❸ A Thriving Community: The Nakajima District Before the Bombing
Everyday Living in the City
Before the bombing, the Nakajima district was a thriving community composed of many smaller areas such as Nakajima Hon-machi, Tenjin-cho, Motoyanagi-machi, Zaimoku-cho, Kobiki-cho, and Nakajima Shin-machi. The photos and films which remain paint a picture of the everyday lives of those in the Nakajima district: men and women going to work, and the smiling faces of children.
The district’s main street, Nakajima Hon-dori, was lined with shops, its streets crowded with people shopping and working.
People walking on the Motoyasu-bashi Bridge
From the Hiroshima City Municipal Archives Collection
People walking on the Motoyasu-bashi Bridge
From the Hiroshima City Municipal Archives Collection
The children living in the district found places to play in the backstreets and alleyways, temple and shrine precincts, and the rivers which surrounded the district.
Kids playing on land which has been reclaimed
From the collection of Kawakami Kiyoshi
Courtesy of Cultural Promotion Division, Citizens Affairs Bureau, City of Hiroshima
In front of the Tsuruya Footwear Store
From a private collection
Courtesy of Cultural Promotion Division, Citizens Affairs Bureau, City of Hiroshima
Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines lay scattered inside the district, acting not only as places for the people to find respite, but also as places where cultural activities could flourish.
Japanese instrumental group at Jōhō-ji Temple in Nakajima Hon-machi
Courtesy of Jōhō-ji Temple
Playing in the Motoyasu-gawa River
Courtesy of Kanda Manabu
Children at the Mutoku Kindergarten at Seigan-ji Temple
Courtesy of Tada Yoshiko
The main gate at Seigan-ji Temple in Zaimoku-cho
Courtesy of Kanda Manabu
2.The History of the Nakajima District
4.The History of the Rest House