(Total of 88: 33 negatives and 55 prints)
Yukio Kunihira, a photojournalist at the Mainichi Newspapers’ Osaka head office, entered Hiroshima on August 9, and that day took 40 photos (12 negatives of which remain) and three panoramic photos composed of a combination of several photos (YKUNIHIRA0006, 0007, 0022) that still exist today. (Mr. Kunihira wrote in a personal account that he had used four to five rolls of film for his photography work that day). Two days later, on August 11, two of his photos (YKUNIHIRA0021, 0023), one of which captured a scene of relief supplies being carried into temporary prefectural offices, were published in the Osaka head office edition of the Mainichi Shimbun.
A total of 43 photos (21 negatives of which remain) are thought to have been taken during the period September 9–11 by Entaro Yamagami and Tatsuro Niimi, who worked in the photo department of the Osaka Head Office alongside Mr. Kunihira. One of the photos taken by Mr. Yamagami in September reveals shacks that had been built on the incinerated ruins of the city (EYAMAGAMI0027), representing a harbinger of the recovery of the lives of people in the city. The September 13 issue of the Osaka Head Office edition of the Mainichi Shimbun carried a photo taken by Mr. Niimi (TNIIMI0001) showing the devastated Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (present-day A-Bomb Dome).
Kishiro Watanabe, chief of the Yamaguchi Bureau of the Mainichi Newspapers’ Kyushu Head Office, also took photos after entering Hiroshima sometime on or after August 8. Two of Mr. Watanabe’s prints are archived in the Kyusyu Head Office. Two other photos of his were published under such captions as “Members of civil defense units from various parts of the prefecture heading into action” in the August 12 issue of the Kyushu Head Office edition of the Mainichi Shimbun.
- Hiroshima Atomic-Bombing Archives: “Mainichi photos taken 3 days after Hiroshima tragedy help preserve history”
- The Mainichi Photobank
Contact: photobank@mainichi.co.jp