Documenting Hiroshima of 1945: In November, restoration of natural gas facilities begins
Nov. 8, 2024
by Maho Yamamoto, Staff Writer
In November 1945, the three-story, one basement floor, reinforced-concrete headquarters building of the Hiroshima Gas Company (present-day Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd.), located in the area of Ote-machi (in the city’s present-day Naka Ward), remained in ruins, with the floors and ceilings of each floor collapsed due to the blast from the atomic bombing. The building was located around 250 meters from the hypocenter. All 30 people working there at the time of the bombing had died. In the fall, work to restore the natural gas supply was underway.
Shinji Shimizu, 44 at the time, was one of those who had died there. According to the personal account of his son, Yasuhiro, four years old at the time of the bombing, who died in 2023 at the age of 81, Shinji had left home in Ushita-cho (in Hiroshima’s present-day Higashi Ward) by bicycle for work on August 6 and never returned, based on stories he heard from family members.
Yasuhiro’s older brother, Masato, 12 at the time and a first-year student at Hiroshima Municipal Shipbuilding Engineering School (present-day Hiroshima Municipal Commercial High School), also died in the bombing while riding double on Shinji’s bicycle. Yoneko, the boys’ mother, who died in 2005 at the age of 89, wandered around the city looking for her husband and son but was unable to find even their remains.
Yasuhiro mourned their deaths, writing in his personal account, “What could the heat have felt like at such a close range?” After the war, he lived in Osaka and would often visit Hiroshima. Keiko, 52, Yasuhiro’s second daughter who lives in Osaka City, used to accompany him on his visits. She recalled, “My father was tracing his family’s footsteps.”
According to Hiroshima Gas 100 Nen-shi (in English, ‘100 Year History of Hiroshima Gas Company’), published in 2010, the company’s Hiroshima Plant, located in the area of Minami-machi (in Hiroshima’s present-day Minami Ward), had also been completely destroyed, with one of its employees killed. Thirty of the company’s employees who were helping with the work of demolishing buildings to create fire lanes in the area of Kobiki-cho (in the city’s present-day Naka Ward), also died in the bombing. Ten executives from gas companies in Okayama, Matsue, and other areas who had been staying at inns in the area of Ote-machi (now part of Hiroshima’s Naka Ward) also lost their lives. They had gathered in Hiroshima City for a meeting the day before to decide on business consolidation in line with government industrial controls.
In the 1930s, gas was supplied to around 14,000 houses and buildings in the district that included Hiroshima. However, before the atomic bombing, military factories had been given priority, with supplies to households restricted. Ninety percent of the supply and internal pipes at the Hiroshima Plant were damaged in the atomic bombing and, as a result, the supply of gas was completely halted. It was not until April 1946 that the gas supply was restored to 235 households in Ujina and surrounding areas.
(Originally published on November 8, 2024)
In November 1945, the three-story, one basement floor, reinforced-concrete headquarters building of the Hiroshima Gas Company (present-day Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd.), located in the area of Ote-machi (in the city’s present-day Naka Ward), remained in ruins, with the floors and ceilings of each floor collapsed due to the blast from the atomic bombing. The building was located around 250 meters from the hypocenter. All 30 people working there at the time of the bombing had died. In the fall, work to restore the natural gas supply was underway.
Shinji Shimizu, 44 at the time, was one of those who had died there. According to the personal account of his son, Yasuhiro, four years old at the time of the bombing, who died in 2023 at the age of 81, Shinji had left home in Ushita-cho (in Hiroshima’s present-day Higashi Ward) by bicycle for work on August 6 and never returned, based on stories he heard from family members.
Yasuhiro’s older brother, Masato, 12 at the time and a first-year student at Hiroshima Municipal Shipbuilding Engineering School (present-day Hiroshima Municipal Commercial High School), also died in the bombing while riding double on Shinji’s bicycle. Yoneko, the boys’ mother, who died in 2005 at the age of 89, wandered around the city looking for her husband and son but was unable to find even their remains.
Yasuhiro mourned their deaths, writing in his personal account, “What could the heat have felt like at such a close range?” After the war, he lived in Osaka and would often visit Hiroshima. Keiko, 52, Yasuhiro’s second daughter who lives in Osaka City, used to accompany him on his visits. She recalled, “My father was tracing his family’s footsteps.”
According to Hiroshima Gas 100 Nen-shi (in English, ‘100 Year History of Hiroshima Gas Company’), published in 2010, the company’s Hiroshima Plant, located in the area of Minami-machi (in Hiroshima’s present-day Minami Ward), had also been completely destroyed, with one of its employees killed. Thirty of the company’s employees who were helping with the work of demolishing buildings to create fire lanes in the area of Kobiki-cho (in the city’s present-day Naka Ward), also died in the bombing. Ten executives from gas companies in Okayama, Matsue, and other areas who had been staying at inns in the area of Ote-machi (now part of Hiroshima’s Naka Ward) also lost their lives. They had gathered in Hiroshima City for a meeting the day before to decide on business consolidation in line with government industrial controls.
In the 1930s, gas was supplied to around 14,000 houses and buildings in the district that included Hiroshima. However, before the atomic bombing, military factories had been given priority, with supplies to households restricted. Ninety percent of the supply and internal pipes at the Hiroshima Plant were damaged in the atomic bombing and, as a result, the supply of gas was completely halted. It was not until April 1946 that the gas supply was restored to 235 households in Ujina and surrounding areas.
(Originally published on November 8, 2024)
