Shigeo Hayashi October 1945 In front of the approach to Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine Photo by Tsuneo Tago
Shigeo Hayashi (林 重男, Hayashi Shigeo, 1918–2002) was a Japanese photographer. After three years of Army service he began his career as a photographer with the Japanese propaganda magazine FRONT, in 1943. In September 1945 he was one of two photographers assigned by the Special Committee for the Investigation of A-bomb Damage to document the aftermath of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In subsequent decades he worked as a commercial photographer. He died in 2002 at the age of 84.
It was the first clear day in the several since my arrival in Hiroshima. As I had planned the day before, first thing in the morning I climbed to the rooftop watchtower of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce Association) to take panoramic photos of the burnt plain of the city.
“Unbelievable,” I found myself mumbling. I turned and turned, trying to take in the spectacle. “I’m not dreaming. This is for real.”
From Approaching Ground Zero (Iwanami Junior Paperbacks), by Shigeo Hayashi
Hiroshima Panorama
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The Plain of Rubble
From a watchtower of the Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce Association
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 260m
October 5, 1945
From the roof of new Chugoku Shimbun building
Location: Kami-Nagarekawa-cho (now, Ebisu-cho)
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 870m
Panoramic photos from the new Chugoku Shimbun building that stood where Mitsukoshi Department Store stands now. From the observation room on the roof, one could see the entire city, the Chugoku mountain range and surrounding islands. That entire landscape was transformed on August 6 1945.
Assembled by Gordon Belray 2022.
Shimomura Jewelers
Location: Hirataya-cho (now, Hondori)
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 620m
Established in 1873, Shimomura Jewelers built this new store in 1928. One of the first stores to be constructed of ferro-concrete, its clock tower with clocks on all four sides was eye-catching. However, since the structure lacked internal support pillars, the side walls gave way under the atomic blast. The second floor and clock tower remained erect on the pulverized first floor, as if sitting on an incline.
Building Crushed and Tilted by the Blast
620m from the hypocenter Hirataya-cho, Shimomura Jewelers
early October 1945
The roofs, windows, doors, and even the interior furniture and fixtures of ferro-concrete buildings in the vicinity of the hypocenter were crushed, blown apart, then reduced to ashes by the conflagration that followed immediately after the explosion. Even building interiors over 1 kilometer away were destroyed by fire. The first floor of this building was smashed. Only the second floor remained, with its arched windows and clock tower wreckage leaning precariously.Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall
Location: Sarugaku-cho (now, Ote-machi 1 chome)
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 160m
The building was constructed in 1915 as Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall. In 1921, the name changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall and again in 1933 to Industrial Promotion Hall. Besides displaying and selling products from around the prefecture, it also served as a history and art museum. As the war intensified, these roles withered and various government offices took over the space, including the Chugoku-Shikoku Public Works Office of the Home Ministry and the Lumber Control Corporation. The atomic bombing killed everyone in the building. Because the bomb exploded virtually overhead, it retained the distinctive feature that earned it the name "A-bomb Dome" after the war.Motoyasu Bridge and the Fuel Hall
Location: Central portion of the Motoyasu Bridge
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 130m
The railing on the south side of the Motoyasu Bridge fell over except for the newel posts. The three-story ferro-concrete Fuel Hall was built in 1929 as the Taishoya Kimono Shop. After the Textiles Control Ordinance, the building was acquired by the Prefectural Fuel Rationing Union in 1944. The A-bomb fires gutted the building except the basement. After the war the building was repaired and kept in use, becoming the Peace Memorial Park Rest House in 1982.The team confers
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 170m
The team confers in front of the large torii gate on the approach to Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine. They went over the day's schedule for each sub-team (physics, biological, medical, and civil engineering construction) before setting out for their respective destinations.The survey team shortly after arrival in Hiroshima
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 160m
The survey team members gathered on the approach to Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine are facing the hypocenter.
Academic Survey Team Carrying out Studies
October 1, 1945
Japan Film Corporation Photographers accompanied an academic Survey team during its investigations. The precious Photographs and footage they took were taken home by the Occupation Army and finally returned in 1967 and 1973.The survey team shortly after arrival in Hiroshima
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 160m
The survey team members gathered on the approach to Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine are facing the hypocenter.
Academic Survey Team Carrying out Studies
October 1, 1945
Japan Film Corporation Photographers accompanied an academic Survey team during its investigations. The precious Photographs and footage they took were taken home by the Occupation Army and finally returned in 1967 and 1973.Large torii gate on the approach to Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 170m
Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine had three torii gates. The largest one on the approach near the hypocenter was the only torii still erect because it took the blast almost vertically. The tablet hanging from the torii on the hypocenter side was merely knocked askew, not blown off. In 1956, the shrine was rebuilt on the remains of the central bailey (honmaru) of Hiroshima Castle. The large torii and its hanging tablet were moved to the back entrance, and the stone lanterns and stone guardian dogs to the main shrine entrance.Stone lantern cracked in pieces by the heat ray
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 330m
One of the pair of stone lanterns on the south side of the front building of Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine. On the side facing the hypocenter, the capping stone and the three-tiered base stones were cracked by the heat ray, and some pieces fell off. The reaction of granite to heat made it useful for measuring the temperature and direction of the heat ray.Urakami Church is seen from the Matsuyama-machi
This area of private houses were destroyed and burnt down by intense blast and heat rays. Central back is Urakami Church (the present Urakami Cathedral). Right end, the road leads to Urakami Church (the present Urakami Cathedral) from the hypocenter.
Details
Title: Urakami Church is seen from the Matsuyama-machi
Date: 1945-10-12/1945-10-22
Location: Nagasaki CitySanno Shinto Shrine
The torii arch of one pillar of the stone steps of an approach is the second torii of Sanno Shinto Shrine, and one of the two's pillar has collapsed by blast. The big camphor tree of the back is a tree of Sanno Shinto Shrine. The branches and leaves were blown away by the blast and the trunk became charred by heat rays. All the private houses of this neighbourhood were demolished and burned down.
Date: 1945-10-12/1945-10-22
Location: Nagasaki CitySanno Shinto Shrine
Shigeo Hayashi
The branches and leaves of two big camphor trees of Sanno Shinto Shrine blew away by bomb blast and intense heat rays, and the trunk broke from the middle and became charred. But the sprout has begun to appear.
Date: 1945-10-12/1945-10-22
Location: Nagasaki CityMessage board for persons connected to Shima Hospital
Location: Saiku-machi (now, Ote-machi 1 chome)
Propped on a fire cistern is the message board hospital director Kaoru Shima set up for anyone seeking the whereabouts of loved ones connected to the hospital. At the time of the bombing, Dr. Shima was out of town examining patients in another city. When he heard the news, he returned home with all the first-aid supplies he could carry and began treating the injured. His hopes when he prepared the board were dashed. No one in the building survived.Boneset plant with variegated coloration
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 900m
This boneset plant grew in the ruins of the Imperial Headquarters at Hiroshima Castle. Radiation damage caused unusual white coloration. Setaria viridis and Cyperus microiria growing in the same area showed no such damage.Phytolacca esculenta with unusual coloration
Location: Moto-machi
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 900m
This Phytolacca esculenta grew in the ruins of the Imperial Headquarters at Hiroshima Castle. Radiation damage caused unusual coloration and deformation of the leaves.Trousers with black rain stains
Location: Koi-machi (now, Koi-ue)
Distance from hypocenter: approx. 3,700m
When the team traveled to west Hiroshima to study the effects of black rain, they discovered these stained trousers in a private home in Koi-machi and learned that the rain was like dirty water.
