30 Fountain of Prayer
Date of completion November 1964
Established by Hiroshima Bank
Shape
The fountain are located on the line overlooking the Atomic Bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace City Monument in the south square of the Main Building of the Peace Memorial Museum. Many fountains are placed in an oval pond that spans 27 m east to west and 19 m south to north; the pond is lit with color lighting during the nighttime.
Motive for the erection
The fountain were built in dedication to the souls of A-bombing victims who died crying "water, please, water" and in the wish to console their souls.
Epigraph "Fountain of Prayer"
Noteworthy characteristics
1. Great Fountain
The Great Fountain, constructed by Hiroshima Bank, was donated to Hiroshima City in November 1964.
In those days, the fountain was said to be the most gorgeous fountain in western Japan. In the pond, spanning 27 m east to west and 19 m south to north, 567 fountain heads in total spout 11 tons of water per minute to a height of 10 meters. During the nighttime, the fountain is lit up with 153 red, blue, yellow, green and milk-white underwater color lamps.
2. Before Construction of the Great Fountain
Originally there was a small fountain pond on the current site of the Great Fountain. In the wake of the Hiroshima Restoration Exposition, in April 1958 the fountain pond was relocated to the south front of the exhibition site, the Peace Memorial Museum (present-day Main Building).
Although the initial plan was to build a theme tower for the Exhibition, the fountain pond was constructed instead, in order to offer water for the souls of A-bombing victims. This shift was the result of considering use of the one-million yen donation coincidentally offered to Hiroshima City by the Federation of Specialty Stores Association in Japan for the construction of facilities to console the souls of the A-bombing victims.
The fountain pond was formerly round and had an internal diameter of 11 meters, with one central and eight surrounding fountain heads, each designed to spout water approximately 4 meters.
