Urakami Cathedral after the Bomb Photo

Photographer’s Note

Sadly, this wall & the statue atop, are all that remain of the once magnificent Catholic Cathedral at Urakami, in Nagasakis' northern suburbs. The white lines in the fg are the distance in metres, from the epicentre (or ground zero), of the 2nd atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The Cathedral was just 500 metres away. I was standing on the 300 metre mark. The intended target was the Mitsubishi munitions factory, just 2 or 3 km to the south. However winds on the day the bomb was dropped, carried the bomb (known as FatMan) a little off target. But the force of the explosion was large enough to devastate large parts of the entire city. The statues were blackened by 2,000 celsius temperatures. Clocks & watches retrieved from the rubble, show the time as 11.02am when they stopped.

The red & white streamers at left, are part of a memorial, & have a similar function to wreaths, in Western culture. A plaque in Peace Park gives the following statistics: Dead: 73,884; Injured: 74,909;
Sufferers: 120,820; Houses burned down:11,574;
Houses half-ruined, 5,509; Houses partly damaged 50,000.

Video footage of the atomic bomb mushroom cloud, rising to 60,000 feet, here:

This is a link to August 9, 1945

Just hit the green 'back' button, to return to Trek Earth.

A shot of St Marys Cathedral in Urakami, taken in January, 1946:

This is a link to a b&w image taken in January, 1946

Again, just hit the green 'back' button, to return to Trek Earth.

Mikos, snunney, cunejo200, john_c, chinchini, carper, Gerrit, Cormac, siolaw, danyy has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Mikos (4324) 2007-04-15 10:34

Hi Chris!

I like the composition you have created to give preminence to this awesome architecture piece. Excellent light too!

Many thanks for your words about my Mallorca picture!

Cheers!
Miguel

snunney (34610) 2007-04-15 10:41

Hello Chris,
A sad reminder on the futility of war. Good composition with interesting juxtaposition between the vestiges of the cathedral and the modern buildings required by the new consumerist religion ;-) Some good graphics and excellent sharpness and tones. TFS.

feather (49858) 2007-04-15 11:40

I looked at the link; it's scary that this is still possible. Very interesting image. The composition works well with the parking pillar to balance. (was the church called St. Paul's?)good work.
Kath

cunejo200 (7157) 2007-04-15 11:41

Hello Chris,
What a great contrast of old and new. Beautiful lines and texture on the f/g, and the blue sky complements the whole scene. Best wishes - Danilo

john_c (24635) 2007-04-15 11:54

Hi Chris,
A poignant memorial and reminder; I have never seen this ruined structure before. The white lines provide good graphism and I like the alternating green and brown hues in the foreground. The vertical format is apropos. You controlled the strong light well here. The red and white streamers enhance and of course are also of cultural interest. Very fine work, Chris. Cheers.
John

chinchini (27507) 2007-04-15 13:01

Salut Chris,
Bravo pour cette Papagolfade, ta première je pense ;o)
Le sujet est original, son architecture particulière. C'est une cathédrale qu'il me plait de découvrir.
Mes amitiés depuis le QUEBEC.
Pierre

carper (64546) 2007-04-15 13:14

hello Chris it's a very nice shot,
ther4e is a lot light but even the lines are good and the details are nice, the note is complete, good photo job here.
gr. jaap

UnTrained (0) 2007-04-15 13:26

Hi Chris,
thanks for the note. Your capture has a strong contrast with the the buildings and the park behind. The format is the right one here and it is done with good light.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

Gerrit (35593) 2007-04-15 15:09

Hi Chris,
good to keep the remains so well maintained. Well composed shot.
Regards, errit

Cormac (26449) 2007-04-16 1:26

This is a great series of photos you've posted from Hiroshima and the less often photographed Nagasaki, showing the few remaining structures and the memorials. Very sobering stuff and important that we never forget it. I like the way the two towers seem to mirror each other in this. Thanks for sharing.

jinju (14265) 2007-04-16 1:41

Hey Chris,

thats impressive. And sad. Really devastating. What a reminder to have this as to the power of that thing. Just devastating and to think its small by today's standards. Think about a current nuclear device and how much that would destroy.

siolaw (25720) 2007-04-16 1:41

Hi Chris,
A well framed monument, with soft colors and good sharpness... frightening just to think about that doomed day... Well rendered atmosphere of that place.
LAurent

AiresSantos (41866) 2007-04-16 3:56

Hi Chris,
Important piece of art, to remember the original Catholic Cathedral at Urakami. Very well captured, excellent colours.
TFS and have a nice week
Aires

danyy (68492) 2007-04-16 6:32

Document émouvant et frappant sur l'effet destructeur de la bombe atomique, qui a l'époque était encore loin des puissances des bomes d'aujourd'hui.
Il parait qu'on peut détruire une centaine de fois la surface totale de globe, alors pourquoi pas 200 tant qu'on y est.
Toujours cette surexposition dans les zones plus claires.
Un excellent cadrage.

Best regards,
Daniel.

Je suis heureux toutefois de voir ces arbres qui apportent leur lot de reprise de la vie en ces lieux.

smartcat (835) 2008-03-20 5:36

Thanks Chris,
impressive shot!