Hiroshima’s Children’s Peace Monument
Houston’s MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center
As the U.S. and Japan celebrate the 75th anniversary of peace, we remember not only those lost, but also those who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of others in the aftermath of the horrifying tragedy.
It was the childhood experiences in the wake of the bombing of Hiroshima that led Japan-America Society of Houston (JASH) supporter and accomplished radiation oncologist Dr. Ritsuko Komaki Cox (Emeritus Professor from UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and Adjunct Professor of Radiation Oncology and Scientific Research Departments at the Baylor College of Medicine), to her decision to become a cancer investigator and physician.
Dr. Komaki was born in Amagasaki City, Hyogo prefecture between Osaka and Kobe. Born to parents originally from Hiroshima, the family returned to their hometown when she was four years old to assist family that had survived the atomic bomb.
During her elementary school years, she made friends with a classmate, Sadako Sasaki. Sadako, at the age of 11 after exposure to atomic bomb radiation, was diagnosed with leukemia and passed nine months later. While she was in hospital, Sadako attempted to fold 1,000 origami paper cranes, believing, as many Japanese do, that if she folded 1,000 cranes, she would recover from her illness.
After the loss of her friend, Dr. Komaki, with the help of Sadako’s older brother and their classmates, raised funds and built the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park in honor of Sadako and the many other child victims of the atomic bomb.
Soon after, Dr. Komaki began to study medicine at the University of Hiroshima where she focused on the affects of A-Bomb radiation on the human body. Having grown up with friends and family affected by this radiation, Dr. Komaki felt it her mission not only to treat those who suffered, but also work towards a world where those lost are not forgotten and that a war that took so many lives is not repeated.
Dr. Komaki’s passionate fight to rectify the damage caused by radiation has been highlighted in The New York Times, People Magazine, USA Today, ABC News and more.
Dr. Komaki’s full story can be read in Aya Fujiwara and David R. Marples’ newly released book, Hiroshima-75: Nuclear Issues in Global Contexts.
Watch Dr. Komaki speak from 2:14
Dr. Komaki’s interview broadcast on the August 6, 2020 edition of “Houston Matters” discusses how growing up in Hiroshima inspired her medical career.
Listen to Dr. Komaki speak from 13:04