(5)What is the origin of the name "A-bomb Dome?"

Five years after the bombing, the name first appears

The A-bomb Dome is a symbol of Hiroshima and its appearance conveys the horror of nuclear weapons.

Last year, the Hiroshima city government produced a document related to the preservation of the A-bomb Dome. It mentions that "the name seems to have developed spontaneously from the citizens themselves as they made reference to the building." In other words, the actual origin of the name isn't really known.

The building was originally constructed in 1915 as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Six years later, it changed its name to Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, and in 1933, it became Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. For a while after the war, the name "Industrial Promotion Hall" was still used.

Visitors reading about the history of the A-bomb Dome

So when did it become known as the "A-bomb Dome"? I tried to locate the oldest reference to "A-bomb Dome" in the city's records. In a report on the state of the city, produced in 1954, I found the name "A-bomb Dome" on a map.

Next, I searched old newspapers. The name first appeared on June 23, 1950, introducing the "A-bomb Dome" in an article about tourism in Hiroshima. Shunichi Matsubayashi (63), a former civil servant of City Hall, who was in charge of editing an illustrated post-war history book for the 60th anniversary of the bombing, told me, "I've never seen the name in writing before the year 1950."

I then looked for "dome" in the Chugoku Newspaper's database of articles.

Eventually I discovered the phrase "the broken dome of the former Industrial Promotion Hall" in an article dated August 2, 1947. But it didn't refer to the whole building as a "dome," it was commenting only on the dome-shaped roof.

So the newspaper article of 1950 seems to be our oldest evidence. But who first began using this name?

Tadashi Watanabe, the president of the Hiroshima Volunteer Guide Association, points out that "the English word 'dome' wasn't familiar to people in those days and most people wouldn't have known the meaning." Therefore, it's possible that people of other countries started calling the building "A-bomb Dome". At this point, though, such a theory is hard to verify.

As a footnote to this investigation, the official name of the A-bomb Dome in regard to its status as a world heritage site is "Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku 'Atomic bomb'Dome)".

It seems like an odd name, but according to the Agency of Cultural Affairs, this name was proposed in order to be acceptable to other countries. Using "peace" in the name was a way to overcome objections to the idea of war-related heritage sites. However, because "Genbaku Dome" had become a familiar name in Japan, this term was included, too. (Takashi Kenda, staff writer)