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Dr. Masakazu Fujii
A successful doctor with his own private practice hospital, and one of the six central characters of Hiroshima, Dr. Fujii is arguably the least overtly “moral” character in the book. Unlike the five other…
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Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge
A German priest living in Japan, and one of the six central characters of Hiroshima. Like Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto, Father Kleinsorge is uninjured in the explosion, and he devotes himself single-mindedly to helping…
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Hatsuyo Nakamura
A widowed tailor, a mother of three, and one of the six central characters of Hiroshima. Mrs. Nakamura instinctively runs to take care of her three small children in the instant after the atomic…
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Dr. Terufumi Sasaki
A young doctor in the Red Cross Hospital, and one of the six central characters of Hiroshima. Dr. Sasaki is one of the only uninjured doctors left in Hiroshima after the bombing, and, as…
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Toshiko Sasaki
A clerk in the East Asia Tin Works corporation, and one of the six central characters of Hiroshima, Toshiko Sasaki is the character whose life is arguably most overtly changed by the Hiroshima bombing…
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Get the entire Hiroshima LitChart as a printable PDF.
Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto
A Methodist minister, and one of the six central characters of Hiroshima, Reverend Tanimoto is uninjured in the bombing on August 6, 1945. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, he tends to the…
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Emperor Hirohito
The emperor of Japan during World War Two, Emperor Hirohito played a relatively minor role in running his country, but nevertheless wielded a huge amount of symbolic power over his country. When the Allies dropped…
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President Harry Truman
33rd president of the United States, who presided over the final days of World War Two in the Pacific Theater and made the executive decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman remains…
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Minor Characters
Father Cieslik
A priest who works alongside Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge.
Norman Cousins
The editor of the Saturday Review, who later joins forces with Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto and campaigns for the victims of the Hiroshima bombing.
Mr. Fukai
The secretary of Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge’s mission, who later commits suicide by running into a burning building.
Dr. Tatsutaro Hattori
Director of the Red Cross Hospital in Yokohama.
Mr. Hoshijima
The catechist at Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge’s mission.
Mrs. Kamai
A young woman who is Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto’s neighbor.
Father LaSalle
A priest in Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge’s mission.
Captain Robert Lewis
The co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Dr. Machii
A colleague of Dr. Masazaku Fujii.
Shizue Masugi
A journalist who works with Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto to raise funds for the female burn victims of Hiroshima.
Mr. Matsuo
A friend whose possessions Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto helps move to another house on the day of the bombing.
Lieutenant John D. Montgomery
The Military Government adviser of Japan immediately following Japan’s surrender in World War Two.
Mrs. Murata
Housekeeper for Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge’s mission.
Mr. Nakamoto
A neighbor of Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, and head of the Neighborhood Association.
Mrs. Nakamoto
A neighbor of Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura and the wife of Mr. Nakamoto.
Yaeko Nakamura
One of Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura’s three children.
Myeko Nakamura
One of Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura’s three children.
Toshio Nakamura
One of Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura’s three children.
Mr. Okuma
A friend of Dr. Masazaku Fujii, whose home is destroyed in a flood shortly after the Hiroshima bombing.
Father Schiffer
A priest who works alongside Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge.
Miss Tanaka
A neighbor of Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto.
Koko Tanimoto
The infant daughter of Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto.
Yoshida
Head of the Neighborhood Association in the neighborhood near Father Kleinsorge’s church.
Satsue Yoshiki
The cook for the church to which Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge transfers in his later years.
