Aioi Bridge

The original bridge, constructed in 1932, was the aiming point for the 1945 Hiroshima atom bomb both because its shape was easily recognized from the air and its location was close to the center of the city.

Following the explosion, a person who survived the event described witnessing the Aioi Bridge being lifted several meters into the air, only to settle back down onto its foundation afterwards.

A surviving portion of a floor girder from the original bridge was subsequently donated to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

The longer part of the bridge crosses the Ōta River just to the north of the island containing the district of Nakajima-cho [ja].

The downstroke of the "T" links the main bridge to the island, and is also the north entrance to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

The 1983 Aioi Bridge
Photograph of the original Aioi Bridge from above, illustrating its T shape.
The original Aioi Bridge
The area around ground zero after the Hiroshima bombing. The T-shaped Aioi Bridge is visible near the center.
The railing of Aioi Bridge was bent over by the blast of atomic bomb