The radiation that infected the air of Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the first and second nuclear attacks lend a physical manifestation to the idea that Japan was literally haunted by the ghost of the atomic bomb. It is important to recognize that the atomic bombs left permanent signs of impact that exceeded physical damage; When calculating the casualties and the radius of the explosion, the psychological effect experienced by the victims of this unprecedented disaster is lost. A dichotomy of sorts, the bomb appeared in a flash, incomprehensible, alien, and unknown, and left an emotional scar that manifested as the concept of Hibakusha, which is directly translated as “people affected by the explosion.” Through individual examples of victims, both direct and indirect, of the bomb, the complex ways in which the bomb affected these people psychologically become evident; the Hibakusha struggled to reconcile their emotional experience within the larger national narrative, illustrating how profound the seismic shock of the bomb was. In many ways, the aftermath of the atomic bomb was a far more effective agent of nationalistic erosion against survivors than the actual attack, because of the permanent physical and emotional memories left in its wake. While the bomb was primarily designed to inflict physical pain on the Japanese people, the rubble created a deeper and irreparable psychological devastation that can be seen in Hibakusha narratives such as that of Tamiki Hara. Hara's world, the world of the survivor, is characterized by uniform emotional boundaries: his sincere gratitude for his survival of the attacks is constantly tested and limited by the horrors he has experienced and their lasting imprints... middle of paper …not physical and emotional memories of death, a silent recognition of shared suffering, and a broader desire to rationalize such irrational tragedy. In this course we have looked at many examples of physical victims of attacks, but it is equally important to also consider the hibakusha, the survivors of the attacks whose lives metaphorically ended (or at least radically changed) that day. The tragedy and destruction of the attacks is not just about the number of victims and collateral damage; it exists in the lives of those fortunate enough to survive but not fortunate enough to be spared the knowledge of such inhumanity. It is this loss of mortal innocence that infects Hara and every other individual who experiences an episode of unprecedented suffering, and ultimately demonstrates that in the face of such a disaster, all are made victims..