(広島平和記念資料館) 住友銀行の開店前に階段に腰掛けていた被爆者は、広島原子爆弾が近距離で炸裂し、その場で死亡した人影の石と推定された。

人影の石 (Human Shadow Etched in stone)

住友銀行広島支店の入口階段を切り出して、1971年に広島平和記念資料館に移設した。銀行の開店前に階段に腰掛けていた被爆者は、広島原子爆弾が近距離で炸裂し、逃げることもできないまま、その場で死亡したと推定された。広島平和記念資料館に移設されるまでに1959年に柵を設け、1967年に強化ガラスで薄くなる影を覆っていた。風化等で人影の石は薄くなっている。原子爆弾の記憶が風化して薄れないように、人影の石の保持を継続している。

　原子爆弾の強烈な熱線により階段は白っぽく変色し、腰掛けていた部分が影のように黒くなって残存した。この人影が自分の親族のものではないかという申し出が、複数のご遺族から寄せられている。 石段の人影だけでなく、壁、路面に焼き付く欄干の影、ガスタンクに残るハンドルの影などにも現れた。1人の婦人が銀行の開店を待って、右下肢を伸ばして、左下肢は立膝をして、石段にうずくまって腰掛けていたと推定される。たとえ炸裂直後に約4,000度に達しても、人体は気化することなく、骨と炭化した器官は残る。

1945年8月6日午前8時15分に広島原子爆弾が投下されて炸裂した爆心地から約260mに階段は存在していた。原子爆弾の約4000度もの熱線が、その周りの花崗岩の石段の表面を白く焼いて人の影の部分が残った。「死の人影」とも呼称された。石段に座った被爆者は、その場で即死した。 住友銀行は、ビルの外観だけを残して内部は崩壊した。8月6日には従業員は約29人が被爆死して、負傷者は約40人であった。

   These stone steps were at the entrance to the Hiroshima Branch of the Sumitomo Bank. Exposed to the atomic explosion at close range , the person sitting on the steps waiting for the bank tp open is thought to have died on the spot with no possibility of escape. The intense heat of the A-Bomb turned the steps whitish; the stone under the sitting person remained dark, like a shadow. Several families have suggested that the person killed on the steps may have been one of their own.

広島平和記念資料館で強化ガラスで覆われた人影の石

 

アメリカ戦略爆撃調査（USSBS）が1945年11月20日に撮影した。

0-1 世界の子ども平和像

0-1  世界の子ども平和像

核兵器のない世界のために

この像はヒロシマの子どもたちの

愛と平和のメッセージです。

2001年8月6日建立

 

 

0-2 鈴木三重吉文学碑

 0-2  鈴木三重吉文学碑

私は永久に夢を持つ

ただ年少時のごとく。

ために悩むこと浅きのみ。

三重吉

「千鳥」「桑の実」などの名作によって明治大正の文壇に精彩を放った鈴木三吉(1882〜1936)は、1882年に広島市に生まれました。1918年少年少女の雑誌「赤い鳥」を創刊し、日本最初の童謡童話が誕生しました。つづり方や自由詩を指導して児童の創造を高め、外国の名作童話も紹介し、わが国の児童文学の父とよばれています。この碑は1964年6月、被爆地ヒロシマの文化の復興のシンボルとして建てられ、平和への願いが込められています。圓鍔勝三の作品

 

 

 

0-3 旧相生橋碑

 0-3  旧相生橋碑

 

 

 

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum June 1st 2020 Part 02

   The Hiroshima Atomic Bomb had been dropped for the first time in the history of humankind on 8AM 15Min, August 6, 1945, which exploded over Hiroshima City. 

    In Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima before and after the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb, the background of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb, the actual situation of the nuclear age and Hiroshima City's peace efforts are introduced via models, images and photo panels. There is also a video theater where documentary films can be viewed, and on basement floors there are exhibition rooms for paintings of the A-bombing by surviving citizens; halls and meeting rooms where students on school excursions can hear testimonies of Hiroshima Atomic Bomb survivors, and an information reference room where books on the A-bombing and on peace can be viewed. 

   The main building displays Hiroshima Atomic Bomb artifacts and materials that explain the dreadful powers of heat rays, blast, radiation and the intense heat fires of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb. These artifacts and materials convey what specifically happened to Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The facility is also equipped with sections where visitors can view and listen to testimonies of Hiroshima Atomic Bomb survivors, and can write their impressions and messages for peace.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, June 1st, 2020, Part 01

   The Hiroshima Atomic Bomb had been dropped for the first time in the history of humankind on 8AM 15Min, August 6, 1945, which exploded over Hiroshima City. 

   In September 1949, "the A-bomb Reference Material Display Room" was established in the Hiroshima City Central Community Center. This was the start of the public display of atomic bomb materials. Under the "Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law," which was promulgated that year, the Peace Memorial Hall was opened in June 1955 and the Peace Memorial Museum in August 1955, in Peace Memorial Park. In June 1994, to improve display and collection functions and provide more space for peace education, Peace Memorial Hall was renovated and integrated into the Peace Memorial Museum. The two facilities are now open as a renewed Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on April 25, 2019.

   On July 5, 2006, the Main Building of the Peace Memorial Museum was designated one of the important cultural assets of Japan. This is the first cultural asset from among buildings constructed in the post war period.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 広島平和記念公園

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 

広島平和記念公園 

広島平和記念公園は、広島市の中島地区の一帯であり、江戸時代から陸海の交通の要衝として栄えた。明治時代になると、広島市庁舎、広島県庁舎のほか、広島の物流の拠点など、政治・行政・商業の中心であった。広島原子爆弾の被爆時に中島地区の７町の住民は、総計で約6,500人と推定された。1945年8月6日午前8時15分、広島市に人類史上初めて投下された原子爆弾は、中島地区の直上で炸裂した。地区のほとんどの住民はもとより、中島地区付近で作業従事したほとんどの国民義勇隊や動員学徒が悲惨な被爆して即死した。中島地区の街並も一瞬のうちに消滅した。1949年8月6日の広島平和記念都市建設法の制定で、中島地区一帯は平和記念施設に整備された。丹下健三他３名が145作品から入選して設計された広島平和記念公園に変貌した。公園面積は約122,100平方メートル（約37,000坪）で、公園内に多数の被爆者の慰霊碑が取り囲む。公園の南端には、広島平和記念資料館と広島国際会議場がある。

Japan Atomic Bomb (JAB) 日本原爆の会　https://jpatomicbomb.blogspot.com/ 

Japan No War (JNW) 日本平和の市民連盟　https://nowarjapan.blogspot.com/

56 Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

56 Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

Date of completion August 1, 2002

Established by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Designed by Kenzo Tange Associates

Shape

One story above ground and two stories underground

Total floor area: 3,099 m2 

Motive for the foundation

The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims is an effort by the Japanese government to remember and mourn the atomic bomb victims, to pray for eternal peace, to deepen world public understanding of the horrors of atomic bombs and to convey the A-bomb experience to later generations. 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Monument to 8:15 

In the center of the above-ground area is the Monument to 8:15 − the moment the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The monument is surrounded by water, an offering for victims who died craving water, and A-bombed roof tiles unearthed from the premises during construction of the monument. 

2. The Hall of Remembrance

In the second basement of the building is the Hall of Remembrance, a cylindrical space with a high ceiling. Here is a place to quietly mourn A-bomb victims and reflect on peace. To show visitors the magnitude of the damage caused by the atomic bomb, the hall presents a panoramic view of the A-bombed city from Shima Hospital, located close to the atomic bomb hypocenter, with 140,000 roof tiles?equal to the number of people estimated to have died as a result of the atomic bomb by the end of 1945. 

From the first basement, which has an entrance to the building, a counterclockwise spiral slope leads to the Hall of Remembrance. This slope represents travel from the present to the past, when the atomic bomb was dropped. 

3. Various activities, including collecting and making public memoirs of A-bomb survivors, and names and photographs of A-bomb victims

As a means of conveying the reality of the damage caused by the atomic bombing, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims collects memoirs of A-bomb survivors and names and photographs of A-bomb victims, and makes them available in the Victims' Information Area (only names and photographs) and Library. Visitors can view the photographs of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, and videotapes in which survivors tell their stories.

In the Temporary Exhibition Area, theme exhibitions are held with collected memoirs of A-bomb survivors. In addition, volunteers give public readings of A-bomb survivors' memoirs inside this building.  

57 Memorial Monument for Barbara Reynolds

57 Memorial Monument for Barbara Reynolds 

Date of dedication Unveiled on June 12, 2011

Established by World Friendship Center (specified non-profit corporation)

Shape

0.8m2 ceramic plate is mounted on the black granite pedestal of approximately 1.3m (height) x 1m (width) x 0.4m (thickness)

Motive for the erection

After more than 60 years since the atomic bombing, amidst the concerns over the fading atomic bombing memory, the monument was erected to commemorate the achievement of Ms. Barbara Reynolds in making the experience of Hiroshima bombing globally known in her conviction that “My heart is always with Hiroshima”, and to pass on her wish for the nuclear abolition to many people, including citizens, students on school trip, and tourists from across the world. 

Epigraph

I, too, am a Hibakusha

Hibakusha – they are the inspiration for all my peace effort

My heart is always with Hiroshima

Barbara Reynolds (1915-1990)

Special Honorary Citizen of Hiroshima

Founder of World Friendship Center, Hiroshima 

Additional Facts

1. Barbara Reynolds (1915 – 90) 

Barbara Reynolds was an American peace activist. In 1951, she made her first visit to Hiroshima with her husband, a researcher working for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (now the Radiation Effects Research Foundation), and learned the horrendous damage wrought by the atomic bombing. In 1958, she sailed into the restricted waters surrounding Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in protest against the hydrogen-bomb testing by the United States. Since 1962, she had organized Hiroshima Peace Pilgrimage and, in 1964, launched Hiroshima Nagasaki World Peace Pilgrimage. The pilgrimages consisting of A-bomb survivors and scholars toured around the world, advocating peace.

In 1965, she founded the World Friendship Center in Minami-kannon as the "the world’s gateway to Hiroshima".

On October 15, 1975, the City of Hiroshima made her the Special Honorary Citizen for her achievements in her peace activities both in Japan and the world.

56 Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

56 Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

Date of completion August 1, 2002

Established by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Designed by Kenzo Tange Associates

Shape

One story above ground and two stories underground

Total floor area: 3,099 m2 

Motive for the foundation

The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims is an effort by the Japanese government to remember and mourn the atomic bomb victims, to pray for eternal peace, to deepen world public understanding of the horrors of atomic bombs and to convey the A-bomb experience to later generations. 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Monument to 8:15 

In the center of the above-ground area is the Monument to 8:15 − the moment the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The monument is surrounded by water, an offering for victims who died craving water, and A-bombed roof tiles unearthed from the premises during construction of the monument. 

2. The Hall of Remembrance

In the second basement of the building is the Hall of Remembrance, a cylindrical space with a high ceiling. Here is a place to quietly mourn A-bomb victims and reflect on peace. To show visitors the magnitude of the damage caused by the atomic bomb, the hall presents a panoramic view of the A-bombed city from Shima Hospital, located close to the atomic bomb hypocenter, with 140,000 roof tiles?equal to the number of people estimated to have died as a result of the atomic bomb by the end of 1945. 

From the first basement, which has an entrance to the building, a counterclockwise spiral slope leads to the Hall of Remembrance. This slope represents travel from the present to the past, when the atomic bomb was dropped. 

3. Various activities, including collecting and making public memoirs of A-bomb survivors, and names and photographs of A-bomb victims

As a means of conveying the reality of the damage caused by the atomic bombing, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims collects memoirs of A-bomb survivors and names and photographs of A-bomb victims, and makes them available in the Victims' Information Area (only names and photographs) and Library. Visitors can view the photographs of Hiroshima before and after the bombing, and videotapes in which survivors tell their stories.

In the Temporary Exhibition Area, theme exhibitions are held with collected memoirs of A-bomb survivors. In addition, volunteers give public readings of A-bomb survivors' memoirs inside this building. 

55 Peace "Watch" Tower

55 Peace "Watch" Tower

Date of completion August 6, 2001

Established by Nonprofit Organization Peace Watch Club 

Designer : Atsuo Okamoto

Shape

The tower is made of granite (0.8 meters wide, 0.4 meters long and 3.1 meters high). Placed on atop of the tower is a round clock, showing the current time. Under the clock is a digital display indicating the number of days since the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Beneath that is another display showing the number of days since the last nuclear test was conducted. Installed on the bottom of the tower is a cogwheel device. 

Motive for the erection

To prevent memories of the atomic bombing from fading away and to warn against repeated nuclear testing, the Peace "Watch" Tower was created and donated to Hiroshima City. 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Number of days displayed

Of the two digital displays on the tower, the upper one indicates the number of days since the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, while the lower one shows the number of days since the last nuclear test was conducted. Every time a nuclear test is conducted, "the number of days since the last nuclear test was conducted" is reset to zero. 

2. Cogwheel device 

The cogwheel device under the digital displays implicitly warns that human history continues to tick toward its end if nothing is done. 

The device consists of 15 cogwheels lined up from top to bottom. 

The concept is: the cogwheel at the top rotates 100 times per minute, but it will spin faster if the earth shows signs of being in danger. If it reaches the immovable cogwheel at the bottom, the clock will automatically self-destruct.

In order to stop the cogwheel from spinning, we must work toward abolishing all nuclear weapons and seek for an age of coexistence among humankind without dependence on military force.

The Peace "Watch" Tower reminds us to stop these cogwheels from rotating — reminds us to put our heads together to eliminate nuclear weapons, and reminds us to put an end to our dependence on military force, to live in an age of peaceful coexistence. 

54 Monument Commemorating

54 Monument Commemorating 

Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace

Date of completion February 25, 1983

Established by Committee for Monument Commemorating Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace

Designer Itto Kuetani (Hiroshima-born sculptor living in Italy) 

Shape

The monument, made of white marble from Carrara, Italy, is engraved with words selected from Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace, in both Japanese and English. The monument consists of two joined rectangular stones underneath and an abstract sculpture above. The sculpture, symbolizing the world aspiring to work together for future harmony, stability and coexistence, represents humankind's hope for peace. (1.8 meters wide, 0.9 meters long and 3 meters high) 

Motive for the erection

To transform the Pope's Appeal for Peace into a sculpture that can serve as a source of peace 

Epigraph

War is the work of man.

War is destruction of human life.

War is death.

To remember the past is to commit oneself to the future.

To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war.

To remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace.

10:30 a.m., 25 February 1981

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park His Holiness Pope John Paul II 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. ○ Pope John Paul II's visit to Hiroshima and his Appeal for Peace

On February 25, 1981, Pope John Paul II made his Appeal for Peace in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Appeal for Peace, calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, greatly impressed people all around the world.

In response to a request by many people, including A-bomb survivor Yoshie Fujieda, to create a monument based on the Pope's Appeal for Peace that would serve as a source of peace inspiration, the Committee for Monument Commemorating Pope John Paul II's Appeal for Peace was organized. On February 25, 1983, two years after the Appeal for Peace, an unveiling ceremony for the monument was held in the lobby on the first floor of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. 

53 Monument to Mr. Norman Cousins

53 Monument to Mr. Norman Cousins 

Date of completion August 2, 2003

Established by Committee for Monument to Mr. Norman Cousins 

Designer Masanami Yoshida (then a teacher at Hijiyama Women Junior College)

Shape

The monument consists of two fieldstones — one about 120 centimeters high, the other about 80 centimeters high. Placed on the front side of the larger fieldstone are a portrait in relief of Mr. Norman Cousins and a bronze plate engraved with words in both English and Japanese, quoted from his book Human Option. Embedded in the front of the smaller fieldstone is a green copperplate indicating his contributions to Hiroshima, lettered in gold Japanese characters. 

Motive for the erection

To honor Mr. Norman Cousins' great achievements, including promotion of the moral adoption project for A-bomb and war orphans, his efforts in helping female A-bomb survivors receive keloid treatment in the U.S. and his continued appeal to the world for elimination of nuclear weapons treatment in the U.S. and his continued appeal to the world for elimination of nuclear weapons 

Epigraph

"World peace will not be achieved by drift or default. The goal must be defined, the approaches must be accepted, the responsibilities must be fixed. (Norman Cousins)"

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Mr. Norman Cousins (1915 - 1990)

Mr. Norman Cousins visited Hiroshima in August 1949 as the editor-in-chief of the New York literary journal Saturday Review of Literature, and published a report titled "Hiroshima — Four Years Later." In this report he introduced the idea of "moral adoption," a system that could help nurture A-bomb and war orphans without recourse to legal adoption. Through this "moral adoption" system, Americans of goodwill could contribute to the well-being of overseas children through financial support. Financial support for orphans in Hiroshima through the system amounted to ¥20 million; some 500 children received assistance.

Moreover, in 1955, Cousins took 25 female A-bomb survivors to the U.S. to have their keloids treated at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York by Dr. Arthur Barsky and other world-renowned plastic surgeons. 

To honor his achievements, he was awarded the title Honorary Citizen of Hiroshima in 1964. 

52 Gates of Peace

52 Gates of Peace

Date of construction July 30, 2005

Creators and donors

Clara Halter (French artist) 

Jean-Michel Wilmotte (French architect) 

Shape

Ten glass gates (2.6 meters wide, 1.6 meters long and 9 meters high) stretch 75 meters east to west in parallel with the columns of the main building of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on the north side of Peace Boulevard.

The word "Peace," translated in 18 alphabets and 49 languages, is inscribed on the steel-framed gates covered with tempered glass, and on the flagstone underneath. During the night the words on each gate shine in the light. 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Wall for Peace Project 

In prayer for world peace, the gates were created in 2005, the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing, by French artist Clara Halter and French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who have been working on the Wall for Peace Project under the auspices of the French government.

The aim of Wall for Peace Project is to erect and donate walls engraved with the word "Peace" in world cities, in hope of world peace. As part of this project, the Gates of Peace were donated to Hiroshima City. The Gates of Peace were so named because of their structure.

History of Wall for Peace Project

Year 2000: Millennium Event in Paris, France : Shape: Cube

Year 2003: Tercentenary celebration of Saint Petersburg, Russia : Shape: Tower 

2. Ten Gates of Peace

The idea of ten gates represents the Italian poet Dante's nine circles of Hell, plus one - the living hell of Hiroshima caused by the atomic bombing, a hell unimaginable in the poet's day. The Gates of Peace symbolize the wish for human beings to overcome past traumatic experience and open the doors to a peaceful future.  

51 Merciful Consoling Kannon for Mobilized A-bomb Victim Students

51 Merciful Consoling Kannon for Mobilized A-bomb Victim Students

Date of completion July 31, 1966

Established by Bereaved families of students at 21 middle schools and girls' high schools (under Japan's old education system) 

Designer : Hoko Sunahara

Shape

The 2-meter high bronze Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) statue stands on an artificial hill comprising layers of stone. 

Motive for the erection

To console the spirits of mobilized students who tragically fell victim to the atomic bomb

Epigraph

"Precious are the spirits of the young student victims, who continue to protect peace through Kannon. (Yasuo Yamamoto)" 

"We can feel at peace when we imagine you sleeping in the arms of Jibo Kannon. (Reisuke Masuda)" 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Statue for students at middle schools and girls' high schools 

(under Japan's old education system)

This statue was erected to console the spirits of the dead students at 21 middle schools and girls' high schools (under Japan's old education system) in Hiroshima City. A plate engraved with the names of 4,000 student victims at these schools is placed inside the artificial hill, which is made of layers of stone.

2. From the old education system, including middle schools and girls' high schools, 

to the new education system (6-3-3 system) 

In 1947 the school system was revised to equalize educational opportunities. The new system stipulated 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of junior high school and 3 years of high school. Under the new system, 3 years of junior high school were required in addition to 6 years of elementary school, and coeducation was introduced in public schools. Under the old education system, most of the students who had completed the elementary course in national schools (6-year compulsory education) would go on to attend a 2-year advanced course in national schools, 5 years of middle school (for boys) or 4 (or 5) years of girls' high school. 

3. A Student Labor Order

Under the A Student Labor Order enacted in August 1944, students in middle schools and girls' high schools (under the old school system) or students in higher education institutions were required to provide labor service in the munition industries office.

Moreover, in November 1944, to prevent the spread of fires due to air raids, over 8,000 students from advanced courses in national schools, middle schools and girls' high schools were mobilized to clean up 133 locations in Hiroshima City where buildings had been demolished to provide fire roads and firebreaks; about 6,300 of those students were killed in the atomic bombing.  

50 Monument for the A-bomb Victims from the Hiroshima Agricultural Association

50 Monument for the A-bomb Victims from the Hiroshima Agricultural Association

Date of completion August 6, 1971

Established by JA Hiroshima Chuou Kai, JA Hiroshima Shinren, JA Hiroshima Keizairen, Hiroshima Doeisha Kyosairen and JA Hiroshima Kouseiren 

Shape

The cenotaph is made of black granite (1-meter high, 2-meters wide).

Motive for the erection

To console the spirits of 83 A-bomb victims of the Hiroshima Agricultural Association (including those who died of atomic bomb-related diseases) 

Epigraph

"Monument for the A-bomb Victims from the Hiroshima Agricultural Association" (Words written by Noboru Okuhisa, President of the Hiroshima Agricultural Association)

"The atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945 devastated the entire city in an instant, turning it into hell on earth. The inferno reduced the towns in Hiroshima to ruins and victimized some 80 of the executives and employees of the Hiroshima Agricultural Association. To console the spirits of the victims, this cenotaph has been erected close to where the Hiroshima Branch was located. (August 6, 1971)"

(Words composed by Mamoru Yukihiro, President of Hiroshima Doeisha Kyosairen) 

(Words written by Jitsuo Ito, President of JA Hiroshima Chuou Kai) 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. The Hiroshima Agricultural Association 

Each day, some 200 staff members commuted to the association's head office, a modern two-story wooden building built in September 1942 on the south side of Hiroshima City Hall (near where the Hiroshima National Building stands today).

Immediately after the atomic bombing, 71 staff members were confirmed dead and 72 were seriously injured. Many more died later. 

2. Hiroshima Branch of The Hiroshima Agricultural Association

The Hiroshima Branch of the Hiroshima Agricultural Association was located where this cenotaph stands today.

From the former Hiroshima Agricultural and Industrial Bank, the Hiroshima Agricultural Association received title to a four-story, six-columned brick building that the association used as its head office. After the head office had moved to a new location in Kokutaiji-machi, the original building was used as the association's Hiroshima Branch. The atomic bomb completely devastated the building; only some portions of the exterior walls remained standing. Since thick bricks had been used in constructing the building, the wreckage was too hot to touch for some time after the bombing. After about a week, survivors broke up the bricks to collect the remains of the dead underneath.

All staff, including the branch manager, who were inside the building on that day were victimized by the atomic bomb. 

49 Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims in the Coal Industry

49 Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims in the Coal Industry

Date of completion August 6, 1957

Established by People in the coal industry all over Japan

Designer : Konan Hanami

Shape

A 1.5-meter high stone guardian deity stands atop a lotus-shaped base placed on a 1.2-meter high stone pedestal. A stone called honkomatsu-ishi, quarried from Mt. Ashigara in Soshu (present-day Kanagawa Prefecture), is used for the cenotaph. 

Motive for the erection

In prayer for the souls of the employees of coal control organizations who were victimized by the atomic bomb 

Epigraph

"To console the spirits of A-bomb victims" 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Coal control organizations

Former Japan Coal Co., Ltd., former Chugoku Coal Distribution Control Co., Ltd. and former West Japan Coal Transportation Co., Ltd were located in the same building. 

2. A-bomb Jizo (guardian deity of children) 

Commonly known as "A-bomb Jizo," this cenotaph is located where stood the building housing the three coal control organizations when the atomic bomb was dropped. Inside the cenotaph is a copperplate engraved with the names of 76 victims. 

3. Background for erecting the cenotaph

Of the 77 employees who were inside the building, all but one woman died as a result of the atomic bomb. In prayer for the souls of the victims, the surviving employees of the three organizations erected the cenotaph by collecting contributions from people in the coal industry in areas ranging from Kitakyushu to Hokkaido.  

48 Monument erected by Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd. in Remembrance of Victims of the Atomic Bombing

48 Monument erected by Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd. in Remembrance of Victims of the Atomic Bombing

Date of completion August 2, 1967

Established by Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd. 

Shape

About 2 meters high and about 1 meter in diameter, this black granite monument comprises a cylindrical pedestal on which 5 gas lamps rest. 

Motive for the erection

The monument was erected with the prayers of all employees for the victims, and in hope for peace. 

Epigraph

"Monument in Remembrance of Victims of the Atomic Bombing on August 6, 1945 - Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd." 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Damage to the head office building of Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd.

The company's head office, a ferroconcrete and brick building with 3 stories above ground and 1 story underground, was located where the monument stands today, about 250 meters from the hypocenter. The powerful blast caused the floors and ceilings of each floor to collapse, leaving only the west portion standing. 

2 Employees of Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd. victimized by the atomic bomb

All 34 volunteer workers of the company were killed while demolishing buildings to create firebreaks in Tenjin-machi and Kobiki-cho area in Hiroshima City.

Of the 35 employees working in the head office, all but a few were killed instantly. Those who barely managed to survive died later. Other A-bomb victims included 10 executives from gas companies in 5 prefectures of the Chugoku region who were attending a meeting in Hiroshima on that day to discuss gas business integration. 

3. Lamps lit with "Fire of Peace" from Hoshino-mura Village

and "Flame of Peace" from Peace Memorial Park

On August 6, 2007, the gas lamps were lit with the "Fire of Peace" from Hoshino-mura Village in Fukuoka Prefecture, where the embers of a fire from the Hiroshima bombing have been kept burning, and the "Flame of Peace," brought from Peace Memorial Park. 

47 Hiroshima Monument for the A-bomb Victims

47 Hiroshima Monument for the A-bomb Victims

Completed : August 5, 1982

Established by : Construction Committee of the Hiroshima Monument for the A-bomb Victims 

In the riverbed of the Motoyasu River near the A-bomb Dome (hypocenter vicinity) were buried many tiles with surfaces melted by the heat ray. When Hiroshima City undertook beautification of the Motoyasu River in 1981, high school students made a call for excavation of tiles and construction of a monument to strengthen resolve for building peace. The monument is inlaid with A-bombed tiles collected largely through the efforts of young people born into a generation that does not know war. 

"When the sky turned suddenly light, my body began to melt. Friends around the world, join in the cry from Hiroshima!" The monument committee created the monument using as epitaph this poem written by Junko Kurata, a second-generation survivor who was then a student at Yasuda Girls High School. It was chosen from more than 2,000 entries by elementary, junior high, and high school students around the country. 

The theme of the bronze statue suggesting the soul of a victim going to heaven is "Wind of No Return." It was created by Professor Hisashi Akutagawa of Hijiyama Women's Junior College. 

 

46 Monument Dedicated to Construction Workers and Artisans

46 Monument Dedicated to Construction Workers and Artisans 

Date of completion August 5, 1988

Established by National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions and Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union

Shape

The monument design is an adaptation of the nagare-zukuri roof style seen on traditional Japanese Shinto shrines. The two large Chinese characters, meaning "consolation for spirits" are deeply engraved on the front and back of the monument. Under the two characters are engraved the names of the organizations that erected the monument— the National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions and Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union. 

Motive for the erection

This monument, whose purpose is to console the spirits of the construction workers and their families who died as a result of the atomic bombing, was erected in the firm pledge that no more human lives should be sacrificed because of nuclear weapons. 

Epigraph

Front: "Consolation for Spirits" "Monument Dedicated to Construction Workers and Artisans"

Back: "By consensus of all 430,000 members of the National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions, we erected this monument to console the spirits of the construction workers and their families who died as a result of the atomic bombing. It is our hope that nuclear weapons will be completely eliminated from the earth and that a peaceful and prosperous society will be built.

National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions and Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union, August 5, 1988" 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Numbers of Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union members and A-bomb survivor health book holders

When this monument was erected in 1988, the members of the Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Unions numbered about 12,500 (about 32,000 including family members), of which about 1,500 survivors were A-bomb survivor health book holders.

The total number of A-bomb survivors is still unconfirmed, and the exact number of A-bomb victims in the construction industry is also unknown. 

2. Monuments erected in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

By consensus of all 430,000 members of the National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions, another monument was erected in Nagasaki City on August 8, 1988.  

45 Monument to the Employees of the Hiroshima Post Office

45 Monument to the Employees of the Hiroshima Post Office

Completed : August 1975

Established by : A Group of Employees of the Hiroshima Post Office 

The Hiroshima Post Office was established in 1871 as the core of communications in Hiroshima. It was rebuilt in 1893 as a three-story (plus underground level) modern brick building with a mortar-covered section. It's reputation is apparent in the common phrase of the day, "Number 1, Prefecture Office, number 2, the Post Office". Facing a three-way intersection, it stood next to the spot where a parking tower is located today. Across the street from the parking tower is the Shima Hospital hypocenter plaque. A clock tower stood in the three-story entrance of the post office. Because it was at the hypocenter, it was exposed briefly to heat of 3,000-4,000 degrees centigrade and was dealt a shock of around 30 tons per square meter. The building crumbled immediately. Those inside undoubtedly died without seeing the flash or feeling the blast. By evening that day, unidentifiable white bones and charred corpses lay strewn among the rubble.

At the time, many male employees had been drafted and were consequently in other places. Most of those killed by the bombing were women hired to fill the vacancies, mobilized girl students, and girls from national school upper levels.

On the monument is written: "Monument built for those who died on duty. 288 officers of the Hiroshima Post Office killed in the atomic bombing." However, a newspaper company study in 2000 revealed that eight children and one girl student who were in the day-care room were also killed. 

44 Motoyasu Bridge

44 Motoyasu Bridge 

The original Motoyasu Bridge was built by Terumoto Mori when he built Hiroshima Castle and constructed the castle town 400 years ago. The bridge exposed to the atomic bombing was built in 1926. With spherical ornamental lights topping the main columns on both riverbanks and light posts lining the bridge itself, it was quite modern and stylish for its day. However, when the metal in the lighting fixtures was requisitioned for the war effort, lights were installed instead in stone lanterns. 

The girders withstood the atomic bombing, but the blast pushed the coping stones on the main columns outward and knocked the railings off both sides into the river. From this evidence, people thought that the hypocenter was located on a line extended from the bridge.

The surviving bridge was used for another 40 years after the bombing, but it eventually deteriorated. Construction of a new bridge began in 1989 and was completed in 1992.

The new bridge was designed to resemble the original one. It incorporated four main columns and two pillars from the A-bombed bridge into its design. Two pillars from the old bridge lying to the east of Motoyasu Bridge serve as a historic monument.  

43 Hypocenter/Shima Hospital (A-bomb Disaster Marker)

43 Hypocenter/Shima Hospital (A-bomb Disaster Marker)

The atomic bomb, which was targeted at the T-shaped Aioi Bridge, exploded at 132 degrees, 27 minutes, 29 seconds east latitude and 34 degrees, 23 minutes, 29 seconds north longitude and an altitude of 600 meters. This was the sky above Shima Hospital, located at 29-2 Saiku-machi, Hiroshima City. 

Shima Hospital was built in 1933. It was a modern, two-story brick building distinguished by round pillars framing the entrance and circular windows. 

On the day of the bombing, hospital director Dr. Shima was treating patients away from the hospital and thus escaped harm. The building was destroyed instantly, and the roughly 80 patients, nurses, and others estimated to have been in the building disappeared without a trace.

* Estimation of the hypocenter

The basic data used to make this estimation was the direction of shadows caused by the heat ray. Those directions were plotted on a map, and the point where they intersected was determined to be the hypocenter. 

42 Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students

42 Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students

Completed : July 15, 1967

Established by : Hiroshima Prefecture Mobilized Student Victims Association 

To make up for the labor shortage, the government enacted the Student Labor Service Act in August 1944. This act required students in middle school and higher grades to perform labor service in munitions factories and the like. Then, in November, many students were required to participate in tearing down homes and other buildings (building demolition). The purpose was to create fire-breaks to limit the expansion of fire in the event of air attacks. In Hiroshima City, of the roughly 8,400 students in the national upper level schools, about 6,300 died on the day of the bombing.

Most students working at various industries around the city were also killed.

After the war, the government only permitted mobilized students killed in the atomic bombing or in air strikes whose names and date of death were known to be enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine. In response to this, bereaved families began a movement to create a list of the dead and donated funds to build this tower. 

41 Monument to Tamiki Hara

41 Monument to Tamiki Hara

Completed : November 15, 1951

Established by : The Tamiki Hara Committee (The Japan Pen Club and the Hiroshima Literature Association) 

At the age of 40, poet Tamiki Hara experienced the atomic bombing at his birth home in Nobori-cho. His beloved wife had died the previous year. Haunted by loneliness and despair, he nevertheless determined that his mission as a survivor was to continually write works that would convey the disaster of the bombing.

However, when the expansion of the Korean War led President Truman to publicly consider the use of atomic weapons, Hara lost all hope. He took his life, lying down on the tracks of Tokyo's Chuo Line on March 13, 1951. He was 46 years old. 

In November of the year of his death, writers and literary scholars who had been close to Hara built this monument engraved with a poem against the background of a stone wall from the remains of Hiroshima Castle. Sadly, heartless people pelted it with stones, denting the plate. The copper plate on the rear side was stolen. The present monument was restored and moved on July 29, 1967. 

Engraved on the plate of black granite is the following poem by Hara:

Engraved in stone long ago,

Lost in the shifting sand,

In the midst of a crumbling world,

The vision of one flower. 

40 Monument of The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation

40 Monument of The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation 

Date of completion August 6, 1967

Established by Volunteers among executives and regular employees of The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation

Writer of the Epigraph

Keisen Sone

Shape

The characters "Irei" (consoling the souls of the departed) are inscribed on the front of a large fieldstone; the epigraph (in Japanese) is on the back. 

Motive for the erection

The monument was built in prayer for the souls of those who died while on duty, and for everlasting peace in the world

Epigraph

"This dome housed the headquarters offices of 260 staffers of The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation Japan's timber control agency during World War II. Over 100 executives and regular employees tragically died while on duty in and around the dome due to the A-bomb's detonation in the sky immediately above at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945. When permanent preservation of the Atomic Bomb Dome had been decided, at the suggestion of then-president Koichi Tanaka, surviving executives and regular employees gathered and built this monument in prayer for the repose of victims' souls, as well as for everlasting peace in the world. Workers of the two timber control agencies Japan Lumber Corporation Hiroshima Branch and Hiroshima Shipping Timber Co. who died while on duty are honored collectively. 

August 6, 1967. By volunteers among executives and regular employees of The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation" 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation 

The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation was inaugurated in July 1944 by streamlining local timber control companies in Hiroshima Prefecture. At that time, 260 staff members were working at the headquarters, which had been relocated to the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. 

2. Transition of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall

As the war was prolonged and the situation grew aggravated, the scale of exhibitions in the Hall was reduced. On March 31, 1944, Hall operations were finally discontinued. It was decided that the Hall would be used for government and other public offices, such as the Interior Ministry Chugoku & Shikoku Civil Engineering Branch Office, as well as offices of the Control Union, including The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation. 

3. From the day of the A-bombing to one week later

On the day of the A-bombing, although working hours were set to start at 9:00 a.m., a one hour delay from the usual start because a red alert had been issued the night before, workers from suburban areas arrived at the workplace at 8:00 a.m. as usual. All persons inside the building were killed instantly. 

One week later, The Hiroshima District Lumber Control Corporation placed its temporary offices in Kirin Beer Hall, where it continued its operations until around autumn. 

39 Monument for staffers of the Chugoku & Shikoku Civil Engineering Branch Office who died on Duty

39 Monument for staffers of the Chugoku & Shikoku Civil Engineering Branch Office who died on Duty

[Monument for staffers of the Ministry of Construction (Interior Ministry)] 

Date of completion August 6, 1954

Established by All staffers of the Construction Bureau of the Ministry of Construction Chugoku & Shikoku Regions

Shape

This memorial poem monument (Memorial Mound) is made from a fieldstone (1.2 m in height, 1.5 m wide, quarried in Gohara-cho, Kure City), and a stone inscribed with the names of 52 staffers who died while on duty. 

Epigraph

Poem Monument: "The loss of those sacrificed by the A-bombing is the foundation of a peaceful world"

Back of the monument: "52 former staffers of the Chugoku & Shikoku Civil Engineering Branch Office of the Interior Ministry, while on duty as members of the National Militia Unit, became the foundation of peace as a result of the A-bombing and war damage on August 6, 1945, and now rest in the earth. August 6, 1954. Built by staffers of Construction Bureau of the Ministry of Construction Chugoku & Shikoku Regions" 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Persons Who Died on Duty, and Damage

Of 93 staffers of the branch office who were relocated to the rented entire third floor and part of the first floor of Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (now the Atomic Bomb Dome) 52 staffers (30 males and 22 females among 13 office workers, 32 field workers and 7 missing persons) were killed on duty and 9 were injured, excepting those who evacuated to the official residence in Ushida-cho and other facilities. 

2. History of Memorial Monument (Memorial Mound)

The monument, originally a wooden structure constructed in 1947, was replaced in 1954 with a fieldstone poem monument (gravestone). Although no tombstone can be built on the premises of the Atomic Bomb Dome because it is a designated park area under Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law, construction of this monument was permitted because it was designed as a poem monument. Then-director Ichiro Abe's memorial poem, "The loss of people sacrificed by the A-bombing……" (in Japanese) was inscribed on the monument. 

3. Meaning of the Epigraph

"Considering people who unfortunately died in the A-bombing, we vow our strong commitment to the building of a peaceful country as the foundation of a gradually reconstructed new Japan, the desire you never realized, so that your ultimate sacrifice will not be in vain. May you rest in peace." (Source: Data of the Chugoku Region Construction Bureau of the Ministry of Construction (present-day Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation Chugoku Regional Development Bureau)) 

4. Memorial Monument Information Stone Pillar

The stone pillar stating "On this site, staffers of the Ministry of Construction (Interior Ministry) died on duty" was established by the Chugoku Construction Kosei Association in 1980.