HIROSHIMA 1945
Special Exhibition 80 Years after Atomic Bombing

May. 31—Aug. 17, 2025

• May. 31—Aug. 17, 2025
• Closed Mondays (except when Monday falls on a holiday, in which case the museum is open and closed the following day)
• Admission：Adults – 800 yen (640) /College students and younger – free of charge / Those 65 years of age or older – 500 yen (400) *Prices in parentheses indicate discounts applying to groups of 20 people or more, those with tickets for film screenings at the museum. *Admission is free for holders of Japan’s disability identification cards and up to two of their caregivers.

Under the mushroom cloud—Human suffering
At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II, the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb, from the B-29 bomber Enola Gay, in the skies above a city for the first time in human history. On that day, Hiroshima was reduced to a scorched ruins by the single bomb and, three days later, Nagasaki suffered the same fate. With their cameras in hand, there were people walking at the time through the wasteland who had survived the atomic bombing and who were in a state of shock at the sight of human beings suffering from the acute effects of radiation exposure.

Around 140,000 people are estimated to have died in Hiroshima by the end of 1945. Now, 80 years later in 2025, the world remains under threat by as many as 12,000 nuclear warheads in the possession of nine nations. As wars continue to rage across the globe, it is more important than ever to share with everyone the photographic and film record of the atomic bombing, along with the heartfelt plea of the survivors — “This must never be repeated.”

This exhibition features around 160 photographs and two films of Hiroshima’s atomic bombing taken by citizens of Hiroshima, photojournalists, and professional photographers. This occasion marks the first time for the media organizations involved in the possession, preservation, and use of the materials to collaborate on organizing an exhibition of A-bombing photos and films.
The exhibition is largely composed of materials from the “Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945” (1,532 photos and two films), a joint application for which the Hiroshima City government and the media organizations submitted to the “Memory of the World” international register of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2023. The materials had been preserved by the photographers themselves amidst the chaos following Japan’s defeat in the war and in defiance of the restrictive media censorship in place during the occupation era.

Material collections: Association of Photographers of the Atomic Bomb Destruction of Hiroshima (13 individuals, including Toshio Fukada and Gonichi Kimura, and one organization) / The Chugoku Shimbun (four individuals, including Yoshito Matsushige and Seiso Yamada) / The Asahi Shimbun (Hajime Miyatake, Eiichi Matsumoto) / The Mainichi Newspapers (four individuals, including Yukio Kunihira and Entaro Yamagami) / Domei News Agency (Takashi Saeki, Satsuo Nakata) / Shigeo Hayashi / Shunkichi Kikuchi / Nippon Eigasha (films associated with RCC Broadcasting, NHK)


Shunkichi Kikuchi, Sister and brother suffering from hair loss
Collection of Harumi Tago


Yukio Kunihira, Girl standing in the city after the bombing
Archived at the Mainichi Newspapers


Eiichi Matsumoto, View of Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall and Motoyasu River
Archived at the Asahi Shimbun


Yotsugi Kawahara, City burned down, destroyed completely and reduced to rubble
Archived at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum


Satsuo Nakata, A streetcar that completely burned
Archived at Kyodo News / Hiroshima University Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine


Yoshito Matsushige, Devastation at the west end of Miyuki Bridge (second photo)
Owned by the Chugoku Shimbun, archived at the Photo Archives of Japan


Shigeo Hayashi, Shimomura Clock Shop
Archived at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum


Yukio Kunihira, Looking northwest from the burnt ruins of the Mainichi Newspapers Hiroshima branch office
Archived at the Mainichi Newspapers


Shunkichi Kikuchi, People looking at event information at Koi reconstruction festival
Collection of Harumi Tago


Hajime Miyatake, Boy receiving treatment for his burns at Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital
Archived at the Asahi Shimbun


Takashi Saeki, Looking southeast from the Chugoku Shimbun Newspaper Company
Archived at Kyodo News / Hiroshima University Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine


Yoshito Matsushige, Police officer writing out victim certificates
Owned by the Chugoku Shimbun, archived at the Photo Archives of Japan


Organizers: The Chugoku Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Newspapers, RCC Broadcasting, Kyodo News
Co-organizer: Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Supporters: Hiroshima City government, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), Japan Professional Photographers Society, Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, Hiroshima Prefectural government, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation Contributors: Frameman Co., Ltd., Shashin Kosha, Inc., Hiroshima International Cultural Foundation

—Inquiries—
The Chugoku Shimbun Editorial Department (7-1 Dobashi-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, 730-8677)
Coordinators: Yumi Kanazaki, Masaaki Kobayashi
Email: peacemedia@chugoku-np.co.jp
Tel: 080-2933-7268 (Hiroshima Peace Media Center) 082-236-2455 (Reader and Public Engagement Office)

The “Hiroshima 1945: Special exhibition 80 years after atomic bombing” focuses on the reality of the devastation caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and thus includes photographs depicting scenes of dead and wounded that some might find disturbing. If you think you might feel uncomfortable viewing such images, please inform a staff member. We will gladly explain details of the layout and content of the exhibition before you begin.

*Please note that this event is subject to change due to circumstances.