Documenting Hiroshima of 1945: Early December, remains of A-bomb victims kept at Hiroshima City Hall moved to temple
Dec. 8, 2024
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Senior Staff Writer and Maho Yamamoto, Staff Writer
In early December 1945, the unclaimed remains of A-bomb victims maintained in a temporary resting place at Hiroshima City Hall were removed from the building. According to the Chugoku Shimbun published at that time, the remains of around 6,000 victims, including those with unknown names and addresses, were moved to Zenpoji Temple in the area of Koi-machi (in Hiroshima’s present-day Nishi Ward).
The City Hall building, a ferroconcrete structure that had withstood the fires after the atomic bombing, was located in Kokutaiji-cho (in Hiroshima’s present-day Naka Ward), around one kilometer from the hypocenter. The building was used as a temporary resting place for unclaimed victims’ remains starting soon after the atomic bombing. The mayor’s official office on the second floor was filled with piles of boxes containing the remains.
The Hiroshima City government established a counseling staff for identifying the missing victims. Among the remains of about 9,000 victims that the city accepted, the remains of around 3,000 people had been handed down to surviving families by November 17. On that same day, the Chugoku Shimbun reported the city’s policy to suspend the work of handing the remains over to bereaved families but, despite that, citizens continued to visit the city office in search of the remains of family members. Female employees in the tax department continued to recite Buddhist sutras for the remains.
However, the offices were simply too damaged to continue storing the remains. Shinso Hamai, who became the assistant mayor in December of that year, described the winter in City Hall, which had lost its doors and window frames, in his book Genbaku Shicho (in English, ‘A-bomb mayor’), published in 1967. “White snowdrifts would accumulate in both the mayor’s office and the assistant mayor’s office after snow storms,” wrote Mr. Hamai. “We didn’t even have charcoal with which to warm ourselves. Because pieces of wood collected from the ruins were being burned, everywhere in the building was smoked and charred black.”
The city government determined to continue handing over victims remains to families but also called on citizens to visit Zenpoji Temple if they wanted to continue searching for the remains of missing family. Moreover, according to the Chugoku Shimbun edition dated November 7, the city government revealed its idea “to soon build a memorial tower for citizens killed in the war for joint burial.” A large number of remains were also gathered at the ruins of Jisenji Temple, which was located in what is now Peace Memorial Park.
A submission carried in the Chugoku Shimbun edition dated December 25, read, “I propose that a Memorial Tower (tentative) be built to console the souls of the remains and the other victims of the atomic bombing … In addition, I think it would be meaningful to make August 6 the anniversary of the disaster in Hiroshima every year, mourn for the souls of these victims, and pray for peace, but what do others think? The spirit of Hiroshima’s citizens would start to recover with such a memorial tower where incense and flowers are always offered every morning and evening.” Concrete action would start after the beginning of the new year.
(Originally published on December 8, 2024)
In early December 1945, the unclaimed remains of A-bomb victims maintained in a temporary resting place at Hiroshima City Hall were removed from the building. According to the Chugoku Shimbun published at that time, the remains of around 6,000 victims, including those with unknown names and addresses, were moved to Zenpoji Temple in the area of Koi-machi (in Hiroshima’s present-day Nishi Ward).
The City Hall building, a ferroconcrete structure that had withstood the fires after the atomic bombing, was located in Kokutaiji-cho (in Hiroshima’s present-day Naka Ward), around one kilometer from the hypocenter. The building was used as a temporary resting place for unclaimed victims’ remains starting soon after the atomic bombing. The mayor’s official office on the second floor was filled with piles of boxes containing the remains.
The Hiroshima City government established a counseling staff for identifying the missing victims. Among the remains of about 9,000 victims that the city accepted, the remains of around 3,000 people had been handed down to surviving families by November 17. On that same day, the Chugoku Shimbun reported the city’s policy to suspend the work of handing the remains over to bereaved families but, despite that, citizens continued to visit the city office in search of the remains of family members. Female employees in the tax department continued to recite Buddhist sutras for the remains.
However, the offices were simply too damaged to continue storing the remains. Shinso Hamai, who became the assistant mayor in December of that year, described the winter in City Hall, which had lost its doors and window frames, in his book Genbaku Shicho (in English, ‘A-bomb mayor’), published in 1967. “White snowdrifts would accumulate in both the mayor’s office and the assistant mayor’s office after snow storms,” wrote Mr. Hamai. “We didn’t even have charcoal with which to warm ourselves. Because pieces of wood collected from the ruins were being burned, everywhere in the building was smoked and charred black.”
The city government determined to continue handing over victims remains to families but also called on citizens to visit Zenpoji Temple if they wanted to continue searching for the remains of missing family. Moreover, according to the Chugoku Shimbun edition dated November 7, the city government revealed its idea “to soon build a memorial tower for citizens killed in the war for joint burial.” A large number of remains were also gathered at the ruins of Jisenji Temple, which was located in what is now Peace Memorial Park.
A submission carried in the Chugoku Shimbun edition dated December 25, read, “I propose that a Memorial Tower (tentative) be built to console the souls of the remains and the other victims of the atomic bombing … In addition, I think it would be meaningful to make August 6 the anniversary of the disaster in Hiroshima every year, mourn for the souls of these victims, and pray for peace, but what do others think? The spirit of Hiroshima’s citizens would start to recover with such a memorial tower where incense and flowers are always offered every morning and evening.” Concrete action would start after the beginning of the new year.
(Originally published on December 8, 2024)
