Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Type	public park for world peace
Location	Hiroshima
Coordinates	34°23′34″N 132°27′09″E / 34.392728°N 132.452374°E / 34.392728; 132.452374Coordinates: 34°23′34″N 132°27′09″E / 34.392728°N 132.452374°E / 34.392728; 132.452374
Opened	April 1, 1954
Status	Open all year
Website	Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (広島平和記念公園, Hiroshima heiwa kinen kōen^?) is a large park in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack (August 6, 1945), which led to the death of as many as 140 thousand people by the end of 1945. ^[1]

The location of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was once the city’s busiest downtown commercial and residential district. The park was built on open field that was created by the explosion. Today there are a number of memorials and monuments, museums, and lecture halls, which draw over a million visitors annually. The annual 6 August Peace Memorial Ceremony, which is sponsored by the city of Hiroshima, is also held in the park. ^[2] The purpose of the Peace Memorial Park is to not only memorialize the victims, but also to establish the memory of nuclear horrors and advocate world peace. ^[3]

Contents 1 Notable symbols 1.1 A-Bomb Dome 1.2 Children's Peace Monument 1.3 Rest House 2 Ceremonies 2.1 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony 2.2 Lantern Ceremony 3 Museums 3.1 Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 3.2 International Conference Center Hiroshima 3.3 Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall 4 Monuments 4.1 Memorial Cenotaph 4.2 Peace Flame 4.3 Peace Bells 4.4 Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound 4.5 Cenotaph for Korean Victims 4.6 The Gates of Peace 4.7 Other Monuments 5 Festivals 5.1 Hiroshima Flower Festival 5.2 Hiroshima Dreamination 6 Access 7 See also 8 Footnotes 9 External links

Notable symbols

A-Bomb Dome

The A-Bomb Dome is the skeletal ruins of the former Industrial Promotion Hall. It is the building closest to the hypocenter of the nuclear bomb that remained at least partially standing. It was left how it was after the bombing in memory of the casualties. The A-Bomb Dome, to which a sense of sacredness and transcendence has been attributed, is situated in a distant ceremonial view that is visible from the Peace Memorial Park’s central cenotaph. It is an officially designated site of memory for the nation’s and humanity’s collectively shared heritage of catastrophe. ^[2] The A-Bomb Dome is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. ^[4]

Children's Peace Monument

The Children's Peace Monument is a statue dedicated to the memory of the children who died as a result of the bombing. The statue is of a girl with outstretched arms with a folded paper crane rising above her. The statue is based on the true story of Sadako Sasaki (佐々木禎子, Sasaki Sadako^?), a young girl who died from radiation from the bomb. She believed that if she folded 1,000 paper cranes she would be cured. To this day, people (mostly children) from around the world fold cranes and send them to Hiroshima where they are placed near the statue. The statue has a continuously replenished collection of folded cranes nearby. ^[5]

Rest House

The Rest House of Hiroshima Peace Park is another atomic bombed building in the park. The building was built as the Taishoya Kimono Shop in March, 1929. And the building had been used as a distributing station of the fuel since the shortage of the fuel in June, 1944. On August 6, 1945, when the bomb exploded, the roof was crushed, the interior destroyed, and everything consumable burned except in the basement. So, 36 people were killed in the building and one person had survived in the basement.^[6] The building has served as the Rest House in Peace Memorial Park since 1982.^[7]

Ceremonies

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

Every year on 6 August, "A-bomb Day," the City of Hiroshima holds the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony to console the victims of the atomic bombs and to pray for the realization of lasting world peace. The ceremony is held in the morning from 8:00, in front of the Memorial Cenotaph with many citizens including the families of the deceased. During the ceremony, A one-minute silence was observed at 8:15 for the victims, at the time of the atomic bomb's explosion. ^{[8] [9]}

Lantern Ceremony

And in the evening of the same day, Lantern ceremony is held to send off the spirits of the victims on lanterns with peace messages floated on the waters of the Motoyasu River. ^[10]

Museums

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is the primary museum in the park dedicated to educating visitors about the bomb. The Museum has exhibits and information covering the build up to war, the role of Hiroshima in the war up to the bombing, and extensive information on the bombing and its effects, along with substantial memorabilia and pictures from the bombing. The building also offers some marvelous views of the Memorial Cenotaph, Peace Flame, and A-Bomb Dome.

International Conference Center Hiroshima

International Conference Center Hiroshima is in the Peace Park, west side of the main building of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall

The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims is an effort by the Japanese national government to remember and mourn the sacred sacrifice of the atomic bomb victims. It is also an expression of Japan's desire for genuine and lasting peace. The Hall contains a number of displays. On the roof, near the entrance (the museum is underground) is a clock frozen at 8:15, the time the bomb went off. The museum contains a seminar room, library, temporary exhibition area, and victims' information area. Additionally, one of the more stunning areas is The Hall of Remembrance, which contains a 360 degree panorama of the destroyed Hiroshima recreated using 140,000 tiles — the number of people estimated to have died from the bomb by the end of 1945.

Monuments

Memorial Cenotaph

Near the center of the park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The cenotaph carries the epitaph, "Rest in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." Through the monument you can see the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome. The Memorial Cenotaph was one of the first memorial monuments built on open field on August 6, 1952. The arch shape represents a shelter for the souls of the victims. ^{[3] [11]}

Peace Flame

The Peace Flame is another monument to the victims of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, but it has an additional symbolic purpose. The flame has burned continuously since it was lit in 1964, and will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation. ^[5]

Peace Bells

There are three Peace Bells in the Peace Park. The smaller one is used only for the Peace Memorial Ceremony. Except that day, it is displayed in the east building of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. And the well known Peace Bell is the one in the picture, stands near Children's Peace Monument and consists of a large Japanese bell hanging inside a small open-sided structure. Visitors are encouraged to ring the bell for world peace and the loud and melodious tolling of this bell rings out regularly throughout the Peace Park. ^[12] The Peace Bell was built n the open, on September 20, 1964. The surface of the bell is a map of the world, and the "sweet spot" is an atomic symbol, designed by Masahiko Katori [1899-1988], cast by Oigo Bell Works, in Takaoka, Toyama. The inscriptions on the bell are in Greek (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), Japanese, and Sanskrit. It is translated as "Know yourself." The Greek embassy donated the bell to the Peace Park and picked out the most appropriate ancient Greek philosophical quote of Socrates. The Sanskrit was translated by the Indian ambassador, and the Japanese by a university lecturer.

Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound

The Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound is a large, grass-covered knoll that contains the ashes of 70 thousand unidentified victims of the bomb. ^[5]

Cenotaph for Korean Victims

The monument says "Souls of the dead ride to heaven on the backs of turtles." ^[5] Among the 400 thousand people who were killed or exposed to lethal post-explosion radiation, at least 45 thousand people were Korean, but the number is uncertain, because the population has been neglected as the minority. And 300 thousand survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki returned to Korea after liberation from the Japanese colonialism. ^[13] The monument, beautified with Korean national symbols, for Koreans survivors from the atomic bomb and Japanese colonialism. And it is embodying the pride of Korea as an icon for Korean nationalists. ^[2]

The Gates of Peace

A recent addition to the park, this monument contains six gates covered with the word "peace" in 49 languages from around the world. The gates are about 5 meters high and 2 meters wide. ^[14]

Other Monuments

• Pond of Peace - encircling the Cenotaph to show its on the water
• Peace Clock Tower
• A-bombed Gravestone - gravestone of Jisenji temple - the temple used be there
• Peace Fountain
• Monument to the Old Aioi Bridge
• Phoenix Trees Exposed to the A-bomb
• Linden Tree Monument
• Hair Monument
• Hiroshima City Zero Milestone
• Peace Cairn
• Stone Lantern of Peace
• Friendship Monument
• Peace Memorial Post
• Peace Tower
• Fountain of Prayer - there was a small fountain pond
• Monument of Prayer
• Prayer Monument for Peace
• Prayer Haiku Monument for Peace
• Hiroshima Monument for the A-bomb Victims
• Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm
• Peace Watch Tower - indicating the number of days since the A-bomb
• Statue of Peace "New Leaves" - from the words of Dr.Hideki Yukawa - designed, carved by Katsuzo Entsuba
• Statue of Merciful Mother
• Statue of a Prayer for Peace
• The Figure of the Merciful Goddess of Peace (Kannon)
• Mobilized Students' Merciful Kannon Monument
• Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students
• Hiroshima Second Middle School A-bomb Memorial Monument
• Memorial Monument of the Hiroshima Municipal Commercial and Shipbuilding Industry Schools
• Monument to the A-bombed Teachers and Students of National Elementary Schools
• A-bomb Monument of the Hiroshima Municipal Girl's High School
• Monument Dedicated to Sankichi Toge
• Monument to Tamiki Hara
• Literary Monument Dedicated to Miekichi Suzuki
• Monument in Memory of Dr.Marcel Junod
• Clock Commemorating the Repatriation of Those Who Chose to Return to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
• Monument of the Former North Tenjin-cho Area
• Monument of the Former South Tenjin-cho Area
• Monument of the Former Zaimoku-cho
• Memorial Tower for A-bomb-related Victims
• Memorial Tower to Console A-bomb Victims
• Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A-bomb
• Monument of the Volunteer Army Corps
• Monument of "Zensonpo"(All Japan Nonlife Insurance Labor Union
• Monument to Those Who Died From the Chūgoku-Shikoku Public Works Office
• Monument of the Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation
• Monument Dedicated to Construction Workers and Artisans
• Monument to the Employees of the Hiroshima Post Office
• Monument of the Hiroshima Gas Corporation
• Monument to the Employees of the Coal Control-related Company
• Monument for the A-bomb Victims from the Hiroshima Agricultural Association
• Monument to Mr. Norman Cousins

Festivals

Hiroshima Flower Festival

Hiroshima Flower Festival is held from 3rd to 5th of May, during Japanese Golden Week, in the Peace Park and Peace Boulevard.

Hiroshima Dreamination

Hiroshima Dreamination is held in winter.

Access

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park bus stop
• Hiroden Genbaku Dome-mae Station
• Hiroden Chuden-mae Station
• Astram Hondōri Station

See also

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Atomic Bomb Dome)
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
• Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Sadako Sasaki
• Children's Peace Monument
• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
• Hiroshima Witness
• Nagasaki Peace Park
• Marcel Junod
• Peace Boulevard
• Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum
• Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum

Footnotes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Guide to Peace Memorial Park)
• Photo of the statue "Mother and Child in the Storm", taken in winter
• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
• Chugoku Newspaper special article of Hirosima "The park had to change the original design"
• Chugoku Newspaper special article of Hirosima "The reconstruction map of the town used be there"
• hiroshima peace memorial park blog in japanese
• Peace Message, Lantern Ceremony, 2009