Hiroshima Visit

I went to Hiroshima over the weekend. It was an interesting experience. The city itself is quite beautiful and modern though there are lots of reminders to the atomic bombing in its past. Here and there you see a sign 'this tree survived the atomic bombing' or 'this building was destroyed by the atomic bomb'

I visited Hiroshima with Chika. We went to Shukkeien garden which was a really beautiful example of the Japanese garden style, a nice central lake, little bridges here and there and immaculately pruned and groomed trees complete with little japanese gazebos. I particularly liked the turtles in the lake to whom I fed potato chips which they enjoyed. I even got the turtles to climb out of the water and eat from my hand! that was cool.

We visited Hiroshima castle which resembles Himeji castle. The entire building was destroyed and reconstucted after the atomic bombing in 1945. There were interesting artifacts including ancient samurai swords and the view from the top floor over the city was worth the climb.

The visit to 'heiwa-koen' or Peace Park was really the highlight. It was certainly a sobering experience. Standing in front of the 'atomic bomb dome' - that partially destroyed building which still stands as a monument to that horrific day in history - was quite eerie really. It was inspiring to see the thousands of colourful paper cranes made by children that festooned the various monuments in the park. The cranes are a symbol of peace and have their roots in a sad story about a little girl, a victim of the atomic bomb, who made paper cranes in hospital in the vain hope that to make one thousand would cure her - but she died. Today children continue her tradition in the hope for peace.

The musuem was quite moving really. I didn't realise the real extent of the damage in Hiroshima. The bomb exploded in the morning on August 5th 1945 and absolutely crushed the once thriving little artisan town. The energy released by the explosion melted the concrete and flattened all the buildings. Many people died instantly, those who didn't suffered horrific burns, many struggling to the town river to seek water, only to join the many corpses floating there. The accounts of the bombing are simply horrific. It was sobering to see the drawings made by survivors of their experiences among the dead and dying victims. The radiation after the bomb continued to inflict cruel suffering on the survivors in the form of cancers and various illnesses. The city was absolutely destroyed. It was a really terrible thing.

Today, Hiroshima is a truly peace-loving city with many signs of the desire for peace about the town.  Although the memory of the atomic-bombing is still relatively fresh in the cities memory, it is incredible and inspiring to see how much they have grown through such a difficult time. Today Hiroshima is thriving and properous and famous for 'Okonomiyaki' a special type of Japanese omelet.

My conclusion was really that the atomic bomb should never be used as a weapon. It is a disgusting violation of human rights and the laws of nature. to be used against innocent civilians is simply criminal. The destruction and suffering caused by the A-bomb in hiroshima is evidence enough that such an event should never occur again. One simply has to visit the city, the museum, the peace park etc... to become aware of this. I pray for peace.