Former office and its current use

1.History of the Former Office

Construction of the former Hiroshima Branch office (Fukuromachi, Naka-ku) was completed in September 1936. The building of the former office was damaged by the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945, only 380 meters southeast of the hypocenter, but due to its robust structure, it escaped collapse and still retains almost all of its original appearance. In February 1994, the building was registered in the Atomic Bombed Buildings Registry as the "Former Hiroshima Branch of the Bank of Japan. In 1970, a new annex (vault building) was added to the north side of the building, but was demolished in June 1997.

ReferenceOutline of the former office

	Building construction date	Site area (public registry)	Building area (public registry)	Remarks
Old building	August 1936	1,554㎡	3,213㎡	Designated as an Important Cultural Property of Hiroshima City and rented free of charge to Hiroshima City in July 2000
New building	March 1970	2,614㎡	1,339㎡	Building demolished in June 1997 and land sold in September 1999

Address: 5-21 Fukuromachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City
Building structure (old building): Reinforced concrete structure with a flat-topped roof; 5 stories and 1 basement floor clad in granite claret
Date of purchase of site: August 1927

2.Donation and free rental of the former office to the City of Hiroshima

In March 1992, the Bank of Japan decided to dispose of the former office after it built a new office in Motomachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima. The former office was a valuable A-bombed building, and the City of Hiroshima strongly hoped that it be preserved and utilized. In May 2000, after discussions among the parties concerned, the Bank decided (1) to donate the former office to the City of Hiroshima in the event that it is designated as a National Important Cultural Property in the future, and (2) to lend the former office to the City of Hiroshima free of charge while it is designated as an Important Cultural Property of the City. In (2) above, it was decided that the Bank would continue to own the building and land of the former office, but that the city would bear the administrative and other costs.

3.Preservation and utilization of the former office

On July 25, 2000, the former office was designated as an Important Cultural Property of the City, and on July 31 of the same year, a lease agreement was signed with the City of Hiroshima for its free use. Subsequently, the former office was opened to the public as a city-designated Important Cultural Property and has been used for cultural and other activities by citizens. Conservation work was conducted for about a year and a half from March 2022, and as a result, the former office is now restored to a condition similar to that after the restoration work following the atomic bombing.