What may have happened if the U.S. dropped the A-bomb in Kyoto and Not Hiroshima?

Question

Since Kyoto is something like the cultural craddle of Japan...
The A-Bomb may wipe out much of Japan's cultural heritage.
Will this make the Japanese surrender? or pursuit the war, even the U.S had the A-bombs?

Answer 1

It wouldn't have made much difference. It was the headlong rush to modernity that propelled Japan towards militarism, so the cultural assets in Kyoto were just not a priority in 1945. The die-hard's plan was to have every single Japanese person either die defending Japan or kill themselves (the kids could be tossed off cliffs like at Saipan, I guess), so they weren't really worried about the temples and shrines.

Losing the Western Army HQ in Hiroshima probably demoralized the Japanese leadership a lot more than losing the light industry/cultural assets in Kyoto would have. I do agree with tjinjapan that the emperor was pivotol in the decision to surrender, the A-bomb gave him the pro-surrender rationale that he wanted and he was thus able to overide the die-hards.

To some degree, Kyoto is what it is today precisely because the US made the decision to spare the city. A lot of other culturally important sites got bombed flat, so Kyoto won out as a cultural center/tourist trap by default. It's very ironic that the temple of the golden pavillion was spared from being nuked, only to be burned down by one of it's own priests in 1950!

Answer 2

No the Japanese still would have surrendered. The military even after the bombs were dropped still did not want to give up. It was the unprecedented action by the emperor to make a radio address to surrender that stopped the war.
Bombing of Kyoto would have had the same effect. The emperor would still have done what he did. He was a smart man! The Japanese army would not have given up if it wasn't for him. They would have fought to the end and to nuclear destruction.

Answer 3

the bomb wouldnt have edestroyed the whole city. kyoto is much bigger than hiroshima. hiroshima and nagasaki were chosen as targets because they were mediumsized cities that would have been completely destroyed by the bombs, that were not as powerful as the Abombs of today. the effect of having an entire city destroyed with one single bomb lead japan to surrender more effectively than targeting a big city like kyoto or tokyo.

Answer 4

i feel that dropping the A-bomb on any part of Japan would have forced them to surrender. I am not sure the long term outcome.

Answer 5

The blast would seal up the fault lines and Japan will be free of earthquakes forever.

Answer 6

i believe the effect would have been the same.
would it make a difference to you if the a bomb was dropped on say Huston instead of washington, i believe the effect would have been the same . LF