Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound

At 8:15 on the morning of August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb in human history was dropped on Hiroshima. Here are laid the ashes of tens of thousands of its victims. Being close to the hypocenter, numerous corpses were collected at this spot and cremated. The Hiroshima Memorial Service Association was established in January 1946. With donations collected from citizens, a temporary monument was built in May and a temporary cinerarium and chapel were built in July of that same year. In July 1955, as a part of the tenth anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb, the present memorial mound was constructed with an underground cinerarium through the leadership of the City of Hiroshima. The ashes of victims excavated around the city were placed here. Each year around August 6, memorial services are conducted by the Hiroshima Memorial Service Association, in addition to the Hiroshima Inter-Faith League and other religious groups