Photos by Eiichi Matsumoto: The Destroyed City
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| Kamiya-cho and Hondori
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The remains of a streetcar (model 100)
Approx. 360m from the hypocenter, Togiya-cho (now, Kamiya-cho 1-chome)
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The model 100 was a wooden streetcar debuted on November 23, 1912, by Hiroshima Electric Railroad, predecessor to Hiroshima Electric Railway Company. Struck on the track as it headed out of town, it was completely burned.
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Fukuya Department Store
Approx. 710m from the hypocenter, Ebisu-cho
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At the time of the bombing, the powerful blast blew furniture, equipment and other items around the building, killing many people. During the subsequent fire, the interior was completely burned, leaving only the shell. After the bombing, the shell became an emergency relief station. After August 17, it was used for a month as a temporary infectious disease hospital. The acute effects of radiation caused bloody stools, leading to a large number of victims being diagnosed with dysentery.
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Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce Association
Approx. 260m from the hypocenter, Moto-machi
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Close enough to the hypocenter to be struck from nearly directly above, the walls around the roof were pushed over to the outside. Many people photographed the destroyed downtown area from the watchtower on this surviving building because it was comparatively tall and stood just north of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The atomic bomb killed 28 Commerce Association staff.
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Teikoku Bank, Hiroshima Branch
Approx. 360m from the hypocenter, Kawaya-cho (now, Hondori)
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The external wall on the northwest side facing the hypocenter was crushed, and most of the roof collapsed. The beams and pillars inside were bent and the reinforcing steel bars stuck out. Restoration of the badly damaged building was completed in May 1950. Reborn as a bakery and restaurant, the building is now known as Hiroshima Andersen.
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Car turned into a pile of scrap
Approx. 320m from the hypocenter, Shioya-cho (now, Ote-machi 2-chome)
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The license plate on this automobile left along the tracks in Shioya-cho says "Hiro 172."
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Fukuro-machi Elementary School
Approx. 460m from the hypocenter, Fukuro-machi
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Approximately 160 faculty and students had just started cleaning up the debris from their demolished previous wooden school building. Exposed directly to the heat and blast, very few survived. The rooms on the first floor had become an emergency relief station that accommodated many injured. Hundreds of messages were scribbled on classroom blackboards and stairwell walls to tell family members where they were going.
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The large camphor trees of Kokutaiji Temple
Approx. 420m from the hypocenter, Ko-machi (now, Naka-machi)
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In the graveyard of that temple grew four camphor trees said to be 300 years old. The trunk of the largest was seven meters in diameter. These trees were considered living natural treasures. When the streetcar line was built, the track was diverted away from the trees and the sidewalk was raised to avoid harming their roots. These beloved trees were toppled by the blast and consumed by the fire. All four died.
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