Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Encyclopedia
is a memorial park in the center of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...

, and to the memories of the bomb's direct and indirect victims (of whom there may have been as many as 140,000).


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. 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.

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
Hypocenter
The hypocenter refers to the site of an earthquake or a nuclear explosion...

 of the nuclear bomb
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...

 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
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...

. It is an officially designated site of memory for the nation’s and humanity’s collectively shared heritage of catastrophe. The A-Bomb Dome is on the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage List.

Children's Peace Monument

The Children's Peace Monument
Children's Peace Monument
The is a monument for peace to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima-Overview:The monument is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, itself in the city of Hiroshima...

 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
Origami
is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form...

 rising above her. The statue is based on the true story of , 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.

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
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...

 Shop in March 1929. It was used as a fuel distribution station since the shortage of fuel began 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. Eventually, 36 people in the building died of the bombing; 47-year-old Eizo Nomura survived in the basement, which had a concrete roof through which radiation had a more difficult time penetrating. He survived into his 80s.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

Every year on 6 August, "A-bomb Day," the City of Hiroshima holds the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual Japanese vigil.Every August 6, "A-Bomb Day", the city of Hiroshima holds the 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 front of the Memorial...

 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 is observed at 8:15 for the victims, at the time of the atomic bomb's explosion.

Lantern Ceremony

And in the evening of the same day, Lantern ceremony
Toro nagashi
is a Japanese ceremony in which participants float paper lanterns down a river; tōrō is traditionally another word for lantern, while nagashi means "cruise, flow"...

 is held to send off the spirits of the victims on lanterns with peace messages floated on the waters of the Motoyasu River.

Museums

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan.It was established in August 1955 with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall ....

 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
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims is one of the National Memorial Halls in Hiroshima, Japan.-Overview:The Hall was founded by the Japanese national government to mourn the atomic bomb victims in 2002 and designed by Kenzo Tange.There is another National Peace...

 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.

Memorial Cenotaph

Near the center of the park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...

 holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The cenotaph carries the epitaph "安らかに眠って下さい 過ちは 繰返しませぬから": "Rest in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." (in Japanese, can also be read as "we shall not repeat the error").
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.
The epitaph on the cenotaph has angered right-wing circles in Japan, who viewed the words "we shall not repeat the error" as self accusation of the wartime government of the Japanese empire. In July 2005, the cenotaph was vandalized by a 27 year old Japanese affiliated with the Japanese right.

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.

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
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan.It was established in August 1955 with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall ....

. The more well-known Peace Bell stands near the 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. The Peace Bell was built out in 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
Takaoka, Toyama
is a city situated in the northwest of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, and is the central city of its Western District. Takaoka covers the 8th largest surface area in Toyama prefecture and has the second largest population after Toyama City...

. The inscriptions on the bell are in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

. 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
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...

. 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 70,000 unidentified victims of the bomb.

Cenotaph for Korean Victims

Among the 400,000 people who were killed or exposed to lethal post-explosion radiation, at least 45,000 were Korean
Korean people
The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Koreans are one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous groups in the world.-Names:...

, but the number is uncertain, because the population has been neglected as the minority. Additionally, 300,000 survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki returned to Korea after liberation from the Japanese colonialism
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....

. The monument, beautified with Korean national symbols, is intended to honour Korean victims and survivors of the atomic bomb and Japanese colonialism. The monument's inscription reads "The Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A[tomic]-Bomb. In memory of the souls of His Highness Prince Yi Wu
Wu, Prince of Korea
Yi Wu , was the 4th head of Unhyeon Palace and a member of the imperial family of Korea.-Biography:He was born the second son of Prince Gang, the fifth son of Emperor Gojong....

 and over 20000 other souls"
, while the side-inscription reads "Souls of the dead ride to heaven on the backs of turtles."

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.

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 - also known as Chinese Parasols, these trees have deep scars from the blast. They were moved here from the courtyard of the former Hiroshima Post & Telecommunications Office in 1973.
  • 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
    Hideki Yukawa
    né , was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate.-Biography:Yukawa was born in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto. In 1929, after receiving his degree from Kyoto Imperial University, he stayed on as a lecturer for four years. After graduation, he was interested in...

     - 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
    Sankichi Tōge
    was a Japanese poet, activist, and survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.-Biography:He was born Mitsuyoshi Tōge in Osaka as the youngest son of Ki'ichi Tōge, a successful manufacturer of bricks. From the start Tōge was a sickly child, suffering from asthma and periodic vomiting...

  • Monument to Tamiki Hara
  • Literary Monument Dedicated to Miekichi Suzuki
  • Monument in Memory of Dr.Marcel Junod
    Marcel Junod
    Marcel Junod was a Swiss doctor and one of the most accomplished field delegates in the history of the International Committee of the Red Cross...

  • 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
    Norman Cousins
    Norman Cousins was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate.-Early life and education:...

  • Monument of US POWS {at former Chugoku MP HQ }


Hiroshima Flower Festival

Hiroshima Flower Festival
Hiroshima Flower Festival
The is a flower festival held annually in Hiroshima, Japan.-Overview:The Hiroshima Flower Festival has been held every year since 1977 during Golden Week, from 3 May to 5 May.More than one million people take part in the festival each year....

 is held from 3rd to 5 May, during Japanese Golden Week, in the Peace Park and Peace Boulevard
Peace Boulevard (Hiroshima)
is one of the main streets in Hiroshima, Japan, which faces the south side of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.The street is 100 meters wide and runs 3.6 km from east to west, between Tsurumi-cho and Fukushima-cho within the green belt....

.

Hiroshima Dreamination

Hiroshima Dreamination
Hiroshima Dreamination
is a winter festival of electric light held in Hiroshima, Japan since 2002. "Dreamination" is a composite word coined from "dream" and "illumination".-Overview:...

 is held in winter.

Access

  • Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park bus stop
    Bus stop
    A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...

  • Hiroden Genbaku Dome-mae Station
    Hiroden Genbaku Dome-mae Station
    Genbaku Dome-mae is a Hiroden tram stop on the Hiroden Main Line, located in front of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Ote-machi 1-chome, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan.-Routes:...

  • Hiroden Chuden-mae Station
    Hiroden Chuden-mae Station
    Chuden-mae is a Hiroden station on Hiroden Ujina Line located in Ote-machi 3-chome, Naka-ku, Hiroshima.-Routes:From Chuden-mae Station, there are three of Hiroden Streetcar routes.* Hiroshima Station - Hiroshima Port Route...

  • Astram
    Astram Line
    The is a new transit system operated by Hiroshima Rapid Transit in Hiroshima, Japan.-History:*August 8, 1994 - Opened for the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima...

     Hondōri Station
    Hondori Station (Astram Line)
    is an HRT terminal station on the Astram Line, located in Hondōri, Naka-ku, Hiroshima.-Platforms:-Connections:█ Astram Line-Other services connections:█ Hiroden Ujina Line*Hiroden Ujina Line Connections at Hiroden Hondori Station...



See also

  • Hiroshima Peace Memorial
    Hiroshima Peace Memorial
    Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or , in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6,...

     (Atomic Bomb Dome)
  • Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan.It was established in August 1955 with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall ....

  • Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...

  • Sadako Sasaki
    Sadako Sasaki
    was a Japanese girl who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan. Sadako is remembered through the story of attempting to fold a thousand origami cranes before her death, a wish which was memorialized in popular...

  • Children's Peace Monument
    Children's Peace Monument
    The is a monument for peace to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima-Overview:The monument is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, itself in the city of Hiroshima...

  • Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
    Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
    Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims is one of the National Memorial Halls in Hiroshima, Japan.-Overview:The Hall was founded by the Japanese national government to mourn the atomic bomb victims in 2002 and designed by Kenzo Tange.There is another National Peace...

  • Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual Japanese vigil.Every August 6, "A-Bomb Day", the city of Hiroshima holds the 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 front of the Memorial...

  • Hiroshima Witness
    Hiroshima Witness
    Hiroshima Witness, also released as Voice of Hibakusha, is a documentary film featuring 100 interviews of people who survived the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as hibakusha. The Hiroshima Witness program was produced in 1986 by the Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and NHK,...

  • Nagasaki Peace Park
    Nagasaki Peace Park
    Nagasaki Peace Park is a park located in Nagasaki, Japan, commemorating the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945 during World War II.-History:...

  • Marcel Junod
    Marcel Junod
    Marcel Junod was a Swiss doctor and one of the most accomplished field delegates in the history of the International Committee of the Red Cross...

  • Peace Boulevard
    Peace Boulevard (Hiroshima)
    is one of the main streets in Hiroshima, Japan, which faces the south side of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.The street is 100 meters wide and runs 3.6 km from east to west, between Tsurumi-cho and Fukushima-cho within the green belt....

  • Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum
    Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum
    The Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum is a museum of the Peace in Honkawacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan.The school was the closest school to ground zero....

  • Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum
    Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum
    The Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum is a museum of the Peace in Fukuromachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan. The school was one of the closest schools to the ground zero. They lost about 160 students and teachers and the building had great damage by the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK