Fountain Pen

Fountain Pen
Donor: Tetsuo Kawakami, courtesy of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Tetsuo Kawakami (then, 33) was exposed near the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital on his way from home to work. Badly burned, he was taken to a relief station. His wife Kimi feared the worst, so when, a week later, she heard where he was, she ran to him. She found her husband with skin so burned it was dangling in shreds. His clothes, except his underpants, had been burned off. Thanks to Kimi's devoted care, Tetsuo was able to leave his bed a year later. This fountain pen had been in the pocket of his national uniform. When the cloth was burned away, the pen remained stuck to his skin.