Today marks the 80th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on 6th of August 1945.

Within the museum’s collections is this small piece of rooftile that was witness to the destruction; The Atom Struck Tile. This is a fragment of traditional glazed tile that came from the roof of Sairenji, a Buddhist Temple located in the city centre.

At 08:15 on 6th of August 1945 the United States Army Air Force dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima which exploded 600m above the ground, almost directly above the temple. The heat and radiation from the blast were so intense it caused the surface of the tile to blister.

The huge explosion destroyed the centre of Hiroshima in a matter of seconds, and killed around 60,000-80,000 people instantly, almost all of whom were civilians. Over the following weeks and months this figure would grow as more people died of wounds and radiation sickness, bringing the total casualties to more than 140,000 dead by the year’s end.

Three days later, on 9th of August 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. On the same day, the Soviet Union, which had previously been neutral since 1941, declared war on Japan, launching land attacks against Japanese held territory in mainland Asia.

Despite being at the hypocentre of the bombing, the temple was rebuilt after the war. In the 1950s it was visited by Lt. John Ainger of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps who was given this tile by the Reverend Katsuki Sokai, the temple’s chief priest. Rev Katsuki would speak to visitors and give them inscribed pieces of tile from his temple as both a reminder of the loss of life, and as a gift of hope for future peace. Many similar examples can be found in museum collections throughout the world.

Sairenji is located less than a hundred yards from the famous Atomic Bomb Dome, and outside the modern structure is a statue of Jizo, the guardian deity of children, which still bares scorch marks from the blast.

Alex Crisp – Curator

 

Images:

1: The Atomic Bomb Dome, also known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial

2 + 3: The Atom Struck Tile

4: The statue of Jizō at Sairenji Temple, with the Atomic Bomb Dome in the background. The statue wears a red hat and bib to help him find the souls of children.

A ruined building photographed at night. A small, grey rounded tile with black letters and Japanese Kanji painted on it. A small, grey, rounded tile with a label on it. The label reads 'ATOM STRUCK TILE, FOUND ON SITE OF SAIRENJI TEMPLE THE EXPLOSION CENTER HIROSHIMA' A carved stone statue of a person in seated position. The statue has been given a red, knitted hood and apron.