The "Inheritance" of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Rethinking the Bombings towards a Post-Survivor World

ith 2025 marking the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this timely study focuses on the challenge of keisho or "inheritance" and the way a new generation of scholars and activists is re-examining the meaning of the A-bomb and the 80-year history of commemoration and activism in the stricken cities. Comprising a team of scholars based in the USA and Japan, many of whom are academics from this new generation, The"Inheritance" of Hiroshima and Nagasaki takes a critical look at a range of historical topics from the 80-year history of post-atomic Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and beyond. By examining both global connections and the local history of the two cities, this book extricates memory from a national Japanese perspective, rethinking the history of survivors, their experience, and their movement and exploring material culture and the problem of inheritance and legacy.