Nagasaki's Districts

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I wrote this article after spending a number of years visiting Nagasaki, including interviewing hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) who had worked at the Nagasaki Shipyard. Exploring the city, I discovered, with the help of Japanese friends, that the place had a far more complex and significant history than just "the atomic bomb." I found that physical evidence of this centuries-old history still is present. I also realized that no one had yet written about the full scope of this history over four centuries - in English - from the perspective of urban geography and social transformation. What particularly intrigued me was the extent of Western contact that was continous - starting with the Portuguese in the 17th century, followed later by the Dutch, then the English, and finally the Americans - yet Nagasaki retained its own identity, much like Japan has done nationally.

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