| Description |
In the center foreground is Sarugaku-cho, and above it, Saiku-machi. Then, from left: Yasuda Life Insurance Company, Hiroshima Branch; Hiroshima Central Telephone Office; Mitsui & Co., Hiroshima Branch; Norinchukin Bank, Hiroshima Branch; Sanwa Bank, Hiroshima Branch; Fukuromachi National Elementary School; Meiji Life Insurance Company, Hiroshima Branch; Hiroshima Fukokukan; Nippon Life Insurance Company Hiroshima Branch; Hiroshima Bankers’ Club; Bank of Japan, Hiroshima Branch; head office of the Hiroshima Gas Company; Hiroshima Prefectural Agricultural Association, Hiroshima Branch; head office of Chugoku Haiden; and Hiroshima Savings Bank Hiroshima Branch. Shigeo Hayashi, then 27, was a still photographer in the physics group of the investigation team organized by the Special Committee for the Investigation of Atomic Bomb Damages. From October 1 to 10, he took photos in Hiroshima, amid rumors of the threat of residual radiation. In order to convey the devastation of Hiroshima caused by a single bomb, he took a 360-degree panorama in 16 shots from the observation tower of the Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce Association (today’s Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry), located 260 meters from the hypocenter. |
