The Hiroshima Maidens is a group of 25 Japanese women who were young when they were seriously disfigured as a result of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945. Keloid scars marred their faces and many of their hands were bent into claw-like positions. These women, as well as the other citizens affected by the A-bomb, were referred to as hibakusha, meaning "explosion-affected people". One of these survivors, Miyoko Matsubara, has said: , exactly 235,569 living hibakusha were certified by the Japanese government, with an average age of 75.92.