Sannō Shrine

The one-legged torii of Sannō Shrine is outlined in red.

The well-known one-legged torii or one-legged arch (一本柱鳥居) was one of the unanticipated results of the atomic bomb blast on August 9, 1945.

The epicenter of the bomb's destructive force was located approximately 800 meters from the shrine (in the right background of the image on the left).

One support column was knocked down; but the other somehow remained standing, keeping the gate upright but effectively breaking it in half. The force of the shockwave rotated the torii about 30 degrees on its pedestal base. The central part of the shrine is located just behind the photographer of the image on the right.[1]

Camphor Tree Sannō Shinto Shrine Nagasaki, 2014

The one-legged torii and rubble after the atomic blast, 1945

The devastated Sannō camphor trees, 1945

The surviving trees of Sannō Shrine have become another living demonstration of destruction and re-growth. Two large camphor trees were scorched, burned and stripped of all leaves by the bomb's shock wave; and yet, despite everything, the trees survived. One tree in Nagasaki was designated a natural monument on February 15, 1969.[2]

The dead parts of the living trees have been enveloped by new growth. [1]