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2-2-5Human Shadow Etched in Stone


260 m from the hypocenter Kamiya-cho
Donated by Sumitomo Bank, Hiroshima Branch

These stone steps were at the entrance to the Hiroshima Branch of the Sumitomo Bank. Exposed to the atomic explosion at close range, the person sitting on the steps waiting for the bank to open is thought to have died on the spot with no possibility of escape. The intense heat of the A-bomb turned the steps whitish; the stone under the sitting person remained dark, like a shadow. Several families have suggested that the person killed on the steps may have been one of their own.