Hiroshima Shadows

On this day in 1945 a customer was sitting on the steps of Sumitomo Bank in Hiroshima, likely waiting for the branch to open, when the Little Boy atomic bomb exploded over the city. The intense heat burned the stone building white. The customer’s body shielded one section of the steps, leaving a “shadow”visible as a darkened area.

Photograph by Yoshito Matsushige. A journalist's legs were included to provide context to the scene.

Throughout the center of Hiroshima were a myriad of haunting outlines from window panes, valves, and even people in their last seconds. Etched on buildings and sidewalks now were the nuclear shadows of a city about to be obliterated.

This is perhaps the most famous of the Hiroshima shadows. It is one of the most complete impressions left behind by the blast, and remained in place for over 20 years before it was removed and taken to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It is known as Human Shadow of Death or the Blast Shadow,

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