Setsuko Thurlow (b. 1932) is one of the most prominent voices among the survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. At just thirteen years old, she was a student at a girls’ school mobilized for wartime labor when the atomic bomb detonated on August 6, 1945. Buried in the rubble of a collapsing building, she narrowly survived. The majority of her classmates and teachers perished instantly. That experience, and the unimaginable suffering that followed, shaped her lifelong commitment to nuclear disarmament.
After the war, Thurlow moved to the United States and later Canada, where she built a career in social work while becoming a leading advocate for hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) and their stories. Over decades, she has spoken across the world, sharing her firsthand testimony with unwavering clarity and moral force. She played a central role in the campaign that led to the adoption of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, and was a core member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which received the Nobel Peace Prize that same year. Thurlow accepted the prize on behalf of ICAN, delivering a powerful speech that drew on her Hiroshima experience.
Mitchie Takeuchi is a Japanese American filmmaker, producer, and social justice advocate whose family history is deeply tied to the legacy of Hiroshima. Her father, Dr. Ken Takeuchi, was a young physician working at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital when the bomb was dropped. His firsthand accounts of the aftermath and his long silence on the subject profoundly influenced Mitchie’s own perspective on war, trauma, and remembrance.
Born in Japan and based in New York, Takeuchi has devoted herself to telling the stories of survivors through film and media. Her 2019 documentary The Vow from Hiroshima is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow’s life, activism, and enduring friendship with Takeuchi. The film interweaves personal memories, archival footage, and testimony to present a multigenerational dialogue on war, survival, and the power of activism. At its heart is a vow: a promise made by Thurlow and upheld by Takeuchi to ensure that the horrors of Hiroshima are never forgotten—and never repeated.
The documentary has been screened at peace events, educational institutions, and diplomatic forums worldwide. It stands not only as a tribute to Thurlow’s tireless work but also as a testament to the importance of intergenerational storytelling in preserving hibakusha memory. Through this collaboration, both women have become vital figures in the global movement for nuclear disarmament.
Setsuko Thurlow and Mitchie Takeuchi’s work exemplifies how personal histories can be transformed into collective action. Their partnership underscores the enduring impact of Hiroshima, the moral urgency of testimony, and the responsibility of future generations to carry forward the vow for peace.
Reference:
The Vow from Hiroshima. Directed by Mitchie Takeuchi. 2019.
https://thevowfromhiroshima.com/
