5 photos of Hiroshima that will haunt you
The only images taken on the day of the A-bombing in 1945
By some miracle, 32-year-old Japanese photojournalist Yoshito Matsushige survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States on August 6, 1945. An estimated 70,000 people died that day.
He was 2.7 kilometres from the hypocenter when the A-bomb was dropped. He walked around the city right after the bombing and took five photographs which have become important historical documents.
As he later recounted, “There was a flash from the indoor wires as if lightning had struck…And I was momentarily blinded as if a magnesium light had lit up in front of my eyes.”
“I pulled my camera and the clothes issued by the military headquarters out from under the mound of the debris.”
“Near the Miyuki Bridge, there was a police box. Most of the victims who had gathered there were junior high school girls… Having been directly exposed to the heat rays, they were covered with blisters, the size of balls, on their backs, their faces, their shoulders and their arms. The blisters were starting to burst open and their skin hung down like rags.”
“When I saw this, I thought I would take a picture and I picked up my camera. But I couldn't push the shutter because the sight was so pathetic….I hesitated there for about 20 minutes, but I finally summoned up the courage to take one picture.
Picture 1. Miyuki-bashi Nishi-zume, Senda-machi San-chohme, Hiroshima City - around 11:00 AM on 6 August 1945
“Then, I moved 4 or 5 meters forward to take the second picture. Even today, I clearly remember how the viewfinder was clouded over with my tears….Still, I had to press the shutter, so I hardened my heart and finally, I took the second shot. Those people must have thought me duly cold-hearted.”
Picture 2. Miyuki-bashi Nishi-zume, Senda-machi San-choume, Hiroshima - after 1100 on 6 August 1945
“I walked through the section of town which had been hit hardest. I walked for close to three hours. But I couldn't take even one picture of that central area…I don't pride myself on it, but it's a small consolation that I was able to take at least five pictures.”
Picture 3. Matsushige's family barber shop - Midori-machi Hiroshima - around 2:00 PM, 6 August 1945
Picture 4. View of Midori-machi Hiroshima seen from Matsushige's house - around 2:00 PM, 6 August 1945
Picture 5. Near Ujina-sen Densha Magari-kado, Hiroshima - around 5:00 on 6 August 1945
“Those of us who experienced all these hardships, we hope that such suffering will never be experienced again… That is why I want young people to listen to our testimonies and to choose the right path, the path which leads to peace,” said Yoshito Matsushige.
See Yoshito Matsushige’s photos at Toronto City Hall
The Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition has organized a “Canada and the Atom Bomb” photo exhibition which includes the five images by Yoshito Matsushige. Other photos document the Canadian government’s participation in the American Manhattan Project which developed the atom bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
The free exhibition will be held in the Toronto City Hall Rotunda on August 2-4 and 6-8, 2024. The HNDC’s commemoration will be at the City Hall Peace Garden on August 6.
(All photos By Matsuhige Yoshito - 柏原知子監修松重美人著『なみだのファインダー 広島原爆戦災カメラマン 松重美人の1945.8.6の記録』ぎょうせい、2003年、ISBN 4-324-07114-4, Public Domain.)
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