Hiroshima was an amazing place. So full of history, sadness, devastation but yet so full of peace. Here are the highlights.
Hiroshima Castle-
The castle is representative of a flatland castle. It was once a military facility, the Imperial General's headquarters during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. The atomic bomb destroyed the castle but the present tower was rebuilt in 1958 and is used to exhibit historic artifacts. The original tower was built sometime between 1592-1599 and made mostly of pine. The new tower is made of reinforced concrete. During the Edo period the castle occupied a huge area with 3 moats in addition to the river which formed a natural moat. It is sometimes called Carp Castle because the area around the castle used to be called Koi-no-ura, which means koi sea shore. Koi is Japanese for carp.
The Childrens Memorial was created in memory of all the children who died as a result of the atomic bomb. It was inspired by the death of Sadako Sasaki who was exposed when she was 2 years old. Ten years later she developed leukemia. When she was admitted to the Red Cross Hospital, she began folding paper cranes in hope of a cure. The belief is that if you fold 1000 cranes your wish will come true. The crane is the symbol of longevity and happiness Unfortunately Sadako died after 8 months and was unable to complete the 1000 cranes. Her classmates folded the rest and called for a monument and collected contributions from schools in Japan and 9 countries. It was built in 1958. The bronze statue is of a girl lifting a golden crane with a boy on one side of the monument and a girl on the other side. Surrounding the monument are strings of 1000's of colorful cranes sent from all over the world.
Cenotaph for Victims-
At the pond of peace the names of all known victims are listed. The flame of peace is set to burn until all the world's nuclear weapons are destroyed. As you look through the Cenotaph in a straight line, you see the pond of peace, the flame and the dome, with the museum behind you.
I am going to devout a new post to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Keep reading!
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