The Atomic Bombing and the Bank of Japan

1.Hiroshima at the time of the Atomic Bombing

At 8:15 a.m., a powerful flash split the sky for a moment, followed by a roaring sound. Dense clouds of smoke rose into the sky. An enormous "mushroom cloud" of about 5,000 meters in diameter and about 9,000 meters above the ground formed. It blocked out the midsummer sun, and the entire city was temporarily enveloped in darkness.
The intense heat radiation and the impact of the blast destroyed most of the houses and buildings in the center of the city, leaving many dead and injured, and fires broke out in various parts of the city, which quickly turned into a raging conflagration. A single atomic bomb destroyed 60% of the city area and burned down 40% of the city, killing over 140,000 innocent civilians. Hiroshima became a desolate city of ruins, its entire city functionality completely destroyed.

2.Hiroshima Branch of the Bank of Japan at the time of the Bombing

（1）Damage to the Hiroshima Branch

The Hiroshima Branch was located only 380 meters southeast of the hypocenter, so the intense heat radiation and the impact of the blast caused extensive damage to the office building. However, the building was spared from collapse due to its robust structure. A fire broke out on the third floor and part of the second floor, destroying the interior, but it was not critical. The office on the first floor and the basement vault miraculously escaped the fire.
On the other hand, most of the staff (85 workers) were exposed to the bombing in the office, on their way to work, or at home. The damage was so severe that 37 people died and 15 were injured, making it the most devastating disaster in the Bank's history of wartime losses.

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（2）Damage to the Building

The former office (completed in August 1936) was one of the most robust buildings in the city, constructed of steel-framed reinforced concrete and masonry (for this reason, the head and some staff of the Hiroshima Finance Bureau had been evacuated to the branch since around May). In mid-June, Manager Yoshikawa immediately took steps to strengthen defenses after taking office. For example, (1) the glass roof for the light at the center of the rooftop was shielded with 5" square timbers, and (2) the rooftop exposure platform was filled with 3" of earth. In addition, on the afternoon of Sunday, August 5, the day before the bombing, the Sanwa Trust Hiroshima Branch building (two-story wooden structure painted in mortar) located next to the north of the office was torn down to create a firebreak.
Upon the bombing, the gates, window frames, shutters, and glass doors of the office were all blown away by the blast, and the glass roof in the center of the rooftop, along with the shutter covers, was bent like candy and wrecked. However, there was no structural damage to the building itself, and the ceiling did not fall.
In the basement, the iron grating in the hallway in front of the vault was blown down, but the vault and warehouse were safe. The iron grating was blown down, most likely due to a blast from the shaft after the elevator had been shipped out for military use.
Inside the office, window glass, shutters, corridor railings, counter screens, and other debris were scattered about, and most of the desks, chairs, cupboards, and other fixtures were damaged or overturned. Fresh blood of the injured was smeared in many places, making for a disastrous scene.
The entire city was blacked out, so there were no lights, no telephones, no gas or water service, and only one fire hydrant near the service gate was still pumping water at a high rate.
The fire broke out on the third floor of the office and in the manager's bedroom on the second floor. The interior of the third floor was completely burnt down, while the fire in the manager's bedroom on the second floor was extinguished before it became serious. The other areas of the office, including the first and second floors and the basement, miraculously escaped the fire.

3.Resumption of operations on August 8

Although the office was severely damaged, the Hiroshima Branch reopened for business on Wednesday, August 8, just two days after the bombing. The branch let commercial banks use the teller windows of the office, and from 10:30 a.m. on August 8, more than 10 commercial banks resumed deposit disbursement operations. The Bank of Japan extended loans to commercial banks to provide the funds necessary to pay out the deposits.
While many depositors had lost their passbooks and personal seals in the atomic bombing, the commercial banks were flexible enough to accept customers without passbooks or personal seals, and there were reportedly virtually no fraudulent withdrawals from depositors. The early restoration of the supply and circulation of cash in this way helped to restart economic activities in the aftermath of the atomic bombing.
Looking back again at the factors that made such a response possible, the first factor was that the branch's vault was undamaged and thus sufficient cash was available for disbursement to depositors. It is also important to note that Branch Manager Yoshikawa, despite being seriously injured, took unusual measures for a central bank while encouraging staff on site, and that commercial banks took a flexible approach in times of emergency.

4.Postwar Reconstruction

When the Pacific War ended on August 15, the office was still in a state of ruins, with only emergency cleanup of damaged items inside and outside the building. Moreover, most of the male employees were injured and undergoing medical treatment, and they had to sleep in the office while working, which was an unusual situation. Therefore, the first task for the reconstruction of the branch was to promptly reassign Manager Yoshikawa and the other 15 affected employees and have them receive full medical treatment. Starting with two section managers who were transferred out on August 20, the transfers were carried out one after another, and by March of the following year, 12 employees had been transferred out. Meanwhile, the number of employees transferred to the Hiroshima Branch during the same period, including demobilized employees, reached more than 30. With this, each section had an operational structure in place, and the steps toward reconstruction were now in full swing.

In terms of operations, the bill clearing and exchange, which had been suspended since August 6, was resumed on October 1 amid the growing momentum for reconstruction in the city. The commercial banks that had been using the teller windows of the office began constructing temporary branches at the site of the burnt ruins of their own offices, with the earliest returning to their original locations by the end of August or September, and the latest by the spring of the following year. The Miyoshi Annex of the Hiroshima Branch was closed on November 30, 1945, after completing its role as a wartime evacuation center.
The second task was to restore the facilities and buildings of the office. Emergency repairs were made to the glass ceiling, electricity (mid-September), water supply, and telephone (early 1946), and the work was tentatively completed at the end of April 1946. Full-scale restoration work began in May of the same year, and glass ceilings, window frames, iron grids, and painting of walls were completed in November of the same year.

5.Conclusion

On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was hit by the first atomic bombing since the beginning of the human history. The Hiroshima branch of the Bank of Japan, located directly near the hypocenter, was also exposed to its destructive power. Most of the employees were injured, and half of them never returned home as victims.
In August 1966, a cenotaph was erected to pray for the repose of the souls of the Bank's employees who were victims of the atomic bombing. The cenotaph was later moved to the current office in Motomachi, where a memorial service is held every August by the branch manager and other employees.
All of us at the Hiroshima Branch sincerely pray for the repose of the souls of all the victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and for the 42 victims who died while in the line of duty at the Bank of Japan's Hiroshima Branch.