ABSTRACT
An estimated one thousand hibakusha were living in the United States at the end of the 1970s. Each was unique, like the individual pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, scattered across the country. An additional three hundred hibakusha probably resided in Hawaii. The number of Nisei returning to the United States from Japan peaked in 1948, and the number returning as hibakusha probably peaked about the same time. Even thereafter, however, Nisei whose departures were delayed for various reasons continued to return, and their numbers continued to include hibakusha who had the A-bomb deeply stamped on their minds and bodies. Kiyoko Oda was another hibakusha whose return to the United States was delayed. Hibakusha whose return to the United States was delayed lived through some difficult times, but some, like Shimoda and Oda, managed to put down secure roots. A larger number of hibakusha marriages were based on regional ties to Hiroshima.
