Hiroshima - Part Two

Part two of my Hiroshima post. Hiroshima city has been rebuilt incredibly well since the atomic bomb disaster during World War II. Linked a short summary about the Hiroshima and Nagaski, if you want a little reminder about the basic details.

The city center has been reconstructed into the Hiroshima Peace Park is a large area that is a with various memorials and museums to the victims of the disaster. The first building you see is the Atomic Bomb Dome, the only building that survived the blast. There was some debate as to whether the crumbling building should be reinforced or completely demolished, whether it should be kept as a memorial or whether it is was a difficult reminder of an event that people would rather not relive. In the end it was decided that the building should be maintained as a memorial for peace and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

There whole park is built along a river and there is lots of greenery and fountain which provides for a beautiful walk around the park though it is definitely a bit difficult to enjoy a nice walk when you think of the horrors that happened there in 1945.

 

One of the most touching memorials is the children's memorial inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who was diagnosed with leukemia ten years after the bomb was dropped. She believed that if she folder a thousand paper cranes she would be cured. Unfortunately, the cranes did not save Sadako's life, but they are on display, along with thousands of other cranes that children have made since, in hopes for a peaceful future.

 

The one thing that really stands out through the whole thing is that the people don’t want revenge, but they want to make sure that this never happens again. The phrase “NO MORE HIROSHIMAS”can be seen all over the town. The word peace is also seen everywhere, a gentle reminder of what we all hope to see in the future.