A pre-exposure video of Urakami Cathedral, which was destroyed in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, has been found in Kyoto. Films showing Urakami Cathedral before the atomic bombing are rare, and the footage confirmed this time is believed to be one of the oldest in Japan. An expert on Nagasaki's history and video said, "There are no pictures of the townscape from that time, and it's a valuable video that shows how the houses were built."
About five years ago, Noriyoshi Suga, 81, who runs a medical corporation in Unzen City, Nagasaki Prefecture, donated it to the Toy Movie Museum (Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City). According to Suga, his father, the late Shigeyoshi, took the photo.
The video is approximately 1 minute. According to the museum's analysis, it is believed to have been taken around 1935 based on the footage before and after. It shows the rows of houses near Urakami Cathedral, children gathering at the church, and women in kimonos coming out of the temple.
The video was shot on 9.5mm film called Pathebaby, but the museum digitized it last year. It was screened at the Osaka Asian Film Festival held in Osaka in March this year as part of "The Sino-Japanese War as seen in toy movies."
According to Sei Matsuda, vice-president of Peace Baton Nagasaki (Nagasaki City), a citizens' group familiar with images of Nagasaki during and after the war, images of Urakami Cathedral prior to the atomic bombing have only been seen in propaganda films during the Pacific War. It is This video is the second example, and if it was taken around 1935, it would be the oldest.
Mr. Matsuda evaluates, "There are no photos of the townscape in the vicinity of Urakami Cathedral in the video. It was well taken as a private film."
≪Urakami Cathedral≫
A church located in the Urakami district of Nagasaki City, which has many Christians. Construction began in 1895 and was completed in 1914 as the largest brick Romanesque cathedral in the East. When the atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945, the cathedral, located about 500 meters from the hypocenter, was largely destroyed. The current building was rebuilt with reinforced concrete in 1959 and renovated with brick tiles in 1980.
