After the A-bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki then and now – in pictures

Exactly 70 years ago the US dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, on Hiroshima, killing 140,000 of its 350,000 citizens. Three days later, a second bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki. Photographer Issei Kato has paired archive images of the ruins with how they look today

Issei Kato

  • The gutted Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall – now known as the A-Bomb Dome or the Hiroshima Peace Memorial – after the bombing on 6 August 1945, and the same location near Aioi Bridge in 2015.

    The gutted Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (C), which is currently called the Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome, after the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 6, 1945 and the same location near Aioi Bridge in Hiroshima in 2015

  • The etched outline of a passerby that was imprinted on the Yorozuyo Bridge after the heat of the bomb. This was 860 metres from the centre of the blast; the asphalt was scorched everywhere except the light area, which was shielded by their body. Today, the bridge has been tiled over.

    The etched shadow of a passerby that was imprinted on the road surface of Yorozuyo Bridge, due to the heat of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This location was 860 meters (2,822 ft) from the centre of the blast; the unshielded asphalt surface was scorched, while the areas that were shielded are a lighter colour

  • Residents walk near Aioi Bridge in Hiroshima, October 1945, and the bridge today.

    Local residents walking near Aioi Bridge in Hiroshima, after the atomic bombing in October 1945

  • People walk past the A-Bomb Dome on the Aioi Bridge. Today, cyclists cross the bridge.

    The gutted Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, which is currently called the Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome, as people walk on Aioi Bridge

  • The shadows of railings cast on the Yorozuyo Bridge road by the heat of the bomb.

    The shadows of railings that were imprinted on the road surface of Yorozuyo Bridge by the heat of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This location was 860 meters (2,822 ft) from the centre of the blast

  • The ruins of Nagasaki Medical College after the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, three days later.

    The ruins of Nagasaki Medical College, destruction caused by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki . Three days after Hiroshima a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

  • The Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, which was obliterated on 9 August. The replacement was built in 1959.

    The Urakami Cathedral which was destroyed in Nagasaki on 9 August

  • The south face of Urakami Cathedral in 1945 – and the rebuilt cathedral.

    The south face of Urakami Cathedral, which was destroyed by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on 9 August, 1945 and the rebuilt cathedral

  • The ruins of the Shiroyama National School in Nagasaki, and the same road today.

    The ruins of the Shiroyama National School, which was destroyed in Nagasaki
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