Atomic Bombing
原子爆弾投下
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
History
This theme covers the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in August 1945 and the bombed structures, memorials and museums that remain in the two cities. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., the United States dropped an atomic bomb ("Little Boy") on Hiroshima from the B-29 Enola Gay, and on August 9, at 11:02 a.m., a second bomb ("Fat Man") exploded over the Urakami district of Nagasaki. These remain the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare.
The bombs were developed from 1942 under the Manhattan Project, and the first nuclear test took place in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Hiroshima was a military city, seat of the Second General Army headquarters and the port of Ujina; Nagasaki had Mitsubishi shipyards and arms works, and was bombed after the primary target for the second mission, Kokura, was obscured. Heat, blast and radiation destroyed the city centres in an instant. The dead cannot be counted precisely; the usual estimates to the end of 1945 are about 140,000 in Hiroshima and about 74,000 in Nagasaki, so that the bombings killed over 200,000 people. The victims included, besides Japanese civilians and soldiers, many Koreans, Chinese, mobilised students and Allied prisoners of war. Survivors (hibakusha) suffered lasting radiation effects and social discrimination.
The role of the bombs in Japan's surrender remains debated: some regard them as a decisive factor, while other research stresses the shock of the Soviet entry into the war on August 9 or the combined effect of both. Under the occupation, reporting and research on the damage were restricted by censorship. After the Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident of 1954 a nationwide movement against atomic and hydrogen bombs arose, and support for hibakusha was built up through legislation from 1957. The Atomic Bomb Dome was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996, and Nihon Hidankyō, the national confederation of survivors' organisations, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024.
Under this theme visitors will find bombed buildings and remains near the hypocentres — the Atomic Bomb Dome, former banks and schools, the ruined wall of Urakami Cathedral and the one-legged torii; the cenotaphs and monuments of the peace parks; the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and the national peace memorial halls; and military sites linked to the bombings, such as the former Army Clothing Depot in Hiroshima.
Related sites (25)
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Atomic Bomb Dome)
広島平和記念碑（原爆ドーム）
The iconic ruin of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, preserved as a memorial to the atomic bombing of August 6, 1945.
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park
長崎原爆落下中心地
The ground zero site of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, now a memorial park.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
広島平和記念資料館
The world's foremost museum dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Designed by architect Kenzo Tange and opened in 1955, the museum houses artifacts, photographs, and survivor testimonies that convey the catastrophic human cost of nuclear weapons. More than 70 million people have visited since its founding, a mark passed in 2017.
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
長崎原爆資料館
The principal museum documenting the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Opened in April 1996 to replace the aging Nagasaki International Culture Hall, the largely underground facility houses artifacts, photographs, and exhibits conveying the reality of nuclear destruction and advocating for lasting peace.
Niigata City Peace Monument (Mitokyō Park)
新潟市平和祈念碑（水戸教公園）
Peace monument erected on August 10, 1998 in Mitokyō Park overlooking Niigata Port, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII. Niigata was one of four final target cities for the atomic bomb alongside Hiroshima, Kokura, and Nagasaki, listed in the July 25, 1945 directive authorizing nuclear strikes. In the event the city was not chosen for the missions of early August 1945, not even as an alternate target: it lay far from Tinian and was considered too small a target. The monument honors all war dead, including Japanese civilians, soldiers, and foreign forced laborers who perished on Japanese soil, and an annual flower-offering ceremony is held on August 10 to mark the anniversary of the 1945 air raids on Niigata.
Niigata City History Museum (Minatopia)
新潟市歴史博物館 みなとぴあ
Municipal history museum opened in 2004 at the mouth of the Shinano River, built around the nationally designated Important Cultural Property "Former Niigata Customs House" (1869) — the only surviving original treaty port customs building in Japan. The museum's permanent exhibition covers Niigata's history as one of five ports opened by the 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce, its wartime role as a strategic port for military logistics to the Asian continent, and its designation as an atomic bomb target city in 1945. The grounds include the restored former Daishi Bank branch and the restored customs stone warehouse and landing stage.
Former Hiroshima Army Clothing Depot
旧広島陸軍被服支廠
The largest surviving A-bombed structure in Hiroshima, this former Imperial Japanese Army clothing depot was built in 1913 as a facility for manufacturing, storing, and distributing military uniforms and equipment. Located 2.67 km from the atomic bomb hypocenter, the four reinforced-concrete and brick warehouse buildings, laid out in an L-shape, survived the blast and were immediately used as emergency relief stations. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in January 2024 after years of preservation-versus-demolition controversy.
Urakami Cathedral (Immaculate Conception Cathedral)
浦上天主堂
Once the largest Catholic cathedral in East Asia, Urakami Cathedral stood just 500 meters from the hypocenter of the Nagasaki atomic bomb on August 9, 1945. The blast utterly destroyed the Romanesque brick structure that had taken 30 years to build (1895–1925), killing approximately 8,500 of the parish's 12,000 faithful. Rebuilt in reinforced concrete by 1959 and clad in brick in 1980, the cathedral remains a working parish church, a symbol of both atomic devastation and the resilience of Nagasaki's Hidden Christian community.
Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum
袋町小学校平和資料館
A hibaku (A-bombed) building located just 460 meters from the hypocenter, where the reinforced concrete West Building of Fukuromachi National School survived the atomic bombing of August 6, 1945. The charred interior walls preserve chalk messages written by survivors desperately seeking missing family members, rediscovered decades later behind plaster during renovation. Opened as a peace museum in April 2002.
Nagasaki Peace Park (Peace Statue)
長崎平和公園（平和祈念像）
A memorial park in Nagasaki's Urakami district opened in 1950, centered on the iconic 9.7-meter bronze Peace Statue by sculptor Kitamura Seibō. The park commemorates the atomic bombing of August 9, 1945 and serves as a site for the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony, with international peace monuments donated by nations worldwide.
Memorial Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims
原爆死没者慰霊碑
The Memorial Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims (formally the Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace) is an arch-shaped monument designed by Kenzo Tange and unveiled on August 6, 1952, in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. It shelters a stone chest containing the registry of all known atomic bomb victims’ names—344,306 as of August 2024—and bears the inscription: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil."
Former IJA 5th Division Headquarters Site (Hiroshima Castle)
広島第五師団司令部跡
The site of the Imperial Japanese Army 5th Division Headquarters, located within the grounds of Hiroshima Castle (鯉城, Rijō — "Carp Castle") in Naka-ku, Hiroshima. The 5th Division (第五師団), nicknamed the "Carp Division" (鯉師団, Koi Shidan) after the castle's alternate name, was established in 1888 from the earlier Hiroshima Garrison (広島鎮台, 1873). The division was one of the IJA's most celebrated combat formations: it fought in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the Second Sino-Japanese War before achieving fame as the spearhead of the Malaya Campaign and the Battle of Singapore (December 1941 – February 1942) under the 25th Army of Lieutenant General Yamashita Tomoyuki. The division's bicycle-mounted troops became famous for their rapid advance down the Malay Peninsula. During the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), the castle's Honmaru briefly housed the Imperial General Headquarters (大本営) with Emperor Meiji in residence. On 6 August 1945, the atomic bomb destroyed the entire castle complex, killing many of the troops of the Chūgoku Military District headquarters and other units stationed there. The castle's main tower was reconstructed in 1958; today the Honmaru preserves the stone foundations of the Imperial General Headquarters and memorial markers.
Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital & Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital
広島赤十字・原爆病院
A Japanese Red Cross hospital located 1.5 km from the atomic bomb hypocenter in Hiroshima. Despite severe blast damage on August 6, 1945, the reinforced concrete building survived and its staff — more than half of whom had been killed or injured — immediately began treating thousands of victims. ICRC delegate Marcel Junod recorded that 1,000 patients were admitted on the first day alone. In 1956 the world's first hospital specializing in atomic bomb survivor treatment was established on its grounds; the two merged in 1988.
Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum (A-bombed School Building)
本川小学校平和資料館（旧本川国民学校 被爆校舎）
The closest school to the atomic bomb hypocenter in Hiroshima, located just 410 meters away. Completed in 1928 as the city's first reinforced concrete school building, it partially survived the August 6, 1945 blast while nearly all of its approximately 400 students and 10 teachers perished. The preserved basement and structural shell were opened as a peace museum in 1988.
Nagasaki Medical College (Atomic Bomb Ruins)
長崎医科大学（被爆遺構）
Nagasaki Medical College, established in 1923 as the successor to Japan's oldest Western medical school (founded 1857), stood just 600 meters from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb dropped on August 9, 1945. The blast and fires destroyed all campus buildings and killed 892 faculty, students, nurses, and staff. Today, the tilted stone gate pillars of the former campus survive as a nationally designated historic site — part of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Ruins — serving as a physical measure of the bomb's blast pressure and a memorial to the devastated medical community.
Mitsubishi Arms Sumiyoshi Tunnel Factory Ruins
三菱兵器住吉トンネル工場跡
Remains of an underground torpedo factory built in 1944 by Mitsubishi Arms inside six parallel tunnels in northern Nagasaki. Located 2.3 km from the atomic bomb hypocenter, the tunnels survived the August 9, 1945 bombing largely intact and served as emergency shelters. Two tunnels are now open to the public as a peace memorial site.
Hiroshima Army Youth School Ruins
広島陸軍幼年学校跡
Ruins of the Imperial Japanese Army Youth School (Rikugun Yōnen Gakkō) in Hiroshima, established in 1897 to train boy cadets aged 13–16 as future army officers. Located in the Motomachi district north of Hiroshima Castle, the school was destroyed by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. Students had been evacuated to the mountains weeks earlier, but staff and hospitalized students perished. Gate pillars and a monument stone remain at the site today.
Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine
広島護國神社
A Gokoku Shrine in Hiroshima dedicated to approximately 92,000 war dead from Hiroshima Prefecture, including about 10,000 mobilized students and Women's Volunteer Corps members killed by the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Originally founded in 1868 to enshrine Boshin War dead, it was destroyed by the atomic bombing and rebuilt within Hiroshima Castle grounds in 1956. It represents the nationwide Gokoku Shrine system used for wartime spiritual mobilization and remains a key site for peace remembrance ceremonies.
Sannō Shrine One-Legged Torii Gate
山王神社一本柱鳥居
The iconic one-legged torii gate of Sannō Shrine in Nagasaki, located approximately 800 meters southeast of the atomic bomb hypocenter. The blast of August 9, 1945 sheared away one pillar and half the crossbeam, yet the remaining half has stood in precarious balance ever since — an enduring symbol of the Nagasaki atomic bombing. Designated a National Historic Site as part of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Ruins in 2016.
Hiroshima Communications Hospital (A-bombed Building)
広島逓信病院旧外来棟被爆資料室
The Hiroshima Communications Hospital, located approximately 1.37 km from the atomic bomb hypocenter, was one of the few medical facilities that survived the bombing on August 6, 1945. Despite severe blast damage, the reinforced concrete building did not collapse, and it immediately became a critical emergency treatment center where over 250 severely injured victims were admitted on the first day alone. Hospital director Dr. Hachiya Michihiko, himself badly wounded by flying glass, returned to duty within days and later published "Hiroshima Diary," a 56-day account published in translation in 18 countries.
Former Second General Army Headquarters
旧陸軍第二総軍司令部跡
The headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army's Second General Army (第二総軍), established in Hiroshima in April 1945 under Field Marshal Hata Shunroku to coordinate the defense of western Japan against the anticipated Allied invasion (Operation Ketsu-Go). The command was responsible for all military operations across western Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. On August 6, 1945, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima devastated the headquarters and its subordinate organizations; by some estimates as many as 20,000 military personnel in the city were killed.
A-bombed Camphor Trees of Sanno Shrine
山王神社被爆クスノキ
Two ancient camphor trees (kusunoki), variously estimated at 400 to 600 years old, that survived the Nagasaki atomic bombing on August 9, 1945, despite standing only 800 meters from the hypocenter. Stripped of all branches and leaves by the blast, the charred trunks sprouted new buds within two months, becoming enduring symbols of life, resilience, and peace in post-war Nagasaki. Designated as natural monuments by Nagasaki City, their rustling leaves were selected as one of Japan's "100 Soundscapes Worth Preserving."
Former Shiroyama National School A-bomb Remains
旧城山国民学校校舎（城山小学校平和祈念館）
A surviving stairwell of Shiroyama National School preserves fire damage from the Nagasaki atomic bombing. Now a peace museum within an operating school, it is open during designated visiting hours.
Former Taishoya Kimono Store and Fuel Hall (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Rest House)
旧大正屋呉服店・燃料会館（広島市平和記念公園レストハウス）
The former Taishoya store became a wartime fuel-rationing office and survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing as a damaged shell. Its basement and exhibitions now convey the building's history and the life of the former Nakajima district.
Former Bank of Japan Hiroshima Branch
旧日本銀行広島支店
A surviving bank building close to Hiroshima's hypocenter, damaged in the atomic bombing and used to resume payments two days later. Public rooms preserve architectural details and visible traces of the bombing.