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Description
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■ What is an A-bombed Structure?
A-bombed structures are "those that were affected in some way by the atomic bombings and remained as buildings afterwards" (Survey Study Group of A-bombed Structures, 1996: 20). The "Report on Preserving the Legacy of A-bombed Buildings and Structures" (1992) defines the area of such structures as within five kilometers of the hypocenter for buildings (non-wooden and wooden buildings) and bridges (permanent bridges (heavy-duty bridges constructed of reinforced concrete or steel) and wooden bridges), and within approximately two kilometers for trees and other structures (Survey Study Group of A-bombed Structures, 1996: 16-20).
■ Damage Caused by the A-bomb
Most buildings within two kilometers of the hypocenter were completely destroyed or burned to the ground due to the tremendous blast and intense heat of the atomic bomb except for a few, and of those within three to five kilometers—many wooden buildings (about 77%) were half destroyed, half burned, or badly damaged (Survey Study Group of A-bombed Structures, 1996: 12-14,16-19). Although some heavily damaged buildings were restored and used, they were eventually demolished and rebuilt in the process of reconstruction due to land readjustment and similar reasons, disappearing one after another from around 1965 onward.
■ Demolition and Partial Preservation of City Hall
The City of Hiroshima initially took the position that only the Atomic Bomb Dome should be preserved as an A-bombed building but surrounding the demolition of City Hall demand grew for the partial preservation of the building. Finally, the paving stones in the front plaza of the old city hall building, dry area capstones and part of the side wall of the arch on the roof where the heat rays of the atomic bomb could be seen, were preserved in the basement. The former city hall building was reborn in 1986 as the "Old City Hall Exhibition Room (Former Hiroshima City Hall)" (Survey Study Group of A-bombed Structures, 1996: 286-287).
■ Project for Preserving the Legacy of A-bombed Buildings and Structures
Based on a resolution passed by the Hiroshima City Council in March 1990 the City of Hiroshima established the "Council for Reviewing Legacy Preservation Strategies for A-Bombed Buildings and Structures" in August of the same year and the "Committee for Reviewing Legacy Preservation Strategies for A-Bombed Buildings and Structures" was formed the following year. In August 1992, the committee submitted its report and identified four methods for preserving the legacy of the A-bombed structures: １ total preservation, ２ partial preservation, ３ symbolic preservation, and ４ preservation of records.
In May 1993, the City of Hiroshima established the "Hiroshima City Project for the Preservation of the Legacy of A-bombed Buildings and Structures," and has been registering existing buildings and other structures within a five-kilometer radius of the hypocenter in the A-bombed structures registry. In addition, through a subsidy program for repair work the window frames of the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and similar items were preserved (in FY1993) and the exterior walls and other parts of Hiroshima Andersen (the Hiroshima branch of the Teikoku Bank at the time of the atomic bombing) were repaired. Additionally, at Hiroshima Parco shopping center (completed in 1994), which was built on the site of the Kirin Beer Hall part of the exterior wall of the old building was embedded in the wall of the newly constructed building as a remnant of the atomic bombing (Survey Study Group of A-bombed Structures, 1996: 252).
In October 2016, when the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Site was designated as a National Historic Site, the City of Hiroshima began to consider designating other A-bombed buildings besides the Atomic Bomb Dome as national historic sites with the aim of preserving and utilizing the A-bombed buildings in the future with government support. In January 2024, the Agency for Cultural Affairs designated all four buildings of the "Former Army Clothing Depot" as National Important Cultural Properties (tangible cultural property), and in February of the same year the "Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Site" was designated as a National Cultural Property (historic site). The Former Army Clothing Depot reminds us that Hiroshima was once a military capital.
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