Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima: a City Yielded to Peace


About
Passersby pass by in the garden of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
the dome
A-Dome Cathedral seen in the distance through the Memorial Cenotaph.
A Dome Resistant
The Dome at the bottom of the Peace Memorial Garden.
Ruin The Dome
Detail of the A-Dome (Genbaku Dome), a building whose structure withstood the Little Boy explosion, with its epicenter a few hundred meters away.
Passing
Residents pass in front of the Genbaku Dome, ruins of the only building that was not leveled by the Little Boy explosion.
Letters of Peace
Friends play cards on a bench at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Children's Peace Monument
Children's Peace Monument, erected in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
The destruction
Visitor at the Peace Memorial Museum confronts the image of the devastation of Hiroshima after the explosion of the Little Boy atomic bomb.
the hour
Visitors to the Peace Memorial Museum observe the image of a clock that stopped at the time of the atomic explosion over Hiroshima.
the annihilation
Visitors to the Peace Memorial Museum contemplate the devastation of Hiroshima after the explosion of the Little Boy atomic bomb.
destruction mockup
Mockup of Hiroshima after the explosion of the atomic bomb
A Dome Metamorphosis
Panel explains the history of the A-Dome dome, the ruin of the old Prefectural Hall of Industrial Promotion in Hiroshima.
hiroshima-city-surrendered-peace-japan-military
Military leaves the cenotaph that houses the names of all direct and indirect victims of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima.
hiroshima-city-rendered-peace-japan-museum
Facade of the Peace Memorial Museum
The Bomb
Japanese reads the explanatory panel of the A-Dome dome.
Ota River
Scenery of Hiroshima traversed by the Ota, one of several rivers that cross it.
evocative bell
Detail of the date of the tragedy on a Bell of Peace, one of the many monuments in Hiroshima Memorial Park.
sheltered playground
Children play at the Peace Bells, another monument in Hiroshima Peace Park
Field trip
Students sit together outside the Peace Memorial Museum.
visit to the past
Survivor daughter of Hiroshima visits the cenotaph of the city's Memorial.
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima succumbed to the explosion of the first atomic bomb used in war. 70 years later, the city fights for the memory of the tragedy and for nuclear weapons to be eradicated by 2020.

If not for its remarkable past, the discovery of this populous city in the west of Honshu, the largest island in Japan, would never have been a priority.

Like any outsider, we arrived intrigued by the historical scars we would come to find. We were aware that more than six decades had elapsed since its massive destruction.

The arrival of the bullet train (shinkansen) a local upscale station that housed several similar trains told us more of the futuristic side of Japan. The surrounding urban scene was of little help.

Tram trip aboard the Hiroshima Past

We ask for directions to get to the bus stop. An old green and yellow tram is approaching with the number we should catch. When we climbed up, we finally traveled aboard the city's past.

Hiroden, the company that operates them and the city's buses, was established in 1910. By the beginning of 1945, it already operated dozens of trams. Only four survived World War II but building a metro proved too expensive (Hiroshima is located in a delta).

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Scenery of Hiroshima traversed by the Ota, one of several rivers that cross it.

Accordingly, the authorities opted to reinforce surface transport. They bought old trams from nearby towns. Today, they combine their service with that of more modern ones.

It's weekend. We pass a pine cone baseball stadium. In the distance, we see the replica of the city's medieval castle. Sooner than we expected, a female voice with a youthful tone, in good Japanese fashion, announces the stop for our departure.

We crossed the same avenue where the tram continued. On the opposite side, we come across the Peace Memorial Park. And, in absolute architectural and temporal solitude, with the ruins of the Genbaku Dome, on the banks of the Aioi River.

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Residents pass in front of the Genbaku Dome, ruins of the only building that was not leveled by the Little Boy explosion.

The Overwhelming Bombardment that Ended World War II

At the time of the bomb explosion Fat Boy, this building functioned as the Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Hall. Its resistance to explosion continues to amaze scientists.

Due to the intensity of the wind, the crew of the B-29 Enola Gay missed their defined target, a bridge near the Aioi River. The detonation of little boy it took place 580 meters above the ground, as predetermined, but about 240 meters beside the chosen point.

Hours of detonation, Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Visitors to the Peace Memorial Museum observe the image of a clock that stopped at the time of the atomic explosion over Hiroshima.

Even so, from about 100 meters away, it is estimated that the pressure on the building was 35 tons per m².

Within a radius of 2 km, almost no structure was left standing. Widespread destruction took place up to 12 km².

In this space and outside it, between 70 and 80 thousand inhabitants (about 30% of the population at that time) died immediately. Many other inhabitants were injured. And it is known that the uranium (U235) used was inefficient and that only 1.68% of the material in the bomb cracked.

Children's Peace Monument, Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Children's Peace Monument, erected in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

other japanese cities, including Kyoto were considered possible targets. Hiroshima was condemned for hosting an important army arsenal and a port within a vast urban industrial area.

Furthermore, it was surrounded by hills, which would help to increase the effects of the explosion and convince Japan to surrender unconditionally, in accordance with the Potsdam Declaration.

Hiroshima Peace Park. A Verdant Memorial of a Ruined Japan

We cross the river and the green park.

We walk among groups of Japanese children that schools are keen to take to the memorial to elucidate the darkest period in Japanese history.

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

View of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with the A-Bomb Dome in the background.

As expected, the innocence of their ages prevents them from assimilating the meaning of that place. Many indulge in demonic games around the monuments and disturb the thoughts and prayers of visitors who continue to suffer from the loss of family members or just Japanese honour.

We entered the museum. For three long hours, we were left in the eerie silence of its rooms, the maps, the videos, the vestiges distorted and transformed in other ways by the explosion and its effects. And to the scenarios reconstructed from the terror experienced by the city.

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Mockup of Hiroshima after the explosion of the atomic bomb

In that time, the abundance of simplified information also allows us to know and understand several surprising aspects of the tragedy: the fact that Japanese radars detected the planes an hour before the bombing and chose not to send fighters to try to intercept them because they were just three and the Japanese air force needs to save fuel.

We also learn about the incredible fate of Eizo Nomura who survived just 170 meters from the hypocenter (now marked on the ground as a monument) because he is in the basement of an anti-seismic reinforced concrete building.

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Detail of the A-Dome (Genbaku Dome), a building whose structure withstood the Little Boy explosion, with its epicenter a few hundred meters away.

And the moving drama of Sadako Sakai, the girl who was two years old when the explosion occurred and who, nine years later, was diagnosed with leukemia.

It is known that Chizuko Hamamoto, her best friend, visited her at the hospital. And that, in keeping with the popular Japanese belief that a swan will grant a wish to anyone who folds 1000 origami swans, he offered Sadako the first.

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Children play at the Peace Bells, another monument in Hiroshima Peace Park

At the time, Sadako was only one year old. It is said that he doubled 644 origami swans before he died and that his friends completed the rest and buried them with the girl.

The Punished Survival of hibakuskas, the Victims of Hiroshima

We return abroad. We found two elderly Japanese women meditating next to the statue of the children of the atomic bomb. We wonder if they won't be hibakusha – survivors of the nuclear attack. His age and his passionate and moved posture lead us to believe it.

In 2010, the Japanese government recognized 227.565 hibakusha, largely still living in Japan and many in Hiroshima.

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Military leaves the cenotaph that houses the names of all direct and indirect victims of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima.

Of these, 1% suffered from illnesses caused by radiation. All survivors receive financial support, but the medical and financial support provided to the last is special. How special, in a negative way, is their hidden social status.

For decades, ignorance about the effects of radiation has led to hibakusha discriminated for fear of contagion and heredity of diseases. This question faded as the victims, all elderly, died.

Hours of detonation, Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Detail of the date of the tragedy on a Bell of Peace, one of the many monuments in Hiroshima Memorial Park.

The Chimera of Nuclear Peace Propagated by Hiroshima in Peace

It is another of the problematic legacies that Hiroshima is trying to overcome. In 1949, on the initiative of his Most, the Japanese parliament declared Hiroshima City of Peace.

Since then, it has become a desirable venue for international conferences on peace and other social issues. Accordingly, in 1998 the local University founded a Hiroshima Peace Institute.

Hiroshima, city surrendered to peace, Japan

Friends play cards on a bench at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial

As of the date of this text, the current mayor of Hiroshima was the President of Mayors for Peace, an organization whose aim is to mobilize cities and their citizens for the abolition and elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020.

And at the date of the last revision of the article, May 2020, that goal remained unfulfilled.

Military

Defenders of Their Homelands

Even in times of peace, we detect military personnel everywhere. On duty, in cities, they fulfill routine missions that require rigor and patience.
Coron, Busuanga, Philippines

The Secret but Sunken Japanese Armada

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Okinawa, Japan

The Little Empire of the Sun

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Tawang, India

The Mystic Valley of Deep Discord

On the northern edge of the Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang is home to dramatic mountain scenery, ethnic Mompa villages and majestic Buddhist monasteries. Even if Chinese rivals have not passed him since 1962, Beijing look at this domain as part of your Tibet. Accordingly, religiosity and spiritualism there have long shared with a strong militarism.
DMZ, Dora - South Korea

The Line of No Return

A nation and thousands of families were divided by the armistice in the Korean War. Today, as curious tourists visit the DMZ, many of the escapes of the oppressed North Koreans end in tragedy.
Saint John of Acre, Israel

The Fortress That Withstood Everything

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Hue, Vietnam

The Red Heritage of Imperial Vietnam

It suffered the worst hardships of the Vietnam War and was despised by the Vietcong due to the feudal past. The national-communist flags fly over its walls but Hué regains its splendor.
Taiwan

Formosa but Unsafe

Portuguese navigators could not imagine the imbroglio reserved for the Formosa they baptized. Nearly 500 years later, even though it is uncertain of its future, Taiwan still prospers. Somewhere between independence and integration in greater China.
pearl harbor, Hawaii

The Day Japan Went Too Far

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor military base. Today, parts of Hawaii look like Japanese colonies but the US will never forget the outrage.
Tokyo, Japan

The Emperor Without Empire

After the capitulation in World War II, Japan underwent a constitution that ended one of the longest empires in history. The Japanese emperor is, today, the only monarch to reign without empire.
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Okinawa, Japan

Ryukyu Dances: Centuries old. In No Hurry.

The Ryukyu kingdom prospered until the XNUMXth century as a trading post for the China and Japan. From the cultural aesthetics developed by its courtly aristocracy, several styles of slow dance were counted.
Miyajima, Japan

Shintoism and Buddhism with the Tide

Visitors to the Tori of Itsukushima admire one of the three most revered scenery in Japan. On the island of Miyajima, Japanese religiosity blends with Nature and is renewed with the flow of the Seto Inland Sea.
Iriomote, Japan

The Small Tropical Japanese Amazon of Iriomote

Impenetrable rainforests and mangroves fill Iriomote under a pressure cooker climate. Here, foreign visitors are as rare as the yamaneko, an elusive endemic lynx.
Nikko, Japan

The Tokugawa Shogun Final Procession

In 1600, Ieyasu Tokugawa inaugurated a shogunate that united Japan for 250 years. In her honor, Nikko re-enacts the general's medieval relocation to Toshogu's grandiose mausoleum every year.
Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
Takayama, Japan

From the Ancient Japan to the Medieval Hida

In three of its streets, Takayama retains traditional wooden architecture and concentrates old shops and sake producers. Around it, it approaches 100.000 inhabitants and surrenders to modernity.
Kyoto, Japan

An Almost Lost Millennial Japan

Kyoto was on the US atomic bomb target list and it was more than a whim of fate that preserved it. Saved by an American Secretary of War in love with its historical and cultural richness and oriental sumptuousness, the city was replaced at the last minute by Nagasaki in the atrocious sacrifice of the second nuclear cataclysm.
Ogimashi, Japan

A Village Faithful to the A

Ogimashi reveals a fascinating heritage of Japanese adaptability. Located in one of the most snowy places on Earth, this village has perfected houses with real anti-collapse structures.
Magome-Tsumago, Japan

Magome to Tsumago: The Overcrowded Path to the Medieval Japan

In 1603, the Tokugawa shogun dictated the renovation of an ancient road system. Today, the most famous stretch of the road that linked Edo to Kyoto is covered by a mob eager to escape.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

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The Zambezi River, PN Mana Pools
safari
Kanga Pan, Mana Pools NP, Zimbabwe

A Perennial Source of Wildlife

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Hikers on the Ice Lake Trail, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 7th - Braga - Ice Lake, Nepal

Annapurna Circuit – The Painful Acclimatization of the Ice Lake

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Architecture & Design
Castles and Fortresses

A Defending World: Castles and Fortresses that Resist

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Aventura
Volcanoes

Mountains of Fire

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Ceremonies and Festivities
Pirenópolis, Brazil

A Ride of Faith

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Vittoriosa, Birgu, Malta, Waterfront, Marina
Cities
Birgu, Malta

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Singapore Asian Capital Food, Basmati Bismi
Lunch time
Singapore

The Asian Food Capital

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Pitões das Junias, Montalegre, Portugal
Culture
Montalegre, Portugal

Through Alto do Barroso, Top of Trás-os-Montes

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Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
Las Cuevas, Mendoza, across the Andes, Argentina
Traveling
Mendoza, Argentina

From One Side to the Other of the Andes

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Ethnic
Nelson to Wharariki, Abel Tasman NP, New Zealand

The Maori coastline on which Europeans landed

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Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

History
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Photography of Nha Terra São Nicolau

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Teide Volcano, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Islands
Tenerife, Canary Islands

The Volcano that Haunts the Atlantic

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Oulu Finland, Passage of Time
Winter White
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Kukenam reward
Literature
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

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Guest, Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Nature
Michaelmas Cay, Australia

Miles from Christmas (Part XNUMX)

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Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Ross Bridge, Tasmania, Australia
Natural Parks
Discovering tassie, Part 3, Tasmania, Australia

Tasmania from Top to Bottom

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blessed rest
UNESCO World Heritage
Hi Ann, Vietnam

The Vietnamese Port That Got to See Ships

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View from the top of Mount Vaea and the tomb, Vailima village, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upolu, Samoa
Characters
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

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Bather, The Baths, Devil's Bay (The Baths) National Park, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Beaches
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

Virgin Gorda's Divine “Caribbaths”

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Easter Seurassari, Helsinki, Finland, Marita Nordman
Religion
Helsinki, Finland

The Pagan Passover of Seurasaari

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Back in the sun. San Francisco Cable Cars, Life Ups and Downs
On Rails
San Francisco, USA

San Francisco Cable Cars: A Life of Highs and Lows

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In elevator kimono, Osaka, Japan
Society
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

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Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Serengeti, Great Savannah Migration, Tanzania, wildebeest on river
Wildlife
Serengeti NP, Tanzania

The Great Migration of the Endless Savanna

In these prairies that the Masai people say syringet (run forever), millions of wildebeests and other herbivores chase the rains. For predators, their arrival and that of the monsoon are the same salvation.
Full Dog Mushing
Scenic Flights
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.