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Published: November 19th 2006
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PEACE
You are looking at the Memorial Cenotaph, Peace Flame, & the A-Bomb Dome. Finally, my one free day to explore Japan, and I was ready. Although, getting to and from Hiroshima was no easy task, since I was all by myself. However, knowing how respectful and helpful the Japanese people have been, I knew I would be okay. The day started early since I had to take several train lines before arriving at the Tokyo Haneda Airport. I was on a 747, but unfortunately they told me I couldn’t sit upstairs with my economy ticket. Being the only non-Asian person on a packed flight was different, yet comforting. After my plane landed at the Hiroshima Airport, I had to take a 45 minute bus ride to the downtown Hiroshima Train Station. The bus ride was 1300 yen (around $13.00). From there I took a tram to the Atomic Dome, and that was 150 yen. I had arrived.
Even before I could take my first picture, I was approached by an older woman who turned out to be the best thing about the day. She explained that she belonged to a volunteer agency that guides tourists around Peace Park, while also informing them about what they are seeing. Me, being independent and
747
I never thought my first 747 flight would be a domestic flight in Japan. stubborn, I immediately hesitated and tried to think of some excuses why I didn’t need her, thinking she wanted to get paid or something. I am ashamed I had that mindset, but she was persistent and not deterred with my excuses, and for that I am thankful to Tamura H. She not only took pictures and video of me, but once again she displayed the kindness and respect that I see everywhere here with all Japanese people. I’m telling you, the world would be a nicer place to live if the planet would only do as the Japanese do with regard to kindness and respect.
Now, I’ll get back to the day. My first pictures were of the A-Bomb Dome. This has become the most recognizable figure of Hiroshima, and isn’t it obvious why? This building used to be an Industrial Promotion Hall, and it was very close to the hypocenter. They have left the building as is--a reminder to all.
The Children’s Peace Monument was next. Although this monument stands for all the children who died, it was inspired by Sadako Sasaki, a little girl who died of leukemia ten years after the bomb. Some
Tamura
...and the Best Volunteer of the Year award goes to...Tamura of you may be familiar with the children’s novel,
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. She was a little girl leading a normal life when she fell gravely sick. She was quickly reminded of an old belief that if you fold one thousand paper cranes, you’ll get well again. She folded over 600 before she died. Her classmates finished folding the others for her. Then her classmates and others went to work raising funds for this memorial. The inscription on the black stone under the monument reads: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in this world.”
Then we moved over to the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound. It is just that, a big mound, but it covers the ashes of 70,000 people who died in Hiroshima immediately after the bomb was dropped. During the search and rescue effort afterwards, all bodies were brought here to be cremated, and in the end, 70,000 people had died.
The Korean Memorial was also very close. There were nearly 20,000 Koreans who died in the explosion. They were forced laborers in Hiroshima at the time, working in the factories. The turtle at the base of the
memorial is symbolic to the Korean belief that they will get to heaven on the back of a turtle.
Next it was on to the Peace Bell. There is a large Japanese bell hanging inside, and visitors are encouraged to ring the bell for world peace. Check out the video of me ringing the bell. One interesting note, on the surface of the bell is a map of the world with no national boundaries.
Tamura took me to the basement of the only original structure that survived the explosion. I should have asked more questions because I’m a little confused and may have it wrong, but I guess this building did not need to be torn down completely. The structure is the same. With the confusion aside, one interesting story she did tell me was how one gentleman survived the explosion by being in this basement. He went down there to find some records, while 36 people were working upstairs. They all died in the explosion, but he lived.
Then we went to the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims. This memorial is saddle-shaped and is covering the Cenotaph that holds the names of 247,987
Children's Peace Monument
Notice the two things. First the golden crane hanging from the bell and also notice all the small glass coverings of millions of paper cranes. victims that have died since the initial blast with cancer related problems. Each year on the anniversary of the bombing, they hold a ceremony where they add another book of names to the Cenotaph.
After visiting all the memorials, Tamura’s job was done. But before she left, I asked her to sit down with me so I could write down some of the facts she shared with me. Finally, I was ready to go into the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. I was impressed overall with the museum. I won’t go through every picture I took or explain every part, but I will say it was honest and true. (The following is just my overall memory of what I read. I hope to be accurate in what I share.) Right in the beginning, they explained why the United States started researching the means of such a destructive weapon. Germany started the research, and we couldn’t let them attain the possibility to use this weapon first. Why bomb Japan? We were afraid of the influential power Russia would have in the Pacific if they helped us defeat Japan. Russia and the United States already had an uneasy alliance in Europe,
Paper Cranes
Wow!! I can't imagine how many cranes it took to make this design. And, to be able to create that, amazing. and we had to end the war with Japan quickly, and we had to do it ourselves. Regardless of why and regardless of side, life was lost in a way like no other event. Is world peace ever going to be truly attainable? My realistic mind tells me one thing, but my heart hopes for the other.
There were several artifacts on display--from torn clothing, to disfigured items, to clocks showing 8:15, the exact time the bomb exploded. But the most interesting artifacts to me were the ones related to Sadako. Having read aloud the book to all three 5th grade classes, it was incredible to see the actual items, to see pictures of Sadako, and to get more of her story.
After leaving the museum I walked back through the park, taking even more pictures of everything I had already taken pictures of. You never know when you’ll get that really good picture, so you might as well just keep clicking away.
When I finally left the park, I was on my way to Hiroshima Castle. It was completely destroyed in the blast, but it was rebuilt. Inside was a museum of the
history of Hiroshima up to World War II.
Finally my day of sight seeing was over. A heavy rain made sure of that, but I hadn’t stopped to eat all day, and luckily I found a place that served pizza. After eating, I walked around in a huge mall before trekking back to Tokyo. All in all, it was worth every bit of time and energy spent.
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Erin Aten
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Samurai
I love the samurai outfit. It's great! What an amazing experience in Hiroshima. Humbling, to say the least.