In this post of the blog, we are going to discuss the site that was under attack by a nuclear bomb in history. In this post, we will discuss the history of Hiroshima and its reconstruction history. The capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan is Hiroshima (広島市, Hiroshima-shi, /ˌhɪroʊˈʃiːmə/). The projected population of the city as of June 1, 2019 was 1,199,391. As of 2010, the Hiroshima Urban Employment Area’s Greater Hiroshima had a GDP of US$61.3 billion. Since April 2011, Kazumi Matsui has served as the mayor of the city. After the metropolitan region of Okayama, the Hiroshima metropolitan area is the second biggest in the Chugoku Region of Japan.
Founded as a castle town on the Ōta River delta, Hiroshima was established in 1589. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Hiroshima developed quickly into a significant industrial and urban hub. Hiroshima was formally declared a city in 1889. Throughout the imperial era, the city was a hub for military activity and took part in major conflicts, including the First Sino-Japanese WarBetween World Wars I and II, the city became the
Location of large-scale chemical and heavy industry factories. Hiroshima’s main industries are the chemical and heavy industries. The state-run Hiroshima Higher Normal School opened its doors in 1902. Air Forces (USAAF). By year’s end, the detonation and its aftermath had claimed the lives of between 90,000 and 166,000 people, and most of Hiroshima had been devastated. The bombing is commemorated at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its reconstruction following the war, Hiroshima has grown to be the biggest city in the Chūgoku area of western Honshu.
The Paleolithic and Ancient Eras
Paleolithic and Jomon Eras in Hiroshima
The sea covered much of the region that is now Hiroshima City, with the seawater extending farther inland along the lower reaches of the modern Ota River to form a harbor. Nonetheless, artifacts from the Jomon era have been unearthed at locations including Ushita, Yano, Itsukaichi, and Hijiyama, an island in Hiroshima Bay, while remnants from the Yayoi era have been found in Nakayama and Kami-Fukawa.
Yayoi to Kofun Periods
According to the discovery of artifacts from the late Yayoi period (bronze swords in Omoji, bronze bells, swords, and dagger axes in Fukuda), ancient Hiroshima was located in an area where two cultural zones—Kinki to the east and Kita-Kyushu to the west—came into contact with one another. Old burial mounds and remnants of the Kofun period have been found mostly in the Asakita-ku and Asaminami-ku areas. The most famous of these are the Unagiyama Kofun and Jinguyama Kofun in Midori, as well as the Nakaoda Kofun (old tomb) in Kuchita.
Ritsuryo System and Manor Estates
The provincial administrative agency had primary responsibilities for a regional government under the Ritsuryo system. The provincial government offices were believed to be situated in the Saijo basin, or Fuchu-cho in Aki-gun, which was the former name of Hiroshima Prefecture, now known as Aki Province. It has been shown that administrative offices were located in Fuchu-cho during the middle of the Heian era and that the provincial administrative agency had ties to Mita-go in Shiraki-cho and other towns.
Manor estates became the property of royalty, aristocracy, temples, and shrines as the power of the Ritsuryo system progressively waned. In the late eighth century, the Ushita Manor of the Saidaiji fiefdom, along with the Kabe Manor (in Kabe), the Miiri Manor (in Miiri), and the Tato Manor (near Kuchita), were established in Hiroshima. Goods transferred from the Celsiusor estate of the Itsukushima Shrine were stored on the property in the Gion district, close to Yamamoto (formerly around the mouth of the Ota River).
Before the Atomic Bombardment, Hiroshima
The US exploded an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The device, dubbed “Little Boy,” was a uranium gun-style bomb that detonated with a force of around thirteen kilotons. There were 43,000 soldiers and between 280,000 and 290,000 people living in Hiroshima at the time of the explosion. It is estimated that in the four months that followed the blast, the bomb claimed the lives of between 90,000 and 166,000 individuals. According to estimates from the U.S. Department of Energy, the explosion may have killed 200,000 or more people after five years, whereas the city of Hiroshima estimates that 237,000 people died as a direct or indirect result of the bomb’s effects, including burns, radiation illness, and cancer.
Curtis LeMay gave his approval for Operation Centerboard I, the bombing of Hiroshima, on August 4, 1945. Named for the mother of pilot Paul Tibbets, the B-29 aircraft that transported Little Boy from Tinian Island in the western Pacific to Hiroshima was called the Enola Gay. The other passengers aboard the Enola Gay included Tibbets, copilot Robert Lewis, bombardier Tom Ferebee, navigator Theodore Van Kirk, and tailgunner Robert Caron. Their first-hand recollections of the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan are given here.
Terumoto Mori Built Hiroshima Castle in 1589, which is Situated on the Ota River Delta
The city of Hiroshima’s history starts. In the Edo period, Hiroshima was one of several sizable nearby castle towns, following Nagoya, Kanazawa, and other important cities. The Imperial Japanese Army’s Hiroshima Garrison Headquarters and the Hiroshima Prefectural Government were located in the town of Hiroshima following the Meiji Restoration. This supported the city’s continued status as the political and military hub of the area.
1888: The Imperial Japanese Army’s Fifth Division Was Created
Following the establishment of the Hiroshima Garrison Headquarters, the Imperial Japanese Army formed the Fifth Division.
Ujina Port Was Completed in 1889
In the city of Hiroshima, the train and road networks that crossed the delta were constructed in addition to establishing the port. In the years between World Wars I and II, the city was home to large-scale chemical and heavy industry enterprises. Hiroshima’s principal industries grew to be the chemical and heavy industries.
1902 The opening of the state-run Hiroshima Higher Normal School
The school enjoys a reputation for being the best in western Japan for education. In addition, the city became home to several branch offices of national businesses as well as national government agencies. Hiroshima’s past as a military capital, administrative center, and center of education contributed to its growth into a modern metropolis.
On Hiroshima, the Atomic Bomb was Dropped at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945
“Little Boy,” the first nuclear bomb ever deployed in human history, was dropped from the Enola Gay. It descended for about forty-three seconds before exploding in midair in a nuclear explosion 600 meters above the Shima Hospital, to the southeast of the objective, the Aioi Bridge. Extreme heat radiation was released at the moment of the explosion, causing a massive fireball to erupt and raising the surrounding area’s ground temperature to 3,000–4,000 degrees Celsius.
At the hypocenter, the intense bomb blast also produced maximum wind speeds of 440 meters per second. The explosion quickly expanded, covering the whole city in around ten seconds. Anyone within a kilometer radius of the hypocenter probably died instantly or had many severe burns due to the intense heat rays, even though they were only released momentarily.
People who were more than three kilometers away from the hypocenter experienced burns on the areas of their bodies that were exposed to the elements. Within two kilometers of the hypocenter, all wooden structures were entirely demolished, leaving individuals stranded beneath the rubble.
An Explanation of the Damage the A-bomb Did to Hiroshima
The Bombing Date
Explosion, August 6, 1945, 8:15 a.m.
Damage Caused by the A-bomb
- Features: The devastation and slaughter were widespread and occurred instantly. Many would experience the aftereffects of radiation for years to come. They are still fighting today.
- Heat Ray: 3,500–4,000 degrees Celsius at sea level (iron melts at 1,500 degrees Celsius).
- Blast: 440 m/s close to the hypocenter.(Winds of 30 to 40 meters per second are possible during a big typhoon.)
- Radiation・First radiation emitted during the minute following detonation. Radiation residue that lingered above ground for some time after the first minute of the bombing indirectly affected a large number of people who entered the city. That is why many of them perished.
Demise (by December 31, 1945)
140,000+/- 10,000 people had perished.
As of the end of March 2019, the Survivors’ Current State
145,844 people in total (47,632 in Hiroshima City)The average age is 82.65.
Hiroshima’s Reconstruction
After the Atomic Bombing Reconstruction
The atomic bombing destroyed the city and all of its public infrastructure, including buildings, transit and communication hubs, water and sewage systems, and water systems. Hiroshima City, one of the 115 war-torn cities in Japan, began its rehabilitation process with the development of municipal infrastructure as part of the national government’s war-damage reconstruction initiative.
- The Japanese National Railways Sanyo Line was restored between Hiroshima and Yokogawa (a station near Hiroshima Station) on August 8, 1945, two days after the explosion.
- Three days after the attack, on August 9, 1945, streetcar operations partially restarted in one area.
- Four days after the attack, on August 10, 1945, water pumps started up again.
- Nevertheless, there were numerous leaks and spoutes of water around the city, and fixing the waterworks was a difficult undertaking.
Restoring the water supply to the city’s periphery is rumored to have taken nine months. The media and the Hiroshima City Restoration Council released the 34 reconstruction designs that were included in the city’s restoration plan and submitted by residents, officials, and foreigners. The reconstruction plan aimed to maintain the highest standards available at the time. It included expansive plans for parks, green spaces, and roads up to 100 meters wide, as well as land readjustments to secure space for infrastructure.
It was thought to be almost impossible to rebuild the city from the ruins. Hiroshima City was having financial difficulties at the time. To finish the reconstruction, a great deal of labor was required from both the populace and those working on it, and occasionally the citizens were left carrying heavy loads. The people of Hiroshima were helped in the interim to deal with the aftermath of the attack by various forms of outside assistance and support.
The Law for Construction in Hiroshima Peace Memorial City
1949 The Passing of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law
The Hiroshima Reconstruction City Plan initially faced several challenges, including budgetary constraints, a paucity of personnel, and limitations on public land and materials. In Hiroshima City, tax revenue was negligible as a result of the bombing’s catastrophic devastation. Mayor Shinzo Hamai of Hiroshima, members of the city council, and other affected locals worked hard to find a solution and petitioned the Diet and the federal government to address these issues.
The passing of this unique legislation cleared the path for the national government to provide extraordinary assistance, transfer national government assets, and advance reconstruction activities. Furthermore, Hiroshima City was named The law’s Article 1 designates Hiroshima as a “peace memorial city,” signifying the human goal of the honest pursuit of real and enduring peace.
1952 The “Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Plan” replaces the “Hiroshima Reconstruction City Plan.”
A special project for the construction of “peace memorial facilities” was approved, opening the door for the construction of one of the restoration plan’s unique features: the Peace Memorial Park.
1955 The completion of the Peace Memorial Hall (now the East Building of the Peace Memorial Museum) and the display hall, which is the museum’s primary structure.
Due to the restricted budget, the construction took a long time, and the structures were not completed for a while. The structures were finished four years after construction began. In Japan, establishing the infrastructure was usually the first step in the restoration process. After the ground was ready, what kinds of structures?
