Household terracotta tiles, atomic blast Hiroshima

Two pieces of terracotta roof tiles distorted and fused together with other miscellaneous debris.

These damaged terracotta roof tiles were collected at Hiroshima by the Australian Military History Section during the Allied Occupation of Japan. The damage to the tiles was caused by the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945. This type of tile is known as a ‘kawara’, a Japanese baked clay tile which were common in buildings across Japan. These tiles were favoured in part because of their fire resistant qualities which is why it has maintained some of its structural integrity although the clay tiles fused together in the blast.

In the Allied occupation which followed the Second World War, Australians served as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) from February 1946 until the treaty in 1951 to assist with the demilitarisation and democratisation of Japan. Australian forces worked within the Hiroshima prefecture and day trips to the site were a common occurrence. With no understanding of the dangers of radiation in the area, Australians collected or purchased damaged items from the site as souvenirs to take home.

The Military History Section operated under the Army and was attached to BCOF Headquarters first in Kure and then Eta Jima, south of Hiroshima. They were responsible for the documentation and creation of an official history as well as the collection of pertinent war relics. They were a small team which decreased as the occupation went on. All the objects they collected were then sent to the Australian War Memorial.