Photo/Illutration The photograph of Nario Harada being treated for burns on his face at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital on Aug. 10, 1945 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

It has taken 78 years, but the boy in an iconic photograph of him being treated for horrific facial burns after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima finally has a name, Nario Harada.

The image has long been prominently displayed at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, but until this summer the identity of the youngster had remained a mystery.

Harada, a 16-year-old student soldier, was practicing fighting with a bamboo spear about 1.7 kilometers from ground zero when the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

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Nario Harada when he was a third-year junior high school student (Provided by his family)

He was treated four days later for severe burns to his face, hands and other parts of his body at what was then known as the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital, where the photograph was taken. He died in 1999 at the age of 70.

“I contacted the museum after recalling my father telling me (about the photograph) more than 30 years ago,” said the son, Shogo Harada, 50. “I am glad that I have been able to leave (his name) as a trace of his life.”

Harada, who lives in Settsu, Osaka Prefecture, said his father told him that the photograph was of him when the family visited the Hiroshima museum.

Harada said he was surprised because his father rarely mentioned his wartime experiences.

He said he had forgotten about the photograph until last summer when he read an article online that mentioned the image.

The photograph was among 10 taken by Asahi Shimbun lensman Hajime Miyatake when he visited the hospital as part of a propaganda unit assembled by the military.

It was published in the Sept. 4, 1945, issue of the Osaka edition of The Asahi Shimbun with three other photographs.

They clearly were considered valuable news photographs that depicted the reality of the atomic bombing because the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers imposed press restrictions soon after.

The Asahi Shimbun asked Masatsugu Hashimoto, a forensic anthropologist and professor emeritus at Tokyo Dental College, to analyze the image this summer after learning from the museum about Harada’s inquiry.

After studying 30 photographs provided by the family, Hashimoto concluded it is “safe to believe” that the boy is Nario Harada.

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Nario Harada when he was 69, shortly before his death in 1999 (Provided by his family)

He cited the distinctive shape of Nario Harada’s ears, among other physical characteristics, in making a positive I.D.

The doctor who treated Nario Harada was identified in 2018 as Koichi Nagata, who was the head of obstetrics and gynecology at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital.

Hironobu Ochiba, a curator at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, noted the long odds against identifying someone photographed in the chaos following the atomic bombing so many decades later.

“People are able to feel closer to those in an old photograph and think about what became of each and every one of them if their names, ages and the situations they faced in the atomic bombing are known,” Ochiba said.

“Such details will help drive home the point that the atomic bomb was dropped over a city that was home to many people and that many innocent young people such as Harada were injured and victimized.”

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