Kiyoshi Tanimoto

In 1945, Kiyoshi Tanimoto was a Methodist pastor serving in Hiroshima, Japan. Tanimoto, who had been educated in the United States, survived the atomic bombing of the city on August 6, 1945. In 1951 he met Shigeko Niimoto, a young woman whose face had been severely disfigured as a result of the blast, when she was 13 years old. Shigeko and other young women like her in Hiroshima were suffering not only from their physical injuries, such as severe facial scarring, fused fingers, and the loss of eyes and noses, but also from the shame and social rejection that accompanied their disfigurement. Moved by their plight, Reverend Tanimoto organized a support group for the women, and began pursuing efforts to help them get the plastic surgery they needed.

American journalist and editor Norman Cousins became aware of Tanimoto’s work and offered to help. Because there were no facilities for the necessary surgery in Japan, Cousins and Tanimoto began trying to raise the funds to bring the twenty-five young women to the U.S. for treatment. The media dubbed them “The Hiroshima Maidens,” and soon there was an outpouring of support. Surgeons at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York offered to provide the surgical care for free, and over 30,000 Americans donated the money needed to pay for the women’s travel from Japan.

On their arrival in the U.S. in May 1955, the Maidens became a media sensation. When Reverend Tanimoto was featured on an of episode of the television program "This is Your Life," two of the Hiroshima Maidens appeared on the show, although hidden discreetly behind a screen due to their injuries.

Ultimately over 180 separate operations were performed on the Hiroshima Maidens, and the operations were largely successful, allowing the women to return to relatively normal lives. The work begun by Shigeko Niimoto and Kiyoshi Tanimoto had not only brought much-needed medical care to the women, it also helped draw public attention to the horrors of nuclear war.

One of the photos is of Shigeko Niimoto and Kiyoshi Tanimoto, after Shigeko's surgery, and the other is a group photo of some of the Maidens following the completion of their surgeries.

Reverend Tanimoto and two of the Hiroshima Maidens appeared on "This is Your Life" on May 11, 1955.