Hiroshima Summit, May 19-21: 100 days to go Photo taken by U.S. military three months after atomic bombing shows Motoujina, area around main venue of summit, and ruined city center
Feb. 8, 2023
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Senior Staff Writer
On February 8, 100 days before the opening of the Hiroshima Summit of The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations, a photograph was made available to the Chugoku Shimbun by the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Pennsylvania. This photo, which was taken about three months after the atomic bombing, shows present-day Motoujina-machi in the city’s Minami Ward. This area will be the main venue of the summit. This photo is rare in that it shows Motoujina-machi and the burned ruins of the city center in one frame. The G7 leaders are required to fully understand the horrors caused by the use of an atomic bomb 78 years ago before they engage in discussions to advance toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.
The photo was taken around November 1945 by the U.S. military, which dropped the atomic bomb. Coastal areas such as Ujina-machi (now part of Minami Ward), to the north of Motoujina-machi, look darker because some buildings survived the fire, while the central area of the city, around 2 km from the hypocenter, appears lighter in color because the entire area was destroyed by fire. Although the image is not clear, it shows the difference in the extent of damage.
When curators from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in Naka Ward, visited the center to conduct research four years ago, they found a print and the negative of this photograph among other materials left by the late Charles Loucks, an American serviceman who entered Hiroshima after the bombing. As the Hiroshima summit is approaching, the Chugoku Shimbun, with the cooperation of the museum, requested the center to prepare a scanned image of this photo for the public to see, and this image was provided.
According to the museum's curatorial division, the composition of this photo is very rare as the photo was taken shortly after the atomic bombing from the angle of the sea to include Motoujina-machi and the entire city center within one frame.
The main venue of the Hiroshima Summit to be held from May 19 to 21 is the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima in Motowujina-machi. The summit will bring together the leaders of the U.S., the nuclear superpower, the U.K. and France, both nuclear weapon states, as well as Germany, Italy, and Canada, whose security relies on nuclear deterrence, like Japan. The Japanese government is making arrangements to include in the schedule the leaders’ visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. Hiroshima prefectural and city governments are requesting the leaders to meet with A-bomb survivors.
(Originally published on February 8, 2023)
On February 8, 100 days before the opening of the Hiroshima Summit of The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations, a photograph was made available to the Chugoku Shimbun by the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Pennsylvania. This photo, which was taken about three months after the atomic bombing, shows present-day Motoujina-machi in the city’s Minami Ward. This area will be the main venue of the summit. This photo is rare in that it shows Motoujina-machi and the burned ruins of the city center in one frame. The G7 leaders are required to fully understand the horrors caused by the use of an atomic bomb 78 years ago before they engage in discussions to advance toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.
The photo was taken around November 1945 by the U.S. military, which dropped the atomic bomb. Coastal areas such as Ujina-machi (now part of Minami Ward), to the north of Motoujina-machi, look darker because some buildings survived the fire, while the central area of the city, around 2 km from the hypocenter, appears lighter in color because the entire area was destroyed by fire. Although the image is not clear, it shows the difference in the extent of damage.
When curators from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in Naka Ward, visited the center to conduct research four years ago, they found a print and the negative of this photograph among other materials left by the late Charles Loucks, an American serviceman who entered Hiroshima after the bombing. As the Hiroshima summit is approaching, the Chugoku Shimbun, with the cooperation of the museum, requested the center to prepare a scanned image of this photo for the public to see, and this image was provided.
According to the museum's curatorial division, the composition of this photo is very rare as the photo was taken shortly after the atomic bombing from the angle of the sea to include Motoujina-machi and the entire city center within one frame.
The main venue of the Hiroshima Summit to be held from May 19 to 21 is the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima in Motowujina-machi. The summit will bring together the leaders of the U.S., the nuclear superpower, the U.K. and France, both nuclear weapon states, as well as Germany, Italy, and Canada, whose security relies on nuclear deterrence, like Japan. The Japanese government is making arrangements to include in the schedule the leaders’ visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. Hiroshima prefectural and city governments are requesting the leaders to meet with A-bomb survivors.
(Originally published on February 8, 2023)
