(Total of 235: 234 negatives and 1 print)
These 235 photos were taken in October by Shigeo Hayashi, a staff photographer for a graphic magazine during the war. Mr. Hayashi accompanied the Special Committee for the Investigation of A-bomb Damages, a survey team set up within the Academic Research Council (later reorganized into the Science Council of Japan) by Japan’s Ministry of Education. He took numerous photos of the devastation of the city, including the incinerated ruins in the vicinity of the hypocenter and buildings crushed by the bomb’s blast.
One of the images is a representative panoramic 360-degree photo of the burned ruins of the central area of Hiroshima (SHAYASHI0235). Mr. Hayashi entrusted the negatives to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in 2000. After Mr. Hayashi’s death in 2002, his bereaved family donated the negatives to the museum, with the images now in the possession of the Hiroshima City government. The city government has entrusted the storage of 36 of his photos, including the iconic panorama of the hypocenter area, to the Japan Photo Archives.
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum special exhibiton: Shigeo Hayashi Photo Exhibition (2007)
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Peace Database
Contact: peacemedia@chugoku-np.co.jp