38 A-Bomb Dome

38 A-Bomb Dome 

The Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was constructed in 1915 as a base for promoting the sale of goods produced in Hiroshima Prefecture. The building designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel was highly regarded for its imposing, European-style design. Its name changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall and then to Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Intensification of the war led the government to discontinue commercial uses of the Industrial Promotion Hall in March 1944. Instead, it housed the branch office of the Chugoku Shikoku Public Works Office of the Internal Affairs Agency and the offices of the Hiroshima District Lumber and Japan Lumber Control Corporation.

When the atomic bomb exploded, it ravaged the building instantly. Heat blazing from above consumed the entire building, killing everyone in it. Because the blast attacked the building from virtually straight overhead, some walls escaped total collapse. Along with the wire framework of the dome, these form the shape that has become a symbol. At some point it became known as the "A-bomb Dome."

In 1966, Hiroshima City determined to preserve the A-bomb Dome indefinitely and solicited funds from within Japan and overseas. To date, the A-bomb Dome has undergone three preservation projects.

As a historical witness that conveys the disaster of the first atomic bombing in history, and as a symbol of the vow to pursue the abolition of nuclear weapons and enduring peace, in December 1996 the A-bomb Dome was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List based on the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.  

37 Peace Bridge, West Peace Bridge

37 Peace Bridge, West Peace Bridge

Completed : June 3, 1952

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law enacted in 1949 called for construction of a hundred-meter-wide road that would run east and west through central Hiroshima and pass Peace Memorial Park on it south end. The roadway would be flanked by green zones lined by walking paths. Public solicitation for a name resulted in the selection of "Peace Boulevard" in 1951. A campaign soliciting tree donations gradually filled both sides of the boulevard with trees. 

The bridges that provide access to Peace Memorial Park on Peace Boulevard are Peace Bridge over the Motoyasu West Peace Bridge (River and Nishi-heiwa-ohashi ) over the Honkawa River.

The name "Peace Bridge" was selected from over 1,400 entries in a naming contest that offered a reward to the winner. Peace Bridge is designed to evoke a sunrise (the future) while West Peace Bridge (River and Nishi-heiwa-ohashi ) is designed to evoke a sunset (the past). The arresting designs by American sculptor Isamu Noguchi drew criticism from the City Council and private citizens who feared that "the caterpillar-shaped handrail would not prevent children from falling in the river." The bridge was finally built with a handrail 20 centimeters higher than originally designed.

However, Professor Kenzo Tange showed his regard for the bridge when he said, "This fine bridge sets off my design for Peace Memorial Park.  

36 Monument of the Former South Tenjin-machi Area

36 Monument of the Former South Tenjin-machi Area 

Date of completion July 15, 1973

Established by Memorial Monument Construction Caretaker Association

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

Shape

A copper plate depicting three dancing angels is embedded into an oblong granite stone. 

Motive for the erection

The monument was built by townspeople of the former South Tenjin-machi Area for the repose of the souls of those who were associated with Tenjin-machi, including A-bombing victims, war victims and persons who were board members of the neighborhood association before the A-bombing. 

Epigraph　"Irei"" (consoling the souls of the departed) 

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. Former Tenjin-machi 

This long and narrow town lay from north to south along the Motoyasu River. When the neighborhood association system was established in wartime years, the association was divided at the vicinity of the present-day Peace Bridge into the south and north areas. 

2. A-bombing Damage to Tenjin-machi 

Damage to houses: Nearly 100% of the houses completely collapsed and burned.

Human damage: Nearly 100% of the populace died instantly (including people at home, and people working outdoors on building clearing operations). 

3. Number of war dead who were collectively honored with the "Monument of the Former South Tenjin-machi Area" 

190 in total (as of the end of 1981)

Breakdown of victims 

o People who were instantly killed by the A-bombing: 115

o War dead: 11

o Board members of the neighborhood association before the A-bombing: 30

o Survivors of the A-bombing who later died: 34

(Related Information : Monument of the Former North Tenjin-machi Area） 

35 A-bomb Monument of the Hiroshima Municipal Girl's High School

35 A-bomb Monument of the Hiroshima Municipal Girl's High School

Completed : August 6, 1948

Established by : Bereaved Families of Hiroshima Municipal Girl's High School 

All of the 544 first and second year students and 8 teachers of Hiroshima Municipal Girl's High School who were working on building demolition in the vicinity of the south end of present Peace Memorial Park and Peace Boulevard perished. (This area, which is 500 meters from the hypocenter, was in Zaimoku-cho and Kobiki-cho at the time.) Including students mobilized at other places in the city, the school lost 679 people, the most of any school in the city.

On the back of the monument is engraved, "Rest in peace within this grassy hill. Protected by a wall of friends." The writer was Masaomi Miyakawa, who was principal at the time.

The figure of the girl engraved in the center carries a box carved with the formula for nuclear energy: E=MC2. The formula is taken from Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity, the principle behind the atomic bomb. The indirect expression was a way around the occupation army's prohibition on using the characters for "atomic bombing."  

34 Friendship Monument

34 Friendship Monument

Date of completion  August 3, 1965

Established by  The General Insurance Association of Japan Hiroshima Local Committee

Designers   Sculpture by Shindo Tsuji (then professor of Kyoto City University of Arts)

Footstone by Yutaka Iwasaki (then worker of Iwasaki Marble Stone Kogyo Co., Ltd.) 

Shape

The monument, comprising a bronze sculpture and a footstone made of Mannari granite, is cruciform in shape to represent people from north, south, east and west, holding hands to express the linkage through love and conscience of people all over the world who wish for peace. The monument, which is 3.3 m high, is prayed to by people from all over the world for the repose of A-bombing victims' souls.

Motive for the erection

The monument was built to console the souls of 89 A-bombing victims of the member companies of the General Insurance Association of Japan and to pray for the foundation of peace. 

Epigraph

"Yuai" (meaning friendship), (Calligraphic characters by Mikio Takagi, president of the General Insurance Association of Japan)

Noteworthy characteristics 

1. A-bombing Victims

At the time of the A-bombing, many general insurance companies were located near the present-day Peace Memorial Park. Since the business hours of those companies began at 8:30 a.m., many workers were exposed to radiation either in or on their way to their offices, or were missing. Of the approximately 200 workers of those insurance companies, 79 had passed away by December of that year. 

2. A-bombing and War Insurance

Immediately after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese Government promulgated the Special War Insurance Measures Law and established war insurance that could compensate for damage from fires and destruction stemming from battle actions. In the beginning, only a few people applied for the insurance, because citizens did not expect to be bombed in air-raids and the insurance did not guarantee immediate payment, in principle. In April 1944, these insurance companies became extremely busy on consecutive days because of the facts that the war-time special insurance law took effect and the special insurance became compulsory collateral insurance when buying fire insurance, and that citizens of Hiroshima City began applying for the insurance all at once due to the commencement of air-raids on big cities. 

After the A-bomb was dropped, in order to ease people's apprehension the insurance was immediately paid at the joint payment office of all insurance companies, established on around August 10 in the Bank of Japan, which had survived the fires. 

3. Epitaph as Memorial Monument

Considering the future of Hiroshima, the monument was created with an abstract design and inscribed with the characters "Yuai" (meaning friendship) as an epitaph to familiarize the monument with the public, rather than simply to serve as a gravestone. 

The tribute, with the phrase meaning "This statue is respectfully dedicated to the repose of the souls of A-bombing victims involved in the insurance companies. August 3, 1965. By the General Insurance Association of Japan Hiroshima Local Committee," the victims' names were inscribed on copper plate and sealed in a copper box, which is embedded in the joint between sculpture and footstone. 

33 Monument of the A-bombed Teachers and Students of National Elementary Schools

33 Monument of the A-bombed Teachers and Students of National Elementary Schools

Completed : August 4, 1971

Established by : Construction Committee of the Monument of the A-bombed Teachers and Students of National Elementary Schools 

The National Mobilization Law of 1938 brought schools into the war structure. In 1941, elementary and middle schools even became "national schools." These were lower level schools (six years) corresponding to the present elementary schools and upper level schools (two years) corresponding to the present junior high schools. 

When the war intensified, students in grades 3-6 of lower level schools in urban areas were forcibly evacuated to the countryside to spare them from air attacks. 

Thus, the children who fell victim to the atomic bombing were 1st and 2nd graders, who were considered too young to leave their parents, and students in upper level schools who were working on building demolition. (At this time, summer vacation was from August 10 to August 20.)

The actual number of national school children and teachers lost to the atomic bombing is unknown, but the toll for teachers is estimated at around 200 and for students, around 2000. 

The monument was erected not only to mourn the children and teachers that perished in the bombing, but to express the will to spread in the present and in future the following peace message: "We must not allow a third atomic bombing." For these purposes, each year on August 4, many bereaved families, representatives of elementary and junior high schools in Hiroshima City, and educators gather at the monument to hold a memorial service. 

"The heavy bone must be a teacher's. The small skulls beside it must be students gathered around." This tanka poem was taken from Sange, a collection of poems by Shinoe Shoda. Out of sight of the occupation army, Shoda secretly published the collection in the Printing Division of the Hiroshima Prison in 1946. The poem expresses anger on behalf of the children who─clinging to their teachers─died in the conflagration; and for the teachers who perished while trying to protect them.  

32 Statue of Peace "New Leaves"

32 Statue of Peace "New Leaves"

Completed : May 9, 1966

Established by : Hiroshima South District Rotary Club 

This monument is engraved with the following words of Dr. Hideki Yukawa: "O god of evil, do not come this way again. This place is reserved for those who pray for peace." ("God of evil" means a god who brings calamity and bad luck.) 

When Dr. Yukawa, developer of the Neutron Theory, received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his achievement, he became the first Japanese recipient of a Nobel Prize. Dr. Yukawa was shocked by the US test of a hydrogen bomb in 1954 and thereafter continually appealed for the abolition of nuclear weapons and war. He sponsored for example, the Conference on Science and World Affairs (Pugwash Conference).

Dr. Yukawa said, "I am proud of the search for truth and am confident of my abilities. I worked for that search my entire life. I have no regrets. But when I heard what happened in August 6, I knew that scientists must bear the responsibility for what occurred."

The statue of a child standing next to a deer was made by sculptor Katsuzo Entsuba who was born in Mitsugi-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture. 

31 Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm

31 Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm

Completed : September 5, 1960

Established by : Hiroshima Municipal Federation of Women's Associations 

The hopes for peace of ordinary people are imbued in this statue of a mother displaying love powerful enough to endure suffering and overcome grief. 

The statue was made by Shin Hongo, an sculptor from Sapporo who created Wadatsumi and other monuments highly expressive of human love. In 1959, to express thanks for Hiroshima Mayor Hamai's support of the movement to ban atomic and hydrogen bombs, the Gensuikyo (Japan Council Against A and H Bombs) gave him a plaster model of this statue. 

Later, the Hiroshima Municipal Federation of Women's Associations, which had worked hard for the conference, called for making this monument and erecting it in Peace Memorial Park. They raised funds, oversaw its creation in bronze, and gave it to Hiroshima City. 

30 Fountain of Prayer

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. 

29 Monument in Memory of Dr. Marcel Junod

29 Monument in Memory of Dr. Marcel Junod

Completed : September 8, 1979

Established by : The Construction Committee of a Monument to Dr. Junod 

Dr. Marcel Junod (1904-1961)

When he came to Japan on August 9, 1945, Dr. Junod's initial purpose as chief representative to Japan of the International Red Cross Committee was to study the movements of the prisoners of the Allied Forces. 

However, when he saw the damage the atomic bombing had done, he immediately asked the General Headquarters of the Allied Forces for assistance. After the war ended and the requested medical supplies arrived, he entered Hiroshima on September 8, and began treating survivors while carrying out studies of the damage.

The monument was built to honor the achievements of Dr. Junod, who engaged in survivor relief efforts from a humanitarian standpoint. The inscription engraved on the back of the monument, "Innumerable cries are asking for your help," is a quotation from one of Junod's writings.