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A-bomb Artifacts

ID Code 7202-0015
Artifact Name Deformed fingernail
Donor TAKAHASHI Akihiro
Receiving Date 2011/10/27
Size (W×H×D) (mm) 18×10×5
Distance from the Hypocenter(m) 1400
Number 1
Location Tokaichi, Nakahiro areas
Description Deformed fingernail
Donated by Akihiro Takahashi
Akihiro Takahashi (then, 14) was a second-year student at Municipal Junior High School and had gathered with his classmates in the schoolyard (1,400m from the hypocenter) for morning assembly when they experienced the atomic bombing. The injuries he received to his arms, legs, back, and back of the head were serious, leaving the skin hanging off of him, yet he somehow managed to stay alive. A deformed, black fingernail grew from his right index finger, which had been peppered by shards of glass, and hurt whenever he tried to cut it, so he waited for it to fall off. Until his death on November 2, 2011 at the ago of 80,he shared his atomic bomb experience with people from Japan and abroad and spent most of his life vigorously appealing for the need to abolish nuclear weapons, despite the pain from his A-bomb scars. This fingernail, removed from his finger on October 14, 2011, was his final fingernail.

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