Item From the Past: Instant Ruin

I've seen a fair number of ruins over the years, but only one structure that became a ruin instantly -- the Atomic Bomb Dome (原爆ドーム Genbaku Dōmu). It's familiar enough in other people's pictures, but when I was in Hiroshima in April 1993, I had to take my own.

I didn't know until more recently the story of the fellow who designed the building, one Jan Letzel, born in Bohemia in 1880. Apparently he left few buildings behind in his homeland, but several as an expat architect in Japan. One was the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, which wasn't completely knocked down in 1945 because of its inherent strength as a concrete structure, and the angle of the blast. But it was ruined in that instant.

Outside of Hiroshima proper is Itsukushima Shrine (also known as Miyajima), which has a different historic vibe all together. Its torii, like the genbaku dome, is an iconic image of Japan. And what did I see when I was there? The torii under scaffolding.