Nagasaki

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

Industrial port (coal, iron, shipbuilding) on Nagasaki Bay, Kyushu Island, Japan, capital of Nagasaki prefecture; population (2000 est) 438,600. Industries include the manufacture of steel and electrical equipment. Nagasaki was the only Japanese port open to European trade from the 16th century until 1859. The first modern Japanese shipyard opened here 1855–61. On 9 August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki by the USA.

The port was opened to Western trade in 1571. Western trade was confined to the artificial island Dejima (Deshima) from its construction 1634–36 to 1859. Three days after Hiroshima had been bombed, the second atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Of Nagasaki's population of 212,000, an estimated 40,000 were killed and thousands more injured, not counting the long-term victims of radiation.

Green represents the Catholic people. Orange stands for the Protestant people. White is a symbol of peace. Effective date: 29 December 1937. >>