Japanese Students Create 3d Version Of Destroyed Neighborhood

Brick-colored Urakami Cathedral (center), with twin towers, stands 08 Aug 2005 in area of hypocenter of atomic bombing in NagasakiStudents at Japan's University of Nagasaki are attempting to recreate aneighborhood an atomic bomb destroyed. Seventy thousand people diedwhen the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki to end WorldWar II. Pictures and memories of the Urakami neighborhood at the city'scenter vanished with them. But a 3D project is bringing theneighborhood back to life.

University of Nagasaki professorByondok Jun's vision to recreate the city's Urakami neighborhood beganwith one image: an aerial photo of Nagasaki, taken by a U.S. warplane.

Theimage was snapped two days before the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb onthe city near the end of World War II. But it was only released a fewyears ago. The black and white image captured a hospital, theuniversity and surrounding homes; all buildings that were destroyed onAugust 10, 1945.

Jun says the image brought back the trees,the laughter, the city that existed before the attack. It gave him thefirst glimpse into life in Urakami and inspired him to recreate athree-dimensional image of the neighborhood.

Jun only plannedto complete the aerial image - but students Yurika Uchijima and KanoukoMaeda asked to take the project a step further. They wanted to recreatestreet corners and store fronts - making the images more personal - fortheir graduate thesis.

Maeda says they had no idea where tostart. They studied the professor's 3D aerial image first. Then theyset out in search of old pictures of the Urakami neighborhood.

Therewas one problem: most photos of the community were destroyed in theattack. With few images to draw from, Maeda and Uchijima went in searchof atomic bomb survivors and relied on their descriptions of Urakami.

Eighty-year-old Yoshitoshi Fukahori heard about the project and agreed to help out.

Fukahori says some question why I did this for free. But I felt an obligation to share my story as an atomic bomb survivor.

Fukahoriwas a teenager in 1945. He describes the Urakami neighborhood as onebig family that opened its doors to everybody. He recalls the communitygathering at the local barbershop to celebrate the smallestaccomplishments and share in each other's joy.

In the early1940s, Japan had conquered much of Asia and was at war with China,Britain and the United States. To end the war in August 1945, theUnited States dropped the first atomic weapons ever used on the citiesof Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A few days later, Japan surrendered.

Fukahori was not home the day of the bombing but his sister was.

Hesays he found her dead a few days later. She was grasping the beam oftheir home. His uncle was crushed under the building and his aunt diedas well.

Fukahori has spent the past 30 years collecting pictures of his old neighborhood for Nagasaki's Foundation for Peace.

Now those pictures are the foundation of a project to bring his memories back to life.

StudentYurika Uchijima says Fukahori pointed them to the playgrounds and awell where neighborhood children gathered to relax. She says he put apersonal story behind every one of the buildings.

The studentshave used those stories and the few pictures available to recreate 3Dimages of more than a tenth of Urakami's building. They hope tocomplete the project by December. Uchijima and Maeda do not have anyidea how their images will be used after that but professor Jun sees itas a tool for peace, one that teaches another generation about thepower of a nuclear weapon.