From the days when Hiroshima was a bustling castle town, the northern tip of the triangular delta island between the Motoyasu and Honkawa Rivers was the populous and prosperous heart of the city. The good times ended for this island when the atomic bomb exploded over it. Everything within 500 meters of the hypocenter was reduced to rubble.
After the bombing, the city of Hiroshima launched a campaign petitioning the national government for aid in "the construction of a city of peace." The campaign resulted in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Reconstruction Law. The first special law of its kind, it stipulated that Hiroshima would be rebuilt to embody the striving of the human race for peace. It further stipulated that the area of Nakajima Island near the hypocenter be preserved in perpetuity as a symbol of peace and recommended the construction of what is now Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and its attendant facilities.
Peace Memorial Park includes Nakajima Island and the strip of land across the Motoyasu River where the A-bomb Dome stands. At the south entrance to the park stand three buildings lined up east to west. These three buildings house a variety of functions through which the city works to preserve the memory of the A-bomb and bring about world peace.
The center building houses the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and to the south lies the Fountain of Prayer. On a straight line to the north lie the Memorial Cenotaph, the Flame of Peace, and the A-bomb Dome.
The Memorial Cenotaph (Hiroshima Peace City Memorial) is the central
monument to honor and console the souls of the victims of the A-bombing.
It stands close to the exact center of Peace Memorial Park and was unveiled
on August 6, 1952. The design evokes the primitive shelters provided to
earthenware dolls buried in ancient burial mounds during the Kofun period
(third to seventh century). The concrete structure was resurfaced with
granite in March 1985.
At the center of the monument lies a stone coffin which holds the Register of the A-bomb Victims. Each year on August 6 the names of victims reported by their friends or families to have died of A-bomb-related diseases are added to the register. The Japanese characters carved on the front of the coffin say, "Let All The Souls Here Rest In Peace; For We Shall Not Repeat The Evil." These words are a pledge never again to repeat the evil of war that visitors make as they pray for the repose of the souls of the A-bomb victims. They express Hiroshima's determination to endure the sorrows of the past, transcend all rage and hatred, and work tirelessly for a world of genuine peace and mutual prosperity.
One of the most popular monuments in Peace Memorial Park is the Children's
Peace Monument, also known as the Tower of the Paper Cranes. This monument
was inspired by Sadako Sasaki, a vivacious young girl struck down by radiation
aftereffects. Sadako, two at the time of the bombing, was one of many children
who developed leukemia about ten years later. In the hospital she folded
over a thousand paper cranes using medicine wrapping paper in the hope
that doing so would cure her. She and her classmates continued bravely
folding the cranes until the day she died-October 25, 1955.
Sadako's grieving classmates decided to build a monument in her honor. Their sincere passion led to a nationwide fundraising campaign to build a monument for her and the thousands of other children lost to the atomic bombing. With contributions from all over Japan, the monument was built and unveiled on May 5, 1958. On top of the concrete tower stands the bronze statue of a young girl holding over her head a huge paper crane symbolizing the hope of all children for a peaceful future.
In and around Peace Memorial Park stand numerous monuments to A-bomb victims. Each and every one of these monuments, beyond its specific purpose, embodies the common desire that nuclear weapons be abolished and world peace be realized.
At the beginning of the century, as the Hiroshima area developed economically, Hiroshima Prefecture responded to the need for a central facility through which to expand trade routes. Plans were drawn up for a commercial exhibition hall on the banks of the Motoyasu River. Construction was completed in April 1915, and the new building was named the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall. It was formally opened to the public in August that year. In 1921 the name was changed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, and again in 1933 to the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. During the war, as Japan's economic fortunes worsened, the hall was commandeered for such governmental, quasi-governmental and rationing offices as the Chugoku-Shikoku Public Works Office, the Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation and others.
Standing a mere 160 meters northwest of the hypocenter, the building was heavily damaged by the blast, then burned from the ceiling down by fires ignited instantly by the heat rays. All occupants of the building perished. Because the force of the blast came from almost directly above, however, the section of the building under the central dome remained standing. The skeletal structure of the dome looming high above the ruins was a conspicuous landmark and became known locally as the A-bomb Dome.
For many years the city remained undecided about what to do with these ruins. Some wanted them preserved in memory of the bombing. Others regarded the building as a dangerous structure and unwanted reminder of extremely painful memories. Through decades of indecision, the ruins continued to collapse. Finally, those in favor of preservation became the clear majority. An investigation was commissioned in 1965 to determine the soundness of the ruins. In July the following year, the city council resolved that the A-bomb Dome be preserved in perpetuity. In November a fundraising campaign was launched to raise a portion of the funds required to reinforce the structure. It was thought that the more people cooperate to save the Dome, the greater the significance its preservation would have. Donations from Japan and around the world amounted to over 66 million yen, exceeding the goal of the campaign. The construction project was launched in April 1967.
Twenty years later, in 1987, inspection of the Dome revealed a need for further reinforcement. Again, it was decided that half of the estimated 200 million yen required for the construction should be raised through contributions from around Japan and the world. Public response was far greater than anticipated, with donations exceeding 370 million yen. A special fund has been created to hold the excess funds for future preservation construction as needed. The most recent construction began in October 1989 and was completed the following March.
The A-bomb Dome must be passed on to future generations as a symbol of peace and as a witness that conveys the story of the horror and tragedy of nuclear weapons.
