Shigeaki Mori

Shigeaki Mori
森 重昭
Mori (at right) in 2016
Born(1937-03-29)March 29, 1937[1]
Hiroshima, Japan
DiedMarch 14, 2026(2026-03-14) (aged 88)
Hiroshima, Japan
Alma materChuo University
OccupationHistorian
Notable workHiroshima POWs[2]

Shigeaki Mori (森 重昭, Mori Shigeaki; March 29, 1937 – March 14, 2026) was a Japanese historian from Hiroshima and a survivor of its atomic bombing. He is known for his research into Allied prisoners of war who died during the air raids on Japan. His hug with U.S. President Barack Obama during the president's visit to Hiroshima in 2016 was reported in multiple countries.

Early life and World War II

Mori was born in Koi, Hiroshima on March 29, 1937, to Toshio and Toshiko Mori, an engineer and homemaker, respectively.[3][1] He was a young boy in Hiroshima during World War II, and was eight years old when the city was destroyed with an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. At the time Hiroshima was bombed, he was walking on a bridge and was thrown into a river. He saw a large number of badly wounded people who he was unable to help.[4]

After the war, Mori attended Chuo University, studying economics. He subsequently was employed at a brokerage, and as a salesman for a company that manufactured pianos.[1][5]

Postwar research

Plaque to commemorate American soldiers killed by the atomic bomb

An atomic bomb survivor, Mori spent over 30 years researching and obtaining official recognition for United States aviators who were killed while being held as POWs in the Chugoku Military Police Headquarters, approximately 400m from the explosion's hypocenter in Hiroshima. He authored a book on the subject titled A Secret History of U.S. Servicemembers Who Died in the Atomic Bomb.[6] It has been translated to a web-based version in English.[7] A documentary film, Paper Lanterns, tells the story of Mori's work over several decades to learn and share the fate of the Americans who were killed by the blast, fire, and radiation by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.[8][9]

For decades, Mori tried to locate relatives of airmen from one of the aircraft shot down during an air raid on Kure, from the B-24J bomber Taloa. The wreckage from the downed aircraft that had been hidden by local farmers was handed over to Mori with the hope of being returned to surviving family members for closure.[10] Mori also was involved in recognizing other foreign victims of the bombing of Nagasaki, including British armed forces member Ronald Francis Shaw.[5]

Mori met and was embraced by U.S. President Barack Obama during Obama's May 2016 visit to Hiroshima.[11][12] In 2018, Mori traveled to the U.S. for the first time, visiting the Headquarters of the United Nations where Paper Lanterns was being screened.[13]

Death

Mori died in Hiroshima on March 14, 2026, at the age of 88.[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Risen, Clay (March 20, 2026). "Shigeaki Mori, Hiroshima Survivor Photographed With Obama, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  2. ↑ Mori, Shigeaki; Satoh, Paul; Ibuki, Yukako; Shavers, Mark. "Under the Atomic Bomb: American POWs in Hiroshima". Hiroshima POWs. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Shigeaki Mori obituary: Hiroshima survivor and historian". The Times. April 13, 2026. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  4. ↑ "'I still hate the glow of the setting sun': Hiroshima survivors' tales". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Parry, Richard Lloyd (February 13, 2005). "Family hunt to honour only Briton killed by atom bomb". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  6. ↑ 森, 重昭 (2008). 原爆で死んだ米兵秘史. Japan: 光人社. ISBN 978-4-7698-1399-6.
  7. ↑ Mori, Shigeaki. "The Secret History of the American POWs Killed by the Atomic Bomb".
  8. ↑ "Atomic bomb survivors begin 43-year quest to reveal fate of 12 US POWs". United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. June 20, 2018. Archived from the original on March 27, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Paper Lanterns Documentary Tells Story of WWII POWs". Boston University College of General Studies. May 29, 2018. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  10. ↑ Sumida, Chiyomi (November 18, 2008). "Hiroshima historian returns fragments of shot-down bomber to loved ones in U.S." Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  11. ↑ Liptak, Kevin; Griffiths, James (May 27, 2016). "Obama in Hiroshima calls for 'world without nuclear weapons'". CNN. Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  12. ↑ Soble, Jonathan (May 27, 2016). "Hiroshima Survivor Cries, and Obama Gives Him a Hug". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Shigeaki Mori, Hiroshima hibakusha hugged by Obama, dies at 88". The Japan Times. March 17, 2026. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  14. ↑ Kusumoto, Hana (March 18, 2026). "Hiroshima survivor who brought attention to atomic bombing's American victims dies at 88". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on March 18, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
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