Services in Hiroshima’s Nagarekawa Church

Minister leads services in Nagarekawa Methodist Church of Christ. The building, which was totally destroyed in the bombing, was only insured for 150,000 yen, about $500 in 1945 dollars ($5425 in 2005 dollars). Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto bartered, traded and cajoled donations of money and supplies to start rebuilding. When he wasn’t doing that, he and four other ministers would walk around Hiroshima preaching to the community, which was angry at both the occupation and the Japanese government for the bombing and the terrible conditions that plagued Hiroshima for years afterward. An Emory University alumni, he contacted his friends in the United States for help. He visited the United States in 1948, touring Methodist congregations and telling about his efforts to minister to the Hiroshima community. This resulted in thousands of dollars in donations and a car. He began social services for people, especially women, who were disfigured by the bomb, and an orphanage. He brought the “Hiroshima Maidens“ to the United States for surgery to treat their scars and wounds in 1955.