The man who survived two atomic bombings

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, reportedly the "unluckiest man in the world," survived both the atomic bombing at Hiroshima and later on at Nagasaki. Yamaguchi was the only person among 70 people evacuated from Hiroshima to Nagasaki, who survived the second blast. Despite that, he lived a long life until he passed away from stomach cancer at 93 years old. One could also argue that he was in fact the luckiest man in the world.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi during an interview in 2005

Reportedly the unluckiest man in the world, Mr. Tsutomu Yamaguchi, was A-bombed at Hiroshima. Later he relocated to Nagasaki, where he survived the second A-bomb attack.  Yamaguchi was the only person among 70 people evacuated from Hiroshima to Nagasaki, who survived the second blast. More surprising is that the two atomic bombs barely affected his life span, as he died of cancer at 93. One could also argue that he was in fact the luckiest man in the world. 

Yamaguchi, a resident of Nagasaki, was in Hiroshima for a business trip on behalf of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on August 6th, 1945 when the city was bombed at 8:15 AM. Despite being injured, he went back to work in Nagasaki the next day, only to experience the second atomic bombing on August 9th. As he was being told by his boss that he was "crazy" for describing the destruction caused by one bomb, the Nagasaki bomb exploded.

Yamaguchi who was 29 years old at the time, was in Hiroshima for a 3-month business trip. On August 6th he was en route to the train station with two colleagues when he realized he forgot his hanko (a personal seal or stamp commonly used in Japan for signatures and authentication purposes) and went back to get it. At 8:15 AM, he was walking towards the docks when the Little Boy atomic bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay. He recalls seeing the bomber and two parachutes, then being blown over by "a great flash in the sky". The explosion caused him temporary blindness, ruptured his eardrums, and gave him serious radiation burns on the left side of his upper body. He recovered, found his colleagues who also survived, and they spent the night in an air-raid shelter before returning to Nagasaki the next day where he received treatment for his wounds. Despite being heavily bandaged, he reported for work on August 9th in Nagasaki.

On 9 August 1945 at 11:00 AM, Yamaguchi was talking to his supervisor about the explosion in Hiroshima when the American bomber Bockscar dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on the city. Despite being located 3 km away from ground zero at his workplace, he was unscathed by the explosion. However, he was unable to change his damaged bandages and experienced high fever and persistent vomiting for a week.

Yamaguchi became deaf in his left ear due to the Hiroshima blast. He temporarily lost his hair and was frequently wrapped in bandages for years. Despite these challenges, Yamaguchi lived a healthy life. However, in his later years, he experienced health issues caused by radiation exposure, such as cataracts and acute leukemia.

His wife also endured radiation poisoning from the black rain following the Nagasaki blast and passed away in 2008 at 88 years old due to kidney and liver cancer. All three of their children reported health issues attributed to their parents' exposure.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi passed away from stomach cancer on January 4, 2010 at 93 years old. He is the only man to date to have survived two atomic bombings. 

Correction: Initially this article was posted with the comment that described Mr. Yamaguchi as the "unhappiest man in the world". This was due to an error. It has since been corrected.