Japan Guide
Kyūshū
Urakami Cathedral
From the Peace Park you can see the twin red-brick towers of Urakami Cathedral, or Urakami Daiseidō, dominating a small rise 400m to the east. The present building is a postwar replica of the original, which was completed in 1925 and destroyed when the atomic bomb exploded only 500m away. The blast left scorch marks on the statues now preserved at the top of the steps, and tore off huge chunks of masonry, including a section of the bell tower which still rests on the bank under the north wall. Inside the south door, a chapel is dedicated to the "Bombed Mary", from whose charred face stare sightless eyes.