Hiroshima
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2007
1
57
59
Trip End
May 28, 2008
Hiroshima,
Chugoku,
Japan
Saturday, May 24, 2008
The area has many temples and pagodas, but I was most interested in Oku-no-in which is the largest cemetery in Japan. There are more than 200,000 tombs in the cemetery, set amongst tall cedar trees and winding footpaths. In daylight it is an impressive sight, but as night falls the footpaths are lit by hundreds of lanterns making a slightly eerie but amazing atmosphere. The main building of the complex it Toro-do, the Lantern Hall, which houses over 10,000 lanterns. It was a stunning sight to see the building lit up with all the lanterns, but since photography is prohibited you will have to go there yourself to see it!
The next day I headed back down the mountain and caught the Shinkansen to Hiroshima for a completely different experience. The city is famous because at 8.15am on 6th August 1945 it was the target for the world's first atomic bomb. It is now home to the Peace Memorial Park and the very moving Peace Memorial Museum. The museum tells the story of how Hirsohima had grown into an industrial city, why it was chosen as a target, and then goes on to explain what happened during and after the attack.
There are many articles on display including a wristwatch stopped at 8.15am when the bomb exploded. There are burnt school uniforms belonging to just a few of the thousands of school children killed in the blast. The steps of a bank show a dark shadow where a person was sat, protecting the stone from the fierce heat rays. There are also many photos from the aftermath of the bomb, often showing horrific burns and injuries.
The most moving story was of Sadako Sasaki who was just 2 years old when she survived the bomb. But when she was 10 years old she developed leukaemia. There is a Japanese saying that anyone who folds 1000 paper cranes will have their wish come true, so she started folding paper cranes. There was a shortage of paper so she used any scraps she could find, sometimes using a needle to help fold tiny cranes. The museum shows some of her paper cranes. Her wish never came true and she died age 12 years old. Outside in the Peace Memorial Park there is a Children's Peace Monument showing Sadako holding a paper crane. Even today people from around the world send thousands of paper cranes which are housed in display cabinets.
The Peace Memorial Park also contains the cenotaph in memory of all the victims, and the Flame of Peace which will burn until all nuclear weapons have disappeared from the earth. Just North of the park is the A-Bomb Dome, formally the Industrial Promotion Hall. The bomb exploded almost directly above the building, and apparently because most of the blast force was directly downwards the building was left standing after the blast, whilst most other buildings in the area were destroyed. The ruins are a UNESCO world heritage site as a reminder of the tragedy.
Hiroshima was a strange place to visit. The park and museum are very moving, but at the same time the modern city is a very positive place which has moved on from the past.
The next day I headed back to Kyoto via Himeji. The city is home to Himeji-jo, one of the most magnificent castles in Japan. It was build in 1580 and has a 5 storey main tower and extensive grounds. Unfortunately rain had arrived which took the edge off the day, but it was a great place to visit.
