Features

by Minami Yamashita, Staff Writer

Four huge, red-brick warehouse buildings arranged in an L-shape in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward make up the former Army Clothing Depot, one of the largest A-bombed structures remaining. Chieko Kiriake, 94, a resident of the city’s Asaminami Ward, was born and raised near the depot, which has accompanied her on her journey through life.

Her memories of the depot are still clear. “There was a large open field in front of the red brick buildings, and trolley tracks crisscrossed in all directions,” she recalled. Because her mother worked as the accountant at the depot, Ms. Kiriake attended a kindergarten on the depot grounds. “It had everything — a swing, a jungle gym, a seesaw,” she described.

After she entered the local Second Hiroshima Prefectural Girls High School (present-day Minami Senior High School), the depot became one of the places where students would be mobilized to work for the war effort. At first, she removed lint from new military uniforms and sewed buttons on them. In the closing days of the war, however, her work changed to washing and mending worn-out uniforms. "Can Japan really win the war in a situation where soldiers have to repeatedly wear used clothes?" Her supervising teacher scolded her so severely for asking questions, she ended up keeping her mouth shut.

Everyday life in wartime ended on that day, August 6, 1945. Ms. Kiriake experienced the atomic bombing at the east end of Hijiyama Bridge (in Hiroshima’s present-day Minami Ward). When she returned to her school, she saw with her own eyes severely burned students younger than she who had been mobilized to help with the work of demolishing buildings. When Mr. Kiriaki went to look for her grandmother, who had been wounded in the bombing at home and carried to a depot warehouse, she found the area to be filled with the smell of blood and excrement.

Both innocent memories and inhumane devastation are etched in the former Army Clothing Depot buildings. “Although it is a relic of war, the buildings exist for the sake of peace. I hope they will be taken good care of as a symbol of opposition to war.” With the hope that all A-bombed structures are preserved and utilized, Ms. Kiriake continues to share her memories.

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As the A-bomb survivors continue to age, the importance of A-bombed buildings as “silent witnesses” continues to grow. In January of this year, the former Army Clothing Depot buildings were designated a national important cultural asset, and in February, six A-bombed structures were designated national historic sites as “Hiroshima A-bombed ruins.” In the summer marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing, this feature series will weave together the memories that reside in each of these structures.

Keywords

Former Army Clothing Depot
The former Army Clothing Depot was a facility once used to manufacture uniforms and footwear for the former Imperial Japanese Army. The facility buildings, located 2.7 kilometers southeast of the hypocenter, were completed in 1914 and served as a temporary relief station after the atomic bombing. The depot originally consisted of 13 buildings, but now only four remain. Currently, the Hiroshima Prefectural government owns Buildings No. 1–3, and the national government is the proprietor of Building No. 4. The prefecture has expressed the idea of utilizing Building No. 1 as a base for peace education, and Buildings No. 2–4 for lodging and tourism.

(Originally published on July 21, 2024)