Former Sarugaku-cho, Hiroshima City: Pre-bomb Town Revived with Computer Graphics

8/1/00

The Hiroshima neighborhood of Sarugaku-cho (now Otemachi 1-chome, Naka-ku) was near the hypocenter of the atomic bombing. It vanished. Now, some former residents are bringing it back to life through the magic of computer graphics. A portion of the film, still in production, was released publicly for the first time on July 31st. In it we can see the signs on the shops lining the street and the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (now the A-bomb Dome). This realistic reproduction brings back the peaceful nature of this town before the atomic bombing.

The film shown was approximately three minutes long, and it was viewed by approximately 50 people attending a Memorial Ceremony for the Victims of Sarugaku-cho, which was held at the Prefectural Culture Center, Otemachi 1-chome. The film shows how the neighborhood looked in 1944, before the beginning of the fire-lane demolition project. The signs of the tobacco and furniture shops, the fire cisterns, the hand pumps?the film insists on complete detail. In the back, the sight of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall contributes to the active and energetic pre-bombing atmosphere.

The reproduction project was initiated in 1998 by the Hypocenter Reproduction Committee, a group that includes a film production company in Naka-ku and the Yagura Kai, a club of people with connections to the old Sarugaku-cho. The film is based on pre-bombing photographs and the memories of former residents.

The film will gradually expand its scope, and by August next year, the reproduced street will include fifty houses. People will be walking in the street and we will hear their conversations. The reproduction will be used for a 50-minute film that will incorporate A-bomb testimony.

[Caption] Looking west to east down a street in Sarugaku-cho, as reproduced by computer graphics. Until some were demolished for a fire lane, the neighborhood included vegetable, furniture and other shops.


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