Bringing Forth New Life Explained

is a poem by Sadako Kurihara written in August 1945 in Hiroshima after the city's atomic bombing.^[1] It tells the true story of a woman giving birth to a baby amongst the ruins, while the midwife dies of burns and exhaustion in the process. This poem was first published in March 1946 in Chugoku Shimbun. The baby was named Kazuko Kojima (小嶋和子) and is still living in Hiroshima as of 2023.^{[2] [3]} The midwife was Umeyo Miyoshi (三好梅代).

Alternate English titles for the poem are We Shall Bring Forth New Life^[4] and Let Us Be Midwives!^[5]

Notes and References

1. http://www.nhk.or.jp/peace/english/library/198006.html NHK Peace Archives
2. Web site: ヒバクシャ：2023・冬／上 小嶋和子さん（77） つながれた命、感謝を詩に . 2024-01-24 . 毎日新聞 . ja.
3. News: 2023-02-21 . Woman born 2 days after Hiroshima atomic bombing grateful for connected life . 2024-01-24 . Mainichi Daily News . en.
4. Web site: We Shall Bring Forth New Life . https://web.archive.org/web/20070721233351/http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/peacesite/English/Stage1/1-2/1-2-15E.html . 21 July 2007 . City of Hiroshima . 28 February 2008.
5. Book: Sharing the Earth. An International Environmental Justice Reader . 2015 . 203 . 9780820347707 . University of Georgia Press . Elizabeth . Ammons . Modhumita . Roy.