16 Facts About Midori Naka

Midori Naka was a Japanese stage actress of the Shingeki style.

Midori Naka initially survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, but died 18 days later.

Midori Naka was the first person in the world whose death was officially certified to be a result of radiation poisoning.

Midori Naka's notability helped publicize the adverse effects of exposure to radiation and encouraged more research on this area.

Midori Naka was born in the Nihonbashi district of Chuo, Tokyo in Japan, the third of four daughters of a military officer.

Midori Naka graduated from Osaka Jogakuin College, before joining the Asakusa samurai drama group in 1928.

Midori Naka joined the Kuraku-za theater company in 1942.

In March 1945, Naka became lead actress in the Sakura-tai, a newly formed mobile theater group organized by actor Sadao Maruyama.

Together with the Sakura-tai troupe, Midori Naka moved to Hiroshima on 7 June 1945, intent on spending the season there.

Midori Naka survived, along with Sadao Maruyama, Keiko Sonoi and Shozo Takayama.

Midori Naka was the last surviving member of Sakura-tai; all three other survivors had already died by then, due to radiation poisoning.

Midori Naka provided the first testimony of the Hiroshima bombing to be widely publicized in the media.

Midori Naka was the first person in the world whose death was officially certified to be a result of "atomic bomb disease".

Journalist Robert Jungk argues that the publicity surrounding the illness of Midori Naka, owing to her status as a public figure, was instrumental in catapulting the so-called "radiation sickness" to the public eye.

Until Midori Naka's story came forward, there was confusion and obscurity surrounding the mysterious "new sickness" from which many of the atomic bombing survivors were suffering.

Midori Naka's remains were carefully studied and were returned to Japan in 1972, in a set of glass preserving jars.