The center of the city contained a number of reinforced concrete buildings as well as lighter structures. Outside the center, the area was congested by a dense collection of small wooden workshops set among Japanese houses; a few larger industrial plants lay near the outskirts of the city. The houses were of wooden construction with tile roofs. Many of the industrial buildings also were of wood frame construction. The city as a whole was highly susceptible to fire damage.
Some of the reinforced concrete buildings were of a far stronger construction than is required by normal standards in America, because of the earthquake danger in Japan. This exceptionally strong construction undoubtedly accounted for the fact that the framework of some of the buildings which were fairly close to the center of damage in the city did not collapse.
The population of Hiroshima had reached a peak of over , earlier in the war but prior to the atomic bombing the population had steadily decreased because of a systematic evacuation ordered by the Japanese government. At the time of the attack the population was approximately , This figure is based on the registered population, used by the Japanese in computing ration quantities, and the estimates of additional workers and troops who were brought into the city may not be highly accurate.
Hiroshima thus had approximately the same number of people as the city of Providence, R. Nagasaki lies at the head of a long bay which forms the best natural harbor on the southern Japanese home island of Kyushu. The main commercial and residential area of the city lies on a small plain near the end of the bay. Two rivers divided by a mountain spur form the two main valleys in which the city lies. This mountain spur and the irregular lay-out of the city tremendously reduced the area of destruction, so that at first glance Nagasaki appeared to have been less devastated than Hiroshima.
The heavily build-up area of the city is confined by the terrain to less than 4 square miles out of a total of about 35 square miles in the city as a whole. Spanish missionaries converted several feudal lords, including Omura Sumitada. He made a deal to receive trade from Portuguese ships at the port he helped establish in Sugar was the Port of Nagasaki's main import from the Dutch, and the city became famous for its generous use of sugar in local dishes.
The word tempura comes from the Portuguese word "tempero" meaning sauce or seasoning. Portuguese trade stimulated the Port of Nagasaki's growth, with products like tobacco, bread, and textiles flowing into the area from abroad. The port prospered for five years, but powerful feudal lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned Christianity. In response, Hideyoshi ordered all missionaries to leave the country and took direct control of the Port of Nagasaki; however, the priests remained, and Christianity continued to be practiced there.
The following "execution of the 26 saints" resulted with 26 Christians, 6 Jesuit priests and 20 Japanese natives, being brought from other Japanese cities to Port of Nagasaki where they were crucified.
In , Catholicism was officially banned in Japan. Many, but not all, Catholics renounced the religion. The word "Simabara" came to symbolize the relationship between Christianity and treason.
A period of brutal Christian persecution and martyrdom followed, and thousands of people on Kyushu were tortured and killed. After years, it was considered a miracle when descendants of the first Japanese Christians were found living in the Port of Nagasaki's Urakami district. In , the shogunate established a community on the island of Dejima to isolate the Portuguese traders and prevent the spread of Christianity.
In , the old Dutch East India Company trading post was designated a historic site, and restoration efforts began in The local Port of Nagasaki magistrate, who was forced to provide food, water, and fuel to the British, committed seppuku ritual suicide for his shame. In response, Japanese laws were passed strengthening coastal defenses, training translating English and Russian translators, and threatening execution for foreign intruders. Even so, there was a Chinese factory in the Port of Nagasaki that brought goods and information to Japan during the 18th Century.
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