History of Hiroshima


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Asia » Japan » Hiroshima
January 12th 2017
Published: January 14th 2017
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We extended our travels of Japan by heading further west to Hiroshima. We made the 330km trip by (you guessed it) bullet train. There really is no finer way to travel.

Our first stop when we reached Hiroshima, was Hiroshima Castle. This flat land castle was built in the 16th century by Mori Terumoto to assert political power. Sadly, the tower was destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945. It has since been restored and renovated. Inside, is a local history and samurai museum. We spent hours walking around the five storey tower. We attempted to build our own castle walls, tried on Samurai armour and inspected some terrifying Samurai gear. The Samurai swords were particularly impressive. We took some time to learn about how they were made. But, it was not just blades keeping the castle safe- the castle was built with some simple structures to keep the enemy at bay. There were tiny doors on the second storey for archers and gunmen to shoot out of. The moat also had a mechanism which could basically flood the enemy out. If the Daimyou failed, there was a window for him to jump out of. Fortunately, none of these defences were ever used.

In the afternoon, we paid our respects to the A Dome and Peace Memorial Park. This was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. The A Dome is a building that remains to show the effects of the 1945 atomic bomb. The building is held up by scaffolds in parts, as many walls are completely crumbled. The larger walls are stained with irregular haunting black shadows. It is hard to imagine the centre of entire city looking similar or worse than this. So many emotions flooded through my body. This tragedy was no accident, it was born out of human badness. Evil.

The Peace Memorial Park is a beautiful place. It is forgiving, peaceful, reflective. Most importantly it is always looking towards the future. There are a lot of memorials (as the name would suggest) and a lovely flame that flickers over the pond in remembrance of the victims. The park leads towards the museum. The museum was very informative. It provided us with information about the atomic bomb, the effects of radiation, but it also provided extremely personal recounts from the victims and their families. That part was difficult to read. The pieces of evidence were tear- provoking enough: torn clothes, black rain, human shadows on a bank step. The museum left us speechless.

Hiroshima is a town rich with history- ancient and modern. It was well worth the visit, even if it did bring us close to tears (more than once). However I was extremely inspired by this city's resilience to not just rebuild, but become a flourishing city once again.


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