the Maidens' injuries served as a public spectacle and that they were "quickly replaced" by Americans who were afraid that they would become victims of atomic warfare next.
