The memoir that is the core of A Dimly Burning Wick was created by Sadako Okuda from the diary she kept during her agonizing search for her niece and nephew after the bombing of Hiroshima, telling the stories of the children she encountered during her search. Dr. Pamela Vergun translated and edited her memoir, and Dr. Vergun brought together several contributors to provide a stronger context for understanding and analyzing Okuda’s experiences and the meaning of this event for the world’s future.

Included in this work is additional commentary and analysis written by Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Sok-Hon Ham and preeminent scholars—Historian Dr. Ronald Takaki of the University of California at Berkeley (winner of the American Book Award) and Sociologist Dr. Paul Joseph, Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Tufts University. The additional material addresses such profound issues as why the atomic bomb was dropped and how we remember Hiroshima. This book offers a rare and powerful approach to history. Written from the bottom-up, it intimately draws the reader into the events following the bombing, but also gives readers the overarching historical context and continuing relevance.

Sadako Teiko Okuda—Author
Pamela Bea Wilson Vergun—Editor and Translator
Ronald Takaki—Contributor
Paul Joseph—Contributor
Robert Vergun—Contributor
Catherine Thomasson—Contributor
Martin Donohoe—Contributor
Sok-Hon Ham—Contributor


About the Author

Sadako Okuda’s Photograph by Yumiko Goto

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan in 1914, Sadako Teiko Okuda taught sewing on a small island some 35 miles outside of Hiroshima on the day that the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. Even at that distance, the bomb permanently damaged her ability to see and hear. Until her recent retirement she taught home economics at a non-traditional high school in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. She still lives in the mountains she loves, close to her school.


About the Editor and Translator

Pamela Vergun’s Photograph by Anthony Floyd

Dr. Pamela Bea Wilson Vergun, the translator and editor of this book, is a Stanford- and Princeton-trained Ph.D. sociologist and policy analyst. Her Masters Degree is from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and her B.A. in Language Studies is from UC Santa Cruz, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Vergun’s experience includes over ten years conducting social science, evaluation, and policy research. She has presented her work on Hiroshima to college classes and faculty, community groups, book clubs, academic and professional conferences, served as the keynote speaker for city-wide events, and appeared on talk shows. She lives in the Portland, Oregon area with her husband and two children.


The Friendship that Led to this Book

Sadako Teiko Okuda and Pamela Vergun, Yamagata-ken, Japan, December 1997
Authors’ Photograph by Robert Allen Vergun.


Other Contributors

The book includes accessible background chapters that provide readers with the context of the atomic bombing.

Ronald Takaki

Ronald Takaki, Winner of the American Book Award

U.C. Berkeley Professor Ronald Takaki contributed an analysis of the American decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, based largely on the research conducted for his book Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb (Back Bay Books, 1996). His research makes use of documents with which many Americans, even public figures, are unfamiliar.

Takaki is internationally recognized for his penetrating insights covering US history, ethnic studies, the value of multiculturalism, and the significance and benefits of diversity. Takaki created the exciting and innovate class that became the basis for top-ranked B.A. and Ph.D. programs in Comparative Ethnic Studies and UC Berkeley’s American Cultures Requirement. His teaching about multiculturalism as a key American asset that Americans can make better use of reaches far beyond the University of California system and other colleges more generally.

He is a frequently-requested speaker, has contributed to Public Television and Radio programs, debated Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. at the Council on Foreign Relations, and has been instrumental in changing leading conservatives views (e.g., Nathan Glazer) on issues such as multiculturalism. Takaki’s intellectual power and passion have made a direct impact upon policy; for example, he was asked by President Bill Clinton to meet as part of the development of President Clinton’s major speech, “One America in the 21st Century: The President's Initiative on Race.”

Takaki’s other critically-acclaimed books include: Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th Century America (Knopf, 1979), Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans (Little, Brown, 1989), A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (Little, Brown, 1993), and Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II (Back Bay Books, 2001). A Different Mirror won the American Book Award and Strangers from a Different Shore was selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best 100 non-fiction books of the 20th century.

Not only did Takaki contribute an insightful chapter to this book, his participation in this project suggests the value of the book’s perspective. On a personal note, the Editor and Translator is grateful for his encouragement and experience during the publication process.



Paul Joseph

Paul Joseph, Director of Tufts University's Peace and Justice Studies Program

Dr. Paul Joseph’s contribution to this book is his insights regarding the special ways in which Hiroshima is regarded and remembered, and how Okuda’s account can be a significant contribution to helping people of the world view the event in a more powerful way. Hiroshima can become a powerful symbol of globalization—enlisting these memories on behalf of mobilizing efforts for nuclear abolition and peace.

Paul Joseph is a Professor of Sociology at Tufts University, past Chair of the Sociology Department and The Peace and Justice Studies Association, Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Tufts. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. at the University of California at Berkley and his B.A. at McGill University. Professor Joseph’s work in political sociology has looked at race and class in the United States, Maori-Pakeha (European) relations in New Zealand, the influence of social movements and public opinion on defense and foreign policy, and the politics of memory surrounding Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His books examine the Vietnam War, the security debate after the end of the Cold War, the American public’s changing relationship to war, and nuclear policy. Joseph is the author of Peace Politics: The United States Between the Old and New World Orders (Temple University Press, 1993) and Are Americans Becoming More Peaceful? (Paradigm Publishers, 2006).

Dr. Joseph’s work makes clear that a global approach to regional and international problems of economic inequality, environmental degradation, and political instability is needed to protect and improve people’s quality of life worldwide. Shared threats such as repressive governments, nuclear destruction, violations of human rights, poverty and despair, and environmental threats, combine to make citizen activism, democracy, economic justice, and environmental renewal key steps toward creating real international and domestic security and survival.

Paul Joseph, who was born and raised in New York City, loves to travel with his spouse and three children.

Dr. Pamela Vergun would like to acknowledge her appreciation for Dr. Joseph’s scholarship and also his support during the publication process, including bringing the book to the attention of his friend Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima.



Robert Vergun

Robert Vergun’s Photograph by Horgan Korok


Robert Vergun, Ph.D., coauthored the chapters on social psychology and the medical effects, as well as assisting in the process of editing the manuscript. Dr. Robert Vergun provides education research and economic analysis for Portland Community College. He has conducted education and related policy research for approximately 15 years since receiving his doctorate in Economics from U.C. Berkeley. In his spare time, he enjoys being with his family and volunteering in the community. His contributions to this book have been pivotal.



Catherine Thomasson

Catherine Thomasson, Past President of Physicians for Social Responsibility


Catherine Thomasson, MD, who served as President of the national organization Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) in 2007, wrote the foreword for A Dimly Burning Wick. She also contributed to the chapter on the medical effects of the atomic bombings.

Dr. Thomasson has continued to remain active on the PSR Board of Directors as the immediate Past President. In addition, as Oregon PSR’s Board President for five years, she led efforts to educate and organize Oregonians on issues of Global Warming and the threats that war and nuclear weapons pose to human life and health.

Dr. Thomasson has years of public health activism and experience. Under her leadership, the Oregon Chapter of PSR created a video to educate the public about misinformation in the War on Terror. As an alternative to the “War on Terror” approach to addressing terrorism PSR developed and supports the Sensible Multilateral American Response to Terrorism (SMART), which provides a rational approach focusing on strengthening international aid and law to combat terrorism. Her presentation on this approach and the DVD created from it have been extremely well received.

Dr. Thomasson has studied, written, and spoken about the impasse between the U.S. and Iran and visited Iran as a citizen diplomat in March 2007 in connection with her work with PSR. Her trip included visiting with physicians, civic leaders, and policy makers in Iran, and traveling throughout the United States to communicate her experiences and perceptions of Iranian leaders’ interest in working to resolve the political deadlock over Iran’s nuclear program through diplomacy.

She also contributed to Portland, Oregon’s water treatment policy and served on the Multnomah County West Nile Prevention Task Force with the goal of reducing pesticide use. In addition, Dr. Thomasson and the Oregon chapter of PSR succeeded in convincing all the Oregon members of the U. S. House of Representatives to vote for legislation on global warming.

Dr. Thomasson received her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and her medical degree from Wayne State University. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University. She is a staff physician and resident educator at Portland State University.

For more information about PSR, please visit www.psr.org/.



Martin Donohoe

Martin Donohoe’s Photograph by Carolyn Brunett


Martin Donohoe, MD, FACP, is one of the contributors to the chapter on the medical effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Dr. Donohoe serves on the Board of Advisors of the Oregon chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and is Chief Scientific Advisor to Oregon PSR’s Campaign for Safe Foods.

Dr. Donohoe has taught courses at UCLA, UCSF, Stanford, OHSU, Clark College and Portland State in medical humanities, public health, social justice ethics, women’s studies, and the history of medicine. He writes and frequently lectures on medicine and social justice issues in public health.

He is the creator of Public Health and Social Justice, a resource of slide shows, articles, and syllabi that can be found at http://www.phsj.org/.

Dr. Donohoe practices internal medicine with Kaiser Permanente and teaches Community Health at Portland State University. He received his BS and MD from UCLA, completed his internship and residency at the prestigious Brigham & Women’s Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Stanford University.

For more about the work of the Oregon chapter of PSR, visit http://www.oregonpsr.org/.



Sok-Hon Ham

Sok-Hon Ham’s Photograph by Norman Thorpe
Copyright 1973 by Norman Thorpe. All rights reserved. Used with permission.


Sok-Hon Ham (1901-1989), who wrote the foreword for the first Korean edition that is excerpted in this book, was one of the 20th century’s most powerful voices in Korea and in Asia for democracy and non-violence. For his dedication to non-violence and his commitment to his people and his own conscience, many call him the Gandhi of Korea.

One in seven victims of Hiroshima was of Korean descent—many brought to Japan as forced laborers. When a friend gave Sok-Hon Ham the original Japanese version of the book to read, he was awed by the tragedy, beauty, and power of Okuda’s story. He decided to translate it into Korean, but loaned his copy to another friend, Hyung Kyoon Cho, who began a translation of it even as he read it through the first time. Thus, Ham and Cho together arranged for Cho’s translation to be published, and when it appeared in Korean in 1983, Sok-Hon Ham contributed a preface to the Korean edition. Excerpts from that preface are included in this English translation.

Sok-Hon Ham was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and is well-known internationally among members of the Society of Friends (Quaker). Ham’s religious affiliation shifted from Presbyterian to the Non-Church Movement (the denomination of Sadako Teiko Okuda, with whom he was acquainted), to formally identifying himself as a Quaker. His religious and philosophical beliefs came from his complementary integration of Christianity with Taoism and other Asian philosophies, leading to his conclusion that “all religions, in the final analysis, are one” (Sok-Hon Ham, in “Kicked by God”, 1969, translated by David E. Ross).

Ham was imprisoned by the Japanese, then the Russians, and again by South Korean President Chung-Hee Park for firmly though gently standing up for what he believed. He has continued to be greatly respected by people across a wide spectrum of political, philosophical, and religious beliefs.

In addition to honors such as the nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, in October 2000 Ham was posthumously honored by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) as a national cultural figure. He left a legacy of over 20 books as well as many other writings.

For more information, please visit the Ham Sok-Hon Resource Site.




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