Yoshito Matsushige
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
photojournalist who survived the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima
on 6 August 1945 and took five photographs on the day of the bombing in Hiroshima, the only photographs taken that day within Hiroshima that are known.
Matsushige was born in Kure
, Hiroshima
in 1913. He took a job in a newspaper after finishing school and in 1943 entered the photography section of the newspaper Chugoku Shimbun
.
Matsushige was at home 2.7 km south of the hypocentre
at the time of the explosion. He was not seriously injured, and determined to go to the city centre. A fire forced him back to Miyuki bridge, where the scene of desperate and dying people prevented him from using his camera for twenty minutes, when he took two frames at about 11:00. He tried again later that day but was too nauseated to take more than three more frames. The first two frames are of people who escaped serious injury next to Miyuki bridge; the second of these is taken closer up and shows them having cooking oil applied to their burns. A third shows a policeman, his head bandaged, issuing certificates to civilians. The last pair are taken close to home: one of the damage to his family's barbershop, and another out of his window.
Matsushige was unable to develop the film for twenty days, and even then had to do so at night and in the open, rinsing it in a stream. The negatives had severely deteriorated by the 1970s, requiring intensive restoration work.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
photojournalist who survived the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
on 6 August 1945 and took five photographs on the day of the bombing in Hiroshima, the only photographs taken that day within Hiroshima that are known.
Matsushige was born in Kure
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
, Hiroshima
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
in 1913. He took a job in a newspaper after finishing school and in 1943 entered the photography section of the newspaper Chugoku Shimbun
Chugoku Shimbun
The is a Japanese local daily newspaper based in Hiroshima. It serves the Chūgoku region of Japan with a market share in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, Okayama and Tottori Prefectures. The newspaper publishes morning paper and evening editions. The morning paper has a daily circulation of 646,908...
.
Matsushige was at home 2.7 km south of the hypocentre
Hypocenter
The hypocenter refers to the site of an earthquake or a nuclear explosion...
at the time of the explosion. He was not seriously injured, and determined to go to the city centre. A fire forced him back to Miyuki bridge, where the scene of desperate and dying people prevented him from using his camera for twenty minutes, when he took two frames at about 11:00. He tried again later that day but was too nauseated to take more than three more frames. The first two frames are of people who escaped serious injury next to Miyuki bridge; the second of these is taken closer up and shows them having cooking oil applied to their burns. A third shows a policeman, his head bandaged, issuing certificates to civilians. The last pair are taken close to home: one of the damage to his family's barbershop, and another out of his window.
Matsushige was unable to develop the film for twenty days, and even then had to do so at night and in the open, rinsing it in a stream. The negatives had severely deteriorated by the 1970s, requiring intensive restoration work.
Further reading
- Iwakura Tsutomu. "The Need for a Photographic and Motion Picture Museum for Peace". Kaku: Hangenki, pp. 12–14.
- Kaku: Hangenki (核：半減期) / The Half Life of Awareness: Photographs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1995. Exhibition catalogue; captions and text in both Japanese and English. Three photographs by Matsushige are reproduced (other works are by Ken DomonKen Domonis one of the most renowned Japanese photographers of the twentieth century. He is most celebrated as a photojournalist, though he may have been most prolific as a photographer of Buddhist temples and statuary....
, Toshio FukadaToshio Fukadais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Kikujirō FukushimaKikujiro Fukushimais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Shigeo HayashiShigeo Hayashiwas a Japanese photographer. After three years of army service he began his career as a photographer with the Japanese propaganda magazine FRONT, in 1943. In September 1945 he was one of two photographers assigned by the Special Committee for the Investigation of A-bomb Damage to document the...
, Kenji IshiguroKenji Ishigurois a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Shunkichi KikuchiShunkichi Kikuchiwas a Japanese photographer best known for his documentation of Hiroshima and Tokyo immediately after the war.Kikuchi was born in Hanamaki, Iwate on 1 May 1916. After graduating from the Oriental School of Photography, Kikuchi was employed in the Photography Division of Tokyo Kōgeisha and began his...
, Mitsugi KishidaMitsugi Kishidawas a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Eiichi MatsumotoEiichi Matsumotois a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Shōmei TōmatsuShomei Tomatsuis a Japanese photographer.Born Teruaki Tōmatsu in Nagoya in 1930, Tōmatsu studied economics at Aichi University, graduating in 1954. While still a student, he had his photographs published by the major Japanese photography magazines. He entered Iwanami and worked on the series Iwanami Shashin Bunko...
, Hiromi TsuchidaHiromi Tsuchidais a renowned Japanese photographer.Tsuchida has produced several collections of photographs of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He has produced many influential photo books such as Zokushin, counting the sand and new counting the sand and The Berlin Wall...
and Yōsuke YamahataYosuke Yamahatawas a Japanese photographer best known for extensively photographing Nagasaki the day after it was bombed.Yamahata was born in Singapore; his father, Shōgyoku Yamahata had a job there related to photography. He went to Tokyo in 1925 and eventually started at Hosei University but dropped out in...
). - Kaneko Ryuichi. "The Half-Life of Awareness: Photographs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki". Kaku: Hangenki, pp. 21–24.