| Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park | |
|---|---|
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
|
| Type | Public Park for World Peace |
|---|---|
| Location | Hiroshima |
| Coordinates | 34.3927°N 132.4524°ECoordinates: 34.3927°N 132.4524°E |
| Created | April 1, 1954 |
| Status | Open all year |
| Website | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park |
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (広島平和記念公園 Hiroshima Heiwa Kinen Kōen) is a memorial park in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack, and to the memories of the bomb's direct and indirect victims (of whom there may have been as many as 140,000). The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is visited by more than one million people each year. The park is there in memory of the victims of the nuclear attack on August 6, 1945. On August 6, 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was planned and designed by the Japanese Architect Kenzō Tange at Tange Lab.
The location of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was once the city’s
busiest downtown commercial and residential district. The park was
built on an open field that was created by the explosion. Today there
are a number of memorials and monuments, museums, and lecture halls,
which draw over a million visitors annually. The annual 6 August Peace Memorial Ceremony, which is sponsored by the city of Hiroshima, is also held in the park.
The purpose of the Peace Memorial Park is to not only memorialize the
victims, but also to establish the memory of nuclear horrors and
advocate world peace.
Notable symbols
The A-Bomb Dome
A-Bomb Dome
The A-Bomb Dome is the skeletal ruins of the former Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. It is the building closest to the hypocenter of the nuclear bomb
that remained at least partially standing. It was left how it was after
the bombing in memory of the casualties. The A-Bomb Dome, to which a
sense of sacredness and transcendence has been attributed, is situated
in a distant ceremonial view that is visible from the Peace Memorial
Park’s central cenotaph. It is an officially designated site of memory for the nation’s and humanity’s collectively shared heritage of catastrophe. The A-Bomb Dome was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on December 7, 1996.
Many A-Bomb survivors and Hiroshima citizens were pushing for the
A-Bomb Dome to be registered as a World Heritage Site as it was "a
symbol of horror and nuclear weapons and humankind's pledge for peace." This collective petition from many citizens groups was finally given
influence when the Japanese government officially recommended the dome
to the World Heritage Site committee in December 1995. A marker was
placed on the A-Bomb Dome on April 25, 1997 by Hiroshima City. It reads:
As a historical witness that conveys the tragedy of suffering the first atomic bomb in human history and as a symbol that vows to faithfully seek the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace, Genbaku Dome was added to the World Heritage List in accordance with the "Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention)."
December 7, 1996, Hiroshima City
Children's Peace Monument
The Children's Peace Monument
is a statue dedicated to the memory of the children who died as a
result of the bombing. The statue is of a girl with outstretched arms
with a folded paper crane rising above her. The statue is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki (佐々木禎子 Sasaki Sadako), a young girl who died from radiation from the bomb. She is known for folding over 1,000 paper cranes in response to a Japanese legend.
To this day, people (mostly children) from around the world fold cranes
and send them to Hiroshima where they are placed near the statue. The
statue has a continuously replenished collection of folded cranes
nearby.
The Rest House of Hiroshima Peace Park
Rest House
The Rest House of Hiroshima Peace Park is another atomic bombed building in the park. The building was built as the Taishoya Kimono
Shop in March 1929. It was used as a fuel distribution station when the
shortage of fuel began in June 1944. On August 6, 1945, when the bomb
exploded, the roof was crushed, the interior destroyed, and everything
consumable burned except in the basement. Eventually, 36 people in the
building died of the bombing; 47-year-old Eizo Nomura survived in the
basement, which had a concrete roof through which radiation had a more
difficult time penetrating. He survived into his 80s.
The former Nakajima District, which today is Peace Memorial Park,
was a prominent business quarter of the city during the early years of
the Showa period (1926–89) and had been the site of many wooden
two-story structures. However, in 1929, the three-story Taishoya Kimono
Shop was constructed, surrounded by shops and movie theaters.
It was said that if you went up to the roof, a panoramic view of the
city awaited. In 1943 the Kimono Shop was closed and in June 1944, as
World War II intensified and economic controls became increasingly
stringent, the building was purchased by the Prefectural Fuel Rationing
Union.
At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the explosion of the atomic bomb
about 600 meters above the hypocenter destroyed the building’s concrete
roof. The interior was also badly damaged and gutted by ensuing fires,
and everyone inside was killed except Nomura, who miraculously survived.
The building was restored soon after the war and used as the Fuel Hall.
In 1957, the Hiroshima East Reconstruction Office, which became the
core the city’s reconstruction program, was established there.
The Basement of the Rest House
At the time of the bombing, 37 people were working there. All of them
perished, with the exception of Eizo Nomura, who had gone down to the
basement at that moment and survived the bombing. Nomura, who was then
47, was a worker for the Hiroshima Prefectural Fuel Rationing Union.
Nomura managed to escape through rising fire and vigorous smoke.
However, after his survival, he struggled with high fever, diarrhea,
bleeding gums, and other symptoms caused by the radiation.
Although the building was heavily damaged, it stood still and was
renovated soon after the war, including a new wooden roof. After the
war, the Hiroshima municipal government purchased the building and
established a postwar recovery office in it. Today it is used as the
Rest House in Peace Memorial Park.
The Rest House has been in debates many times over whether or not it
should be preserved. In 1995, the city decided to demolish the building,
but the plan was put aside. One of the reasons was because of the
announcement of the A-Bomb Dome as a World Heritage site.
Right now, the first floor of the Rest House is used as a tourist
information office and a souvenir shop, the second/third floors as
offices, and the basement is preserved nearly as it was at the time of
the bombing.
Ceremonies
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
Every year on 6 August, "A-Bomb Day," the City of Hiroshima holds the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
to console the victims of the atomic bombs and to pray for the
realization of lasting world peace. The ceremony is held in the morning
from 8:00, in front of the Memorial Cenotaph with many citizens
including the families of the deceased. During the ceremony, a
one-minute silence to honor the victims is observed at 8:15, the time of
the atomic bomb's explosion.
Lantern Ceremony
Drifting lanterns
In the evening of the same day, Lantern ceremony is held to send off the spirits of the victims on lanterns with peace messages floating on the waters of the Motoyasu River.
Museums
The main building of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
is the primary museum in the park dedicated to educating visitors about
the bomb.
The Museum has exhibits and information covering the buildup to war, the
role of Hiroshima in the war up to the bombing, and extensive
information on the bombing and its effects, along with substantial
memorabilia and pictures from the bombing.
The building also has views of the Memorial Cenotaph, Peace Flame, and
A-Bomb Dome.
International Conference Center Hiroshima
International Conference Center Hiroshima
International
Conference Center Hiroshima is in the Peace Park, west side of the main
building of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Hall of Remembrance
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
is an effort by the Japanese national government to remember and mourn
the sacred sacrifice of the atomic bomb victims. It is also an
expression of Japan's desire for genuine and lasting peace. The Hall
contains a number of displays. On the roof, near the entrance (the
museum is underground) is a clock frozen at 8:15, the time the bomb went
off. The museum contains a seminar room, library, temporary exhibition
area, and victims' information area. The Hall of Remembrance, contains a
360 degree panorama of the destroyed Hiroshima recreated using 140,000
tiles — the number of people estimated to have died from the bomb by the
end of 1945.
Monuments
The Memorial Cenotaph.
Memorial Cenotaph
Near the center of the park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a cenotaph
holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The monument
is aligned to frame the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome.
The Memorial Cenotaph was one of the first memorial monuments built on
open field on August 6, 1952.
The arch shape represents a shelter for the souls of the victims.
The cenotaph carries the epitaph 安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから, which means "please rest in peace, for [we/they] shall not repeat the error." In Japanese, the sentence's subject is omitted,
thus it could be interpreted as either "[we] shall not repeat the
error" or as "[they] shall not repeat the error". This was intended to
memorialize the victims of Hiroshima without politicizing the issue,
taking advantage of the fact that polite Japanese speech typically demands lexical ambiguity in the first place. The epitaph was written by Tadayoshi Saika, Professor of English Literature at Hiroshima University.
He also provided the English translation, "Let all the souls here rest
in peace for we shall not repeat the evil." On November 3, 1983, an
explanation plaque in English was added in order to convey Professor
Saika's intent that "we" refers to "all humanity", not specifically the
Japanese or Americans, and that the "error" is the "evil of war":
The inscription on the front panel offers a prayer for the peaceful repose of the victims and a pledge on behalf of all humanity never to repeat the evil of war. It expresses the spirit of Hiroshima — enduring grief, transcending hatred, pursuing harmony and prosperity for all, and yearning for genuine, lasting world peace.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ambiguity of the phrase has the potential
to offend; some right-wing circles in Japan have interpreted the words
as an admission of guilt—implicitly reading it as "we (the Japanese
people) shall not repeat the error"—and they criticize the epitaph as a
self-accusation by the Japanese empire. In July 2005, the cenotaph was
vandalized by a Japanese man affiliated with the Japanese right.
Peace Flame with the Peace Memorial Museum in the background.
Peace Flame
The
Peace Flame is another monument to the victims of the bomb that
destroyed Hiroshima, but it has an additional symbolic purpose.
The flame has burned continuously since it was lit in 1964, and will
remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the
planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.
A schoolgirl rings the Peace Bell in the Hiroshima Peace Park.
Peace Bells
There
are three Peace Bells in the Peace Park. The smaller one is used only
for the Peace Memorial Ceremony. Except that day, it is displayed in the
east building of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
The more well-known Peace Bell stands near the Children's Peace
Monument and consists of a large Japanese bell hanging inside a small
open-sided structure. Visitors are encouraged to ring the bell for world
peace and the loud and melodious tolling of this bell rings out
regularly throughout the Peace Park.
The Peace Bell was built out in the open on September 20, 1964. The
surface of the bell is a map of the world, and the "sweet spot" is an
atomic symbol, designed by Masahiko Katori [1899–1988], cast by Oigo Bell Works, in Takaoka, Toyama. The inscriptions on the bell are in Greek (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), Japanese, and Sanskrit.
It is translated as "Know yourself." The Greek embassy donated the bell
to the Peace Park and picked out the most appropriate ancient Greek
philosophical quote of Socrates. The Sanskrit text is a quotation from Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra which was attested by the Indian ambassador. The Japanese text was provided by a university lecturer.
Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound.
Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound
The
Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound is a large, grass-covered knoll that
contains the cremated ashes of 70,000 unidentified victims of the bomb.
Cenotaph for Korean Victims
Among the 400,000 people who were killed or exposed to lethal post-explosion radiation, at least 45,000 were Korean,
but the number is uncertain, because the population has been neglected
as the minority. Additionally, 300,000 survivors of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki returned to Korea after liberation from Japanese colonialism.
The monument, decorated with Korean national symbols, is intended to
honour Korean victims and survivors of the atomic bomb and Japanese
colonialism. The monument's inscription reads "The Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A[tomic]-Bomb. In memory of the souls of His Highness Prince Yi Wu and over 20000 other souls", while the side-inscription reads "Souls of the dead ride to heaven on the backs of turtles."
The Gates of Peace
Gates of Peace
Added
in 2005, this monument contains ten gates covered with the word "peace"
in 49 languages from around the world. The gates represent the nine circles of Hell plus one: "the living hell of Hiroshima caused by the atomic bombing." Each gate is 9 meters high and 2.6 meters wide.
Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students
Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students
The
Association for the Mobilized Student Victims of Hiroshima Prefecture
built this tower in May 1967 in order to console the souls of over
10,000 students, including those who were Atomic Bomb victims, who died
in bombings during the Pacific War. In Hiroshima, there were 8,387
students who were mobilized; 6,907 of which were killed in the Atomic
Bombing. The memorial is twelve meters tall, five stories, and is
decorated with the Goddess of Peace as well as eight doves which are
placed around the tower. To the sides of the tower are plaques which
depict the work that the students did, such as factory work, female
students sewing, or showing students working to increase food
production. There is a plaque in front of the tower which has two
buttons that narrate the background information in either Japanese or
English.
A-Bomb Dome at sunset
Hiroshima Pond of Peace
Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm & Fountain of Prayer
Other monuments
- Pond of Peace – encircling the Cenotaph
- Peace Clock Tower
- A-bombed Gravestone – gravestone of Jisenji temple – the temple used to be there
- Peace Fountain
- Monument to the Old Aioi Bridge
- Phoenix Trees Exposed to the A-bomb – also known as Chinese Parasols, these trees have deep scars from the blast. They were moved here from the courtyard of the former Hiroshima Post & Telecommunications Office in 1973.
- Linden Tree Monument
- Hair Monument
- Hiroshima City Zero Milestone
- Peace Cairn
- Stone Lantern of Peace
- Friendship Monument
- Peace Memorial Post
- Peace Tower
- Fountain of Prayer – a small fountain pond
- Monument of Prayer
- Prayer Monument for Peace
- Prayer Haiku Monument for Peace
- Hiroshima Monument for the A-bomb Victims
- Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm
- Peace Watch Tower – indicating the number of days since the A-bomb
- Statue of Peace "New Leaves" – from the words of Dr.Hideki Yukawa – designed, carved by Katsuzo Entsuba
- Statue of Merciful Mother
- Statue of a Prayer for Peace
- The Figure of the Merciful Goddess of Peace (Kannon)
- Mobilized Students' Merciful Kannon Monument
- Hiroshima Second Middle School A-bomb Memorial Monument
- Memorial Monument of the Hiroshima Municipal Commercial and Shipbuilding Industry Schools
- Monument to the A-bombed Teachers and Students of National Elementary Schools
- A-bomb Monument of the Hiroshima Municipal Girl's High School
- Monument Dedicated to Sankichi Tōge
- Monument to Tamiki Hara
- Literary Monument Dedicated to Miekichi Suzuki
- Monument in Memory of Dr.Marcel Junod
- Clock Commemorating the Repatriation of Those Who Chose to Return to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Monument of the Former North Tenjin-cho Area
- Monument of the Former South Tenjin-cho Area
- Monument of the Former Zaimoku-cho
- Memorial Tower for A-bomb-related Victims
- Memorial Tower to Console A-bomb Victims
- Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-bomb
- Monument of the Volunteer Army Corps
- Monument of "Zensonpo"(All Japan Nonlife Insurance Labor Union)
- Monument to Those Who Died From the Chūgoku-Shikoku Public Works Office
- Monument of the Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation
- Monument Dedicated to Construction Workers and Artisans
- Monument to the Employees of the Hiroshima Post Office
- Monument of the Hiroshima Gas Corporation
- Monument to the Employees of the Coal Control-related Company
- Monument for the A-bomb Victims from the Hiroshima Agricultural Association
- Monument to Mr. Norman Cousins
- Monument of US POWS {at former Chugoku MP HQ}
Flower of Hiroshima Flower Festival
Festivals
Hiroshima Flower Festival
Hiroshima Flower Festival is held from the 3rd of May to the 5th during Japanese Golden Week, in the Peace Park and Peace Boulevard.
Hiroshima Dreamination
Hiroshima Dreamination is held in winter
