Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Japan
Type	Cultural
Criteria	vi
Reference	775
Region**	Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	1996  (20th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome (Japanese: 原爆ドーム Genbaku Domu), in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The building serves as a memorial to the people who died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

History

Hiroshima Commercial Museum 1915

The building was originally designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel. It was completed in April 1915, and the new building was named the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition (HMI). 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.

Atomic bombing

Having slightly missed the original target (the distinctive "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge), at 8:15 on August 6, 1945 the first nuclear bomb to be used in war detonated almost directly above the dome (the actual center of the blast was 490 feet (150 m) away and 1,968 feet (600 m) above ground).

The Genbaku Dome was originally scheduled to be demolished with the rest of the ruins, but the fact that it was mostly intact delayed these plans. As Hiroshima was rebuilt around the dome, it became a subject of controversy; some locals wanted it torn down, while others wanted to preserve it as a memorial of the bombing.^[1]

China had reservations regarding the confirmation of the memorial as a World Heritage Site and the delegate of the United States to the World Heritage Committee dissociated himself from the decision. China cited the possibility that the monument could be used to downplay the fact that the victim countries of Japan's aggression suffered the greatest losses of life during the war, while the United States claimed that having a memorial to a "war site" would omit the necessary historical context.^[2]

Panorama

180° view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Genbaku Dome can clearly be seen in the center left of the image. The original target for the bomb was the "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge seen in the left of the image.

Gallery

Products Exhibition Hall in its original shape (photo taken sometime in 1921–33)	Hall, taken from Motoyasu Bridge around the same time.	Citizens of the city pass by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on their way to a memorial ceremony on August 6, 2004	The dome, photo taken from the southwest side
Distant view of the dome; shot is taken from the Aioi bridge	Hiroshima Peace Memorial, viewed from the Peace Park	Side view of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial	Close up of the dome
Dome with plaque	Peace Dome, then and now	A-Bomb Dome in 2007	A-bomb dome taken at night
A-Bomb Dome at Night

See also

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
• Hiroshima Witness

References

• Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)

• Official page
• Trade Promotion Hall
• Official UNESCO page
• Picture of the building before the bombing

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in Japan Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area (Hōryū-ji · Hokki-ji) · Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu · Himeji Castle · Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) · Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) · Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara · Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama · Itsukushima Shinto Shrine · Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape  · Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range · Shirakami-Sanchi · Shiretoko · Shrines and Temples of Nikkō · Yakushima

Coordinates: 34°23′44″N 132°27′13″E / 34.39556°N 132.45361°E / 34.39556; 132.45361