2. Hiroshima Was Burnt To Ashes
The building was the former Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall, Where special products of Hiroshima were exhibited and various gatherings were held until the A-bomb was dropped. Since it was located just under the hypocenter, blast pressure was vertically exerted on the bulding and only the dome-shaped framework and part of the outer wall remained. It has come to be called "the A-bomb Dome", and it has come to symbolize to the people of the world "No More Hiroshimas". As years passed, however, the ruin has deteriorated further due to winds and rain. A civic movement was started calling for permanent preservation of the A-bomb Dome, and money was contributed from all over Japan, not to mention from Hiroshima. Within a year after the fund-raising campaign was started, the restoration funds had been collected. In August 1967, the reinforcing construction was completed. That is why the present A-bomb Dome gives a different impression from that in the photograph.
The bridge located to the south (the other side) of the Dome is Motoyasu Bridge, and the area to the west (right) of the bridge is the present Peace Park. The hill a little right from the center is Ninoshima (called small Mt.Fuji), which is about 9 kilometers from the spot where the photograph was taken.