As mentioned in Support for A-bomb Survivors, despite the fact that a number of medical institutions were damaged by the atomic bombing and the military hospitals were closed after the war, the hospitals’ reconstruction was faster than expected. This chapter examines the process of reconstruction focusing on Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital and National Hiroshima Hospital. In Hiroshima City, a major base for military logistics, there were the Hiroshima Army Provision Depot, the Hiroshima Army Clothing Depot and the Hiroshima Army Ordnance Supply Depot. In 1942, Hiroshima Army Kyousai Hospital was established at the cost of about 2.3 million yen in Ujina-cho, aimed at serving workers who worked at the Rikugun Sagyoutyou (“Army Work Agency”) and their families, with medical service starting from February, 1943 10). According to Hiroshima Genbaku Sensaishi (“The Magazine on Hiroshima A-bomb Damage”), the hospital opened on November 3rd,1951 11).
The scale of Hiroshima Rikugun Kyousai Byouin was 7,190 tsubo, with a wooden two-story building as the main building, a North building, a South building, and a building for infectious patients and a quarantine building (3,210 tsubo in total). The number of staff members at the time of atomic bombing was about 250; 20 physicians including Hospital Director Tomoro Komiyama, 120 nurses, 80 students of a nurse training school and 30 others. The capacity was 250 beds in usual condition and 500 beds in an emergency.
While the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6th, 1945, because the hospital was far from the hypocenter, neither patients nor employees were killed or injured, and the building did not collapse. However, there were damages, for example: “roofs, windows and doors of the main building and lodgings were almost destroyed. Glass was completely destroyed. Celling was mostly fallen. Walls were half destroyed 12）.”
Under such circumstances, the Hiroshima Riugun Kyousai Hospital conducted rescue activities for survivors inundating the hospital. However, because the future prospects of military hospitals were uncertain due to the defeat, the reconstruction of damaged facilities remained abandoned, forcing the hospitals to close.
On August 20th , the Army Ministry decided that, “By the director of each facility, responsibility for military mutual aid (kyousai) hospitals shall be handed over to the Japanese Medical Association. The association will take over the treatment of hospitalized patients13).” On October 1st, all land, buildings, equipment, and medical materials (devices and medicine) of Hiroshima Army Kyosai Hospital and its Inokuchi Branch were donated to the Hiroshima Prefecture Branch of the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation14）. The Hiroshima Army Kyosai Hospital was reborn as the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation Ujina, and the Inokuchi branch became an independent hospital as Inokuchi Hospital. The Japan Medical Treatment Corporation Ujina repaired the roofs, windows and doors of the main building, the south building and dormitories with a budget of 123,410 yen in December 1945. On January 21st, 1946, the facility opened, making a fresh start. (94 workers, including 8 physicians with 62 beds as of May 27th). Furthermore, aiming at “committing to serving as the sole institution of the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation in devastated Hiroshima City15）,” the institute repaired the north building, operation rooms, and rooms for infectious disease at the cost of 388,000 yen. In this way, while it was incomplete, the institute was reconstructed.
While the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation Ujina was reconstructed, it had a fundamental problem: “It had not yet clarified which hospital lands, buildings and other hospital items were paid for or free. In addition, the prospect of donation is uncertain16）”. These fears proved well-founded on September 28th, 1959 when the Demobilization Agency, which took over the Army Ministry of Japan, urged the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation that “From this month to March next year, people withdrawn from Manchuria will return. In order to prepare salaries for those returnees, we request you to pay 15 million yen as a price for the National Kyosai Hospital (6 hospitals) 17）”. As the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation understood that there was no option but to accept the paid transfer as requested, it agreed to negotiate. On January 31st, 1947, the corporation and Japan Medical Treatment Corporation signed a purchase and sale contract for 350 million yen (Ujina Hospital 242 million yen, Inokuchi Hospital 450,000 yen, and medical devices 630,000 yen) 18）. With regard to the hospital repairing cost of 526,228 yen, it was paid by the Army Kyosai Association Liquidator to the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation.
On June 1st, 1953, the Ujina branch of the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation was merged with the Kusatsu branch. Using the facilities of the Ujina branch, the Hiroshima Central Hospital of the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation was established. (Isao Kurokawa, the director of the Kusatsu Hospital, was appointed as the director). The Kusatsu hospital was established by staff members who survived the destruction of the Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital (Hospital Medical School Hospital). On August 9th, they set up a relief office in Furuta National School and then transferred it to Kusatsu National School. And then, it became the Kusatsu branch of Japan Medical Treatment Corporation the on August 16th.
On October 31st, 1954, the act on resolution of the Medical Association and Japan Medical Treatment Corporation was issued and enacted on November 1st, leading to the resolution of Japan Medical Treatment Corporation being disolved and all facilities managed by the corporation taken over by prefectures or large cities. Hiroshima Prefecture decided to take over the medical institutions formerly managed by the Japan Medical Treatment Corporation and continued negotiations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Corporation. Finally, on March 23rd , 1948, Hiroshima Prefecture concluded the contract about transferring seven hospitals and two clinics to the prefecture. On April 1st, the following hospitals and clinics were opened: Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital, Inokuchi Prefectural Hospital, Hiroshima Prefectural Kosei Hospital, Prefectural Futagawa Hospital, Akitsu Prefectural Hospital, Setoda Prefectural Hospital, Chukai Prefectural Hospital, Toyota Prefectural Clinic, and Obata Prefectural Hospital.
After this, we will take National Hiroshima Hospital as a second example of the handover of the Army’s medical facilities. This national hospital opened on December 1st, 1945, following the closing of the Hiroshima Second Army Hospital’s branch hospitals, which had been established to move some of the hospital’s functions out the city. Ten physicians and 50 to 60 nurses and 200 inpatients were transferred to the hospital, which was located on the premises of a company, Daiwabo, in Ujina-machi, Hiroshima City. Along with this, the nurse training school was established (closed March 31, 1948 19)).
National Hiroshima Hospital started its activities as a medical treatment facility which mainly handled wounded military officers and war victims. However, on December 5, orders were given from GHQ to vacate the hospital so that it could be used as a repatriation camp for the Korean people in Japan. Since there was no choice, they moved operations to the empty barracks of the former army shipping training unit in Tanna-cho.
In early February, 1946, the National Hiroshima Hospital was reopened to accept the sick and wounded as activities for the repatriation of the Korean people would be completed by the end of March, and demobilization of military personnel and the repatriation of Japanese civilians would begin. From the beginning of March, the interior of the former Army Marine Headquarters building was renovated to be used as the headquarters of the hospital, three new temporary wards were built by the Ujina Repatriate Relief Bureau of the national government, and the Tanna-cho barracks were renovated, allowing them to accommodate 1,500 patients in total.
In this way, the National Hiroshima Hospital handled accommodating repatriates and treating them along with injured military officers, war victims, and citizens. The number of repatriates accommodated from December 1946 to December 1947 totaled 2,096 including army personnel (1,416), navy personnel (496), and civilian repatriates (184). In 1948, the hospital accommodated 4,571 people in total, including army personnel (4,011), navy personnel (533), and civilian repatriates (27) 20). Unfortunately, the numbers of accommodated people and recovered people except repatriates is unknown, however, guessing by the number, it is presumed that the hospital operation focused on the repatriates.
The average number of the patients per a day after the repatriation was over was recorded as follows: in 1951: inpatients (154), outpatients (174); in 1952: inpatients (216), outpatients (182) 21）. On April 1st, 1953, the National Hiroshima Hospital was changed into the National Sanatorium Hiroshima Hospital which was designed for tubercular patients. In addition, as explained later, this sanatorium hospital was closed on September 30th, 1956, followed by the transfer of its staff and inpatients to the newly established National Kure Hospital on October 1st.

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10) Hiroshima Prefecture Branch, Japan Medical Treatment Corporation, (September, 1945), Ujina Byouin Ikken 1945 Nen
Kugatsu Ki, (Documents relating to the Ujina Hospital from September 1945). Archived at Hiroshima Prefectural Office.
11) City of Hiroshima (Ed.) (1971), Hiroshima Genbaku Sensaishi: Daiikkan Daiippen Sousetsu, (Record of the Hiroshima A-bomb War Disaster, Vol.1) p.484. For the trends of Hiroshima Army Kyosai Hospital before the A-bombing, refer to pp.484-490 in this book.
12) Ujina Branch, Japan Medical Treatment Corporation (May 27th, 1945), Jokyo Hokokusho (Report on Situation) in Ujina Byouin Ikken.
13) First Demobilization Ministry (August 20th, 1945), “Rikugun Kyosai Byouinkumiai Zaisan Shori ni Kansuru Tsucho” (Notification Concerning Property Belonging to the Army Kyosai Hospital Association) in First Demobilization Ministry, Fukuinshi Hensanshiryou ( Editorial Material of First Demobilization Ministry History), Archived in Military Archives, Center for Military History, the National Institute for Defense Studies, Ministry of Defense.
14) Juryoshou (Receipt), (October,1st, 1945), Ujina Byoin Ikken
15) Ujina Branch, Japan Medical Treatment Corporation (May 27th, 1945)
16)“Ujinabyoin Tochitatemono Kifu ni Kansuruken,”(Concerning donation of land and buildings related to Ujina Hostpital” (February 28th , 1946), in Ujinabyoin Ikken
17)“Hokokusho” (Report), October 3 rd , 1946, (Ibid.)
18)“Moto Hiroshima Rikugun Kyosai Byoin Baibai Keiyakusho”(Sales Agreement of Former Hiroshima Army Kyosai Hospital”, (Ibid.)
19) Minoru Yoshimura (1st Director of the National Hiroshima Hospital), “Hiroshima Rikugun Byoin no Genbaku Shori)” (Hospital Practices of the Hiroshima Army Hospital after the Atomic Bombing), in National Kure Hospital (Ed.), Kokuritsu Kure Byoin Soritsu Jugo Nen no Ayumi (15-Year History of the National Kure Hospital), 1971: pp.17-21
20) Medical Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare (Ed.), Kokuritsu Byoin Junen no Ayumi (10-Year History of National Hospitals), 1955: pp.7,14,99,107
21) Ibid,p.795

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