14th photographer of mushroom cloud newly identified: Tatsuo Hada, 94, Minami Ward, took photo around 8:30 at 4.2 km from hypocenter
Nov. 6, 2023
by Masami Nishimoto, former Senior Staff Writer
A person who took a photo of the mushroom cloud created immediately after detonation of the atomic bomb has been newly identified. The photographer is Tatsuro Hada, 94. He took the photo from the garden of his home in Higashihonura-cho in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward, where he still lives. He said he took the photo approximately 4.2 kilometers from the hypocenter, and donated it to the Peace Memorial Museum. A total of 27 photos (among them, 24 still exist) of the mushroom cloud taken on the ground have been identified so far, and 14 names of the people who took the photos have been identified.
Mr. Hada graduated from First Hiroshima Prefectural Junior High School (now Kokutaiji High School) in the spring of 1945. Even though he had already graduated, he was mobilized as a student to work at Toyo Kogyo (present-day Mazda Motor Corporation). His mobilization was lifted at the beginning of August, and he was exposed to the atomic bomb at the house where he was born in former Niho-machi. He was in the tatami room facing the veranda at the time.
“When there was a flash of light, the ceiling and walls collapsed. I went out into the garden holding my two younger brothers in my arms. My father, who had just come back from the field, told me to take a photo of the cloud. I took out my bellows camera, and pressed the shutter button frantically toward the rising cloud.”
In a storehouse of the home where he was born, there was a darkroom that had been set up by his father, Chisato (who died in 1986 at the age of 86), and Mr. Hada, his eldest son, was familiar with operating a camera. He had been taking photos of his friends when he entered First Hiroshima Prefectural Junior High School.
He remembered taking four or five photos of the mushroom cloud using the film remaining in the camera. However, when he developed the negatives after the war, black spots were all over the prints due to damage to the film. He kept the one print that was good in composition and condition, while the other negatives were lost. He said there was rarely any talk about it with his father.
After the war, Mr. Hada graduated from Hiroshima University of Literature and Science (now Hiroshima University), and taught English at Fukuyama Junior and Senior High School attached to Hiroshima University. After his retirement in 1969, he operated a real estate business. When he saw Chugoku Shinbun’s article issued on October 9, he decided to disclose his taking of the photos. The article told how it had investigated and detailed 13 people who had taken photos of the atomic bomb cloud inside and outside the city, and listed the results.
Regarding the photos of the atomic bomb cloud taken in Hiroshima City at that time, the 12 photos taken at the Hiroshima Army Ordnance Supply Depot, the Army’s Marine Training Division and the field shipping workshop (all located in present-day Minami Ward) have been identified to date. Mr. Hada’s photo is the 13th photo of the mushroom cloud. Upon collating Mr. Hada’s photo with the report prepared by the Kure Naval Station of the former Imperial Japanese Army in September 1945 and other photos, the museum’s curatorial staff believes that his photo was taken around 8:30 am.
“My photography is like a collaboration with my father. As the number of people who experienced the atomic bombing becomes smaller and smaller, and because the museum was not in possession of my photo, I accepted the request for donation from the museum wishing it would be preserved if it is of some help.”
(Originally published on November 6, 2023)
A person who took a photo of the mushroom cloud created immediately after detonation of the atomic bomb has been newly identified. The photographer is Tatsuro Hada, 94. He took the photo from the garden of his home in Higashihonura-cho in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward, where he still lives. He said he took the photo approximately 4.2 kilometers from the hypocenter, and donated it to the Peace Memorial Museum. A total of 27 photos (among them, 24 still exist) of the mushroom cloud taken on the ground have been identified so far, and 14 names of the people who took the photos have been identified.
Mr. Hada graduated from First Hiroshima Prefectural Junior High School (now Kokutaiji High School) in the spring of 1945. Even though he had already graduated, he was mobilized as a student to work at Toyo Kogyo (present-day Mazda Motor Corporation). His mobilization was lifted at the beginning of August, and he was exposed to the atomic bomb at the house where he was born in former Niho-machi. He was in the tatami room facing the veranda at the time.
“When there was a flash of light, the ceiling and walls collapsed. I went out into the garden holding my two younger brothers in my arms. My father, who had just come back from the field, told me to take a photo of the cloud. I took out my bellows camera, and pressed the shutter button frantically toward the rising cloud.”
In a storehouse of the home where he was born, there was a darkroom that had been set up by his father, Chisato (who died in 1986 at the age of 86), and Mr. Hada, his eldest son, was familiar with operating a camera. He had been taking photos of his friends when he entered First Hiroshima Prefectural Junior High School.
He remembered taking four or five photos of the mushroom cloud using the film remaining in the camera. However, when he developed the negatives after the war, black spots were all over the prints due to damage to the film. He kept the one print that was good in composition and condition, while the other negatives were lost. He said there was rarely any talk about it with his father.
After the war, Mr. Hada graduated from Hiroshima University of Literature and Science (now Hiroshima University), and taught English at Fukuyama Junior and Senior High School attached to Hiroshima University. After his retirement in 1969, he operated a real estate business. When he saw Chugoku Shinbun’s article issued on October 9, he decided to disclose his taking of the photos. The article told how it had investigated and detailed 13 people who had taken photos of the atomic bomb cloud inside and outside the city, and listed the results.
Regarding the photos of the atomic bomb cloud taken in Hiroshima City at that time, the 12 photos taken at the Hiroshima Army Ordnance Supply Depot, the Army’s Marine Training Division and the field shipping workshop (all located in present-day Minami Ward) have been identified to date. Mr. Hada’s photo is the 13th photo of the mushroom cloud. Upon collating Mr. Hada’s photo with the report prepared by the Kure Naval Station of the former Imperial Japanese Army in September 1945 and other photos, the museum’s curatorial staff believes that his photo was taken around 8:30 am.
“My photography is like a collaboration with my father. As the number of people who experienced the atomic bombing becomes smaller and smaller, and because the museum was not in possession of my photo, I accepted the request for donation from the museum wishing it would be preserved if it is of some help.”
(Originally published on November 6, 2023)
