Michiko Kodama was 7 years old when the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima.

She has dedicated the rest of her life to advocating for global nuclear disarmament, sharing her tragic testimony of the bombing and its aftermath to anyone who will listen. Together with other “hibakusha”, or atomic bomb survivors, Kodama’s testimony laid a foundation for a global peace movement in the 20th century. 

To commemorate the 74th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima/Nagasaki, in 2019, Kodama toured throughout the DC area to share her testimony and energize a new generation of Americans to stay vigilant of the threat of nuclear war. After her talk at Eaton DC, she presented us with 1000 origami paper cranes hand made by Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, symbolizing their sincerest hope for lasting world peace. 

The short film “Hibakusha” by Director Luke Adams, documents Kodama’s journey to DC, centering her experiences and exploring how the peace movement’s “old guard” transfers knowledge to a new generation of activists, who are confronting the same impulses that killed over a quarter million innocent people in three days. 

For many of us, world peace is a distant dream, but for a Hiroshima survivor, it is a necessary one.