Former Bank of Japan Hiroshima Branch

The former Bank of Japan Hiroshima Branch stands in Fukuromachi, in a building completed in 1936. On 6 August 1945 it was only about 380 metres from the atomic bomb's hypocenter. Its reinforced structure survived, but survival of the building should not be confused with safety for the people inside: the upper floor burned and people lost their lives.

Closed shutters helped protect the first two floors from the worst interior damage. Immediately after the bombing, parts of the building sheltered injured people. On 8 August, payments resumed, and other financial institutions whose premises had been destroyed established temporary counters here. The building thus records both the bombing and the first efforts to restore essential urban services.

The bank left this address in 1992. Today the publicly accessible former branch retains much of its historic appearance. In the former manager's room, damaged wall panelling can be seen together with original parquet flooring and a decorative fireplace surround. Interpretation explains the building's history; other rooms accommodate exhibitions and cultural uses. The basement exhibition has its own opening schedule, different from the building's general hours. Visitors should distinguish the surviving fabric from later exhibition installations. The approximate map marker uses the prefectural tourism body's published point for this former branch, not the present-day Bank of Japan office.