The rebuilt Catholic cathedral, completed in 1959, stands on the original site about 500 metres from the hypocentre. The new building is a faithful reconstruction in red brick. Several damaged statues from the original cathedral are displayed outside, blackened and missing limbs — the Head of the Virgin Mary, scorched but recognisable, is the most affecting. The cathedral is a working church and you can attend mass, but the most powerful experience is simply walking around the exterior and reading the date carved into the wall.
Urakami Cathedral
A story
The original cathedral, built between 1895 and 1925, was the largest in East Asia. It stood almost directly beneath the bomb. The wall sections that survived were initially left in place as a memorial — Hiroshima preserved the Atomic Bomb Dome, and many in Nagasaki wanted the same. The local government quietly demolished the ruins in 1958 to make way for reconstruction. A single buttress fragment was moved to the Hypocenter Park.