I Killed the King With My Lies

..May 2019.. ..Hiroshima..

Earlier this week I received the sad news that atomic bomb survivor Mrs. Kazu Sueishi passed away almost two years ago.  I had photographed her in 2010 when she visited New York City high school and university students.  My time with Mrs. Sueishi was short but her message of peace was everlasting.  

Mrs. Sueishi’s father was from Hiroshima Prefecture and became a merchant in California.   Kazu was born in the Pasadena but her family moved back to Japan in the 1920’s when she was still young. 

When the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima Kazu was eighteen years old. The family lived a little over a mile away from the hypocenter.  She suffered permanent injuries when pieces of wood flew into and stuck in leg. 

Twelve years after the bombing Kazu traveled to the United States and married a second-generation Japanese-American.  She lived the last 50 years of her life mostly in Los Angeles.  She had to travel to back to Hiroshima whenever her health worsened because she was denied medical coverage in the United States until she qualified for public health insurance at the age of 65.