HIRSOHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK
We hired a local guide, Pancho, who took us through the many places of remembrance in and around the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. His grandfather, then a small child, was badly burned in the blast. He survived, but would never speak of what he saw or experienced. Pancho was a font of knowledge, and provided a "human" face to horrors of that day, as well as taking us to some of the less-known sites. We recommend that you consider a guide when visiting Hiroshima (about A$135 pp).
The Memorial Museum
At approximately 8.15am on August 6th 1945, an atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” was detonated 600m above Hiroshima. The city was targeted due to its importance as a military base, the flat terrain of the city centre, and the distinctive “T” shaped Aioi bridge to aim at.
The bomb missed its target by about 250m and exploded above a clinic – a plinth marks the spot, known as ground zero or the Hypocentre. The blast and resulting firestorm killed an estimated 70,000, with the death toll rising to over 130,000 by the end of the year. This number included many Korean slave labourers. Many thousands more people succumbed to radiation sickness and the longer-term illnesses brought on by their exposure to the fallout.
The Museum is a sombre place. One can spend many hours viewing the photographs and displays and reading the touching real-life accounts of people who were there on that fateful day. The utter power and devastation of nuclear weapons comes to light among the shattered remains of buildings, the glass bottles fused under the intense heat of the blast, and the horrific injuries.
130,000 people killed can seem like a sterile number, until you see photos of little children with horrendous burns running through the streets. War brings out the worst in humans, and some in the Japanese armies were among the cruellest. However, on this day in August 1945, it was the innocent who suffered the most.
The Memorial Cenotaph
The Memorial Cenotaph was opened on 6 August 1952. Built in the shape of an arch, it symbolises shelter for the victims who died there. There’s a plaque with the very apt inscription:
“Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil”.
The Museum, the Peace Cenotaph, the Peace Flame (which was lit in 1964 and will burn until the world is free of nuclear weapons) and the Atomic Dome are all in a straight line.
Children’s Peace Monument
This monument was erected in memory of the children who perished. The statue at the top commemorates Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died from radiation-induced leukemia. Sadako is holding a paper crane aloft – she folded over 1,000 of these in the belief that it would help cure her. Today children from all over Japan come to the Peace Monument and leave paper banners made of paper cranes in Sadako’s honour. While we were there, a group of schoolchildren were lined up under the Monument, reciting poems and prayers before making their own paper crane presentation.
The A-Bomb or Atomic Dome
The photo of the dome above the wrecked, but still standing Industrial Promotions Hall is probably one of the most recognisable images from the Second World War. The building was very close (250m) from ground zero but largely survived due to its reinforced concrete construction. Also, being directly under the detonation point, the blast waves were vertical rather than horizontal which probably would’ve flattened the walls.
For a long time, the Dome was a contentious issue, with many Japanese folk wanting it razed to the ground because of the bad memories that it invoked. However, it was declared a World Heritage site in 1996 as a poignant symbol of the destruction and tragedy on that August day in 1965 and the wish for a world free of nuclear weapons. The ruins still stand, thanks to ongoing strengthening of the walls, to protect against the many earthquakes that hit Japan.
The Atomic Dome was to us the most real and moving monument in the Peace Park.
The Rest House
Previously a kimono shop, this building near ground zero was being used during the war as a centre for fuel rationing. Thirty seven of the 38 staff present on that day were killed outright: one man, Eizo Nomura had fortuitously been down in the basement collecting some papers. He survived the bomb, and despite suffering from the effects of radiation exposure, lived into his 80s. The building has been restored and is now a small museum and information centre.
The Small Cemetery near the Hypocentre
The effects of the bomb can be seen on the granite tombstones in this small cemetery near to ground zero. The upper horizontal surfaces of the stones have been scoured by the intense heat and blast waves, while the horizontal surfaces remain polished.
The Public School that survived the blast and was used as a relief and first aid station.
Sections of a nearby Public School (still operating today) survived the blast and were used as relief and first aid stations. People would write messages on the walls, looking for loved ones or saying that they were safe. Some sections of these walls have been preserved in a small museum, together with the original concrete blocks (the concrete survived, but the timber locking beams have been burnt).