A City's Plea for Peace

After lunch, our tour guide brought us back to Hiroshima, known worldwide for being the unfortunate target of the first atomic bomb. Even though the city has long since been rebuilt and is today a thriving metropolis, the scars of the bombing haven't been forgotten.

Our first stop was at the A-Bomb Dome, which used to be known as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, before it became of of the few buildings that still stood, albeit in ruins, after the bomb was dropped. You can still tell it was a large, strong building, made of sturdy materials, which only accentuates the bomb's destructive power. The city has decided to leave it as it is, since it's the closest remaining building to the epicenter of the catastrophe. It is now a part of the Peace Memorial Park.

Right next to the A-Bomb Dome is the Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students, a monument in remembrance of all the students that were all the time fulfilling the jobs that the men had left empty when they were called to arms. Some worked on weapon factories, while others worked more regular jobs, like driving the city's trams, and many perished on that fatal morning.

Crossing the river we arrive at the Children's Peace Monument, which features a statue of Sadako Sakaki. This girl was only two when the bomb was dropped a mile away, and, about ten years later, she became sick with leukemia and was told she had only one more year to live. She then decided to start folding paper cranes. It is a Japanese belief that whoever folds one thousand cranes is granted a wish. She passed away before she completed her goal, but her friends folded the remaining cranes and buried them with her. Since then she has become a symbol of the impact of the nuclear bombing in children. The monument shows her holding a folded crane and is surrounded by several structures that keep thousands of paper cranes sent from all over the world.

South of this monument is the Pond of Peace, a man-made lake that anchors two other peace monuments: the Flame of Peace, on one end, and the Memorial Cenotaph on the other. The Cenotaph holds the names of everyone who was killed directly or indirectly by the bomb. Looking through its arch you can see both the Flame of Peace and the A-Bomb Dome. The Flame of Peace is to remain lit until all nuclear weapons on Earth are destroyed.

Finally we come to the Peace Memorial Museum. Aside from being very interesting from an architectural point of view, it's its contents that really matter. from an historical retelling of the events that lead to the dropping of the bomb, to a comprehensive exhibit about the nature and effects of nuclear weapons, the museum also presents a detailed diorama of Hiroshima right before and right after the bombing. The contrast is crushing. To harden the blow, several objects belonging to victims are displayed, and it's devastating to see the effects of the nuclear blast on a little boy's lunch box.

Hiroshima has declared itself a city of peace, hosting numerous peace conferences and remaining vocally opposed to any kind of nuclear warfare. After spending some time at the Peace Park and Museum, it's painfully clear why.

We returned to Kyoto that evening, feeling a little less light-hearted and with a lot on our minds. We ate dinner from a bento box on the train and as soon as we arrived to the hotel, we went right to sleep.