Nyokodo, Dr. Nagai Takashi

Dr. Nagai Takashi (3 February 1908 – 1 May 1951) was a Catholic physician specializing in

radiology, an author, and a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. His subsequent life

of prayer and service earned him the affectionate title “saint of Urakami”.

Nyokodo, which is adjacent to the Takashi Nagai Memorial Hall, is Dr. Takashi Nagai’s hospital

room and study. This 2-tatami building was built as a new home for the doctor, with the generosity

of the people of Urakami and fellow Catholics who were left penniless by the atomic bombing.

The doctor named this building “Nyokodo,” meaning “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and spent

his later years here. Dr. Nagai fought the onslaught of leukemia and worked hard to write even

though he was bedridden. From this room of just two tatami mats, the doctor continued to harass

the people of Urakami, writing novels such as “The Chains of the Rosary,” “Leaving the Child,”

“The River of Life,” and “The Bells of Nagasaki.

Massage for World Peace from Dr. Nagai

The person who pray for peace must not hide even needles, for a person who possesses

is not qualified to pray peace.