Japan - Hiroshima

I spent 1 full day in Hiroshima.  Like everywhere else I visited, I could easily have stayed longer because there was so much to see and do.  My hotel was right in the middle of everything, so I ended up doing a lot of walking, almost 20,000 steps, according to my Fitbit.

I started my day at Shukkei-en garden – a beautiful Japanese garden that was originally constructed in 1620.  At one time, the Imperial General Headquarters were located in Hiroshima and Emperor Meji lived in the villa and garden for a short time during his reign from 1867 to 1912. During his time in power, Emperor Meji brought Japan from an isolated, pre-industrial, feudal country to a capitalist society and imperial world power.   Under his guidance, Japan underwent a political, social, and industrial revolution.  It was heavily damaged in the nuclear attack in 1945 but has since been restored.  There are a number of tea houses in the garden and visitors can partake in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.  Since it requires one to sit or kneel on the ground, I gave it a pass, but the people participating in the ceremony looked like they were having a great time.

The garden was much larger than others I had seen.  There were a few trails that went through the different areas, around the various ponds and bridges.  It was a beautiful day and the autumn leaves were spectacular.  I could see office workers out for a stroll as well as serious photographers all trying to get that perfect shot.  This garden is probably one of my favorites, it was just beautiful.   



A short walk from the garden was the Hiroshima Castle.  It was originally built in 1590, but was like most of Hiroshima, was destroyed by the bomb blast of 1945.  It was rebuilt in 1958, but only the main tower of the castle.  The castle grounds are now a park, with moats and a river surrounding it.  You can take a boat ride, which basically circles the park, but I had other places to be.  There are 3 trees within the castle walls that survived the blast; a eucalyptus, a willow and a holly.   You can also see the concrete bunker where the first radio broadcast was made after the bombing.

I thought this was the least interesting place I visited, there really was just the castle.  Mind you, it was beautiful, but the rest of the park was basically just urban green space.  There were people sitting on benches eating lunch, business people out for a stroll, or people passing through on their way somewhere else.  I could have gone inside, but I really prefer the outside of buildings.  Going room to room in museums or historical places isn't very interesting to me, especially if there are stairs involved!  And this place looked like it was filled with them.

Not too far away is what I really came to see, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, dedicated to the victims of the worlds first atomic bomb.  (According to Wikipedia) Some 140,000 people perished between the initial blast, radiation sickness, or related injuries.  6 August 1945, a B-29 Superfortress named the Enola Gay, (after his mother) was piloted by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets.  There were two other B-29s, the Great Artiste, which carried instrumentation, and Necessary Evil, (named at a later time) to photograph the event. Only the pilot, mission commander, and the bombardier were aware of the type of weapon they were dropping.  The rest of the crew were only told to wear special goggles because there would be a ‘bright flash.’

At 8:15, a uranium gun-type bomb code named Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima.  It detonated about 1900 feet above ground zero, which was supposed to be the Aioi bridge.  Due to crosswinds however, the bomb ended up detonating directly over a hospital instead.  70,000 to 80,000 people were killed by the initial blast and firestorm – 20,000 military and the rest civilians.  90% of the doctors and 93% of the nurses were either killed or critically injured.  Only one doctor was able to man a nearby hospital. 

The purpose of the Peace Memorial Park is to memorialize the victims, to remind the world about the horror of nuclear war, and to advocate for world peace.  There were a large group of young people gathering signatures to take to the United Nations to ban nuclear weapons, which it looked like most everyone sighed.  I found it quite surprising that no one seemed to hold a grudge against America or the numerous Americans I saw visiting the park.  In all the descriptions there, most simply referred to the atomic blast of 1945, not in 1945 when America dropped the atomic bomb.  I doubt in 75 years America will be so forgiving about those who carried out the 911 attacks or accepting of the Muslims who might visit any of the memorials. 

The park itself was very peaceful and serene. Unlike the Hiroshima Castle grounds, this was more of a garden setting than just open green space.  There are several memorials, monuments, and museums scattered about as well.  The main sight is what’s known as the A-Bomb Dome.  This building is what remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.  It was the closest building to the detonation point still standing.  It was intentionally left in ruins in memory of all those who perished.   

Many survivors and citizens were pushing for the A-Bomb Dome to be registered as a World Heritage Site as it was "a symbol of horror and nuclear weapons and humankind's pledge for peace." A marker there reads – “As a historical witness that conveys the tragedy of suffering the first atomic bomb in human history and as a symbol that vows to faithfully seek the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace.”

Among the other memorials were the Statue of a Prayer for Peace.  It’s a child playing a trumpet, held by his mother.  There is a crescent moon in front.  The sculptor described the meaning as this; “From parent to child, not yesterday but tomorrow, the crescent moon will become a full moon.  I want to sound the trumpet for peace in the search for a new future.”  Students from all over Japan sent money to pay for the statue.    

The Children’s Peace Monument is dedicated to all the children who died, including Sadako Sasaki, who died of atomic bomb disease as it was called.  (Leukemia caused by radiation poisoning).  School children held fund raising campaigns, including her classmates, to commission this monument.  The statue is called “Atomic Bomb Children”. Sadako is on top, and she holds a wire crane above her head.  Japanese tradition grants one wish to anyone who creates 1000 cranes, and Sadako’s wish was a world without nuclear weapons.  She passed away after folding just under 1000 origami cranes.  Children from all over the world bring their cranes and offer them at the monument as proof that they too share that wish.

The next monument was the Memorial Cenotaph.  (A monument or empty tomb to honor those who are interred somewhere else, like our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier).  This monument looks like a covered wagon from the side but is described as a saddle-shape.  The cenotaph is inside and holds the names of all the people killed.  If you look through the cenotaph, you can see it frames the Peace flame and the A-Bomb Dome in the distance.  This was one of the first monuments built, 1952, and the shape represents a place to shelter the victim’s souls.  It has an epitaph reading “please rest in peace, for (we/they) shall not repeat the error” The subject was left out on purpose and could be interpreted as either we or they.  The intention was to honor the victims without politicizing.  Polite Japanese speech often is ambiguous in this way.  A Japanese professor of English literature wrote the original epitaph and offered the English translation which is “Let all souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil.”  He said ‘we’ refers to ‘all humanity’ not the Japanese or Americans, and ‘error’ meant ‘the evil of war’. It is said to embody the spirit of Hiroshima – “enduring grief, transcending hatred, pursuing harmony and prosperity for all and a yearning for genuine, lasting world peace.”

We next come to the Peace Bell.  Its simply a large bell inside a dome shaped structure.  Visitors are encouraged to ring the bell for world peace.  You could hear the deep, loud bong all day, from all over the park.  I was a bit surprised there weren’t kids in there ringing it multiple times, but everyone seemed very respectful, and only rang it once per person.  The face of the bell has a world map sketched on it and an atomic symbol.  The sign in front reads “Bell of Peace – We dedicate this bell as a symbol of Hiroshima Aspiration: Let all nuclear arms and wars be gone, and the nations live in true Peace!  May it ring to all corners of the earth to meet the ear of every man, for in it throb and palpitate the hearts of its peace-loving donors.  So may you, too, friends, step forward, and toll this bell for peace!”

The final spot I visited was the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound.   This is basically a large grass covered mount that contains a vault underneath containing the cremated ashes of about 70,000 unidentified victims.   These victims were unclaimed either because they couldn’t be identified or because the rest of the family died with them.  Every year the city publishes a list of the remains that have since been identified.  In 1955, the 10^th year anniversary, there were 2432 individual containers with ashes in them.  Today only 824 remain unclaimed. 

This park is definitely worth a visit.  It was very interesting to read about each memorial, but as I mentioned earlier, I was so struck by the lack of blame on America.  It was a sharp contrast to the Hanoi Hilton and other places I visited in Vietnam for example.  They were straight up propaganda, the Hanoi Hilton talked about how nice a place it was for John McCain and other POW's to rest up and relax as honored guests and the photo exhibit of all the horrors blood thirsty Americans brought upon the innocent Vietnamese people.  The Peace Park seemed to be truly a place of forgiveness and a hope for a more peaceful world.  Each country has every right to see history through their own perspective, I doubt any country does it as politely and non judgmental as demonstrated here. 

After such a somber visit I was looking forward to my final destination, Itsukushima Island, or as it is more commonly known, Miyajima Island.  It was a 45 min boat ride from Peace Park and I used the time for a quick snooze.  I was exhausted from all the walking.  The island is most famous for 2 things, wild deer wandering the streets and a huge floating Itsukushima Shrine and Torii gate. I only had 2 hours before dark, so I didn’t get to see everything.  I quickly made my way through the horde of people wandering along the shopping streets, where there were equal numbers of street food vendors, restaurants, and souvenir shops. I moved over to the nicer beach side path, but it was still pretty crowded.   As advertised, there were deer everywhere.  They seemed very calm and sort of just wandered here and there. Although there were plenty of signs warning people not to touch them, some did, but the deer didn’t seem to mind too much. 

Just outside of town is a nice aquarium that I had heard about but didn’t have the time or interest to see.  Just past that I could see the famous Itsukushima Shrine with its floating Torii Gate out in the bay.  I wanted to go into the shrine, which is built above the water and at high tide seems to float.  There were just too many people, I didn’t have the energy or desire to fight my way through. I was content to just take pictures of the gate, which was easy to do from the street and with plenty of room for people to line up, there was no one in the way of all the cameras and cell phones. 

There are a few mountains on the island and several aerial ropeways or sky trams available to make it to the summit of Mt Misan.  I thought if I hurried, I’d have time to take one all the way to the top and back.  Sadly, there were just so many beautiful places along the way to see, I didn’t make it in time.  I was content to just enjoy being out in nature and seeing the beautiful red autumn foliage.  There were hiking trails all around, and although still fairly crowded, it was no where near as packed as the town below had been.  As with every place else I had been, I sure could have used more time, but as darkness fell, I made my way back to the ferry.

The ferry dropped me off back at the Peace Park and I walked home by way of the famous Hondori streets which is a vast network of covered streets.  There are as many arcades as there are stores, restaurants, and street food carts.  Arcades are quite the thing all over Japan, and not just for teens. You see plenty of older business men playing slot machines and gamming machines and there are anime stores on every block.  There are supposed to be 100,000 visitors to this area everyday and I think there were more this night as it had begun to rain.  I was able to walk most of the 5 or 6 blocks back, completely under these covered streets, I loved it!  After stopping at an Indian restaurant for dinner, I sampled a few bites of street food sweets for some interesting desserts.

Next to Kamakura, Hiroshima was my favorite stop so far.  But I still had Osaka and Kyoto to see, so no picking favorites just yet.

Link to pictures - https://photos.app.goo.gl/YojegjkjzJkHPEDb7