The population of Hiroshima is just over 1.1 million. The city impressed me so much. Its a bustling port city that has made one incredible comeback! Several rivers run through the city and there are plenty of bridges and parks. The tracks of the street car have been revived and its an easy and convenient way to get around town.
Our hostel was just a few blocks away from Peace Memorial Park. Hiroshima has its own dialect, and a different style of Okonomiyaki. (The new words didn't stick, but we hit up the grilled noodle/egg pancake stack on 2 occasions).
We spent all day Monday at Peace Memorial Park- a triangular shaped garden surrounded on two sides by rivers that converge near the iconic Atomic Bomb Dome (one of the only structures to have survived the blast!)
One of my favorite memorials was the Children's Memorial with the famous paper crane displays. All day I was so touched to see this outpouring of peace and future good will that came out of such horrible devastation! With a quote that reads: "This is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in this world!" The statue of the girl at the top lifts a crane that holds the dreams for a peaceful future.
In another part of the park, The Bell of Peace has this inscription:
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 flame of eternal peace...
And the memorial to recognize the Korean victims of the bombing as well...
We spent hours at the museum, listening to the audio tour and slowly taking in the whole story. It is so much more than just a 200 word paragraph mention in a high school history textbook. Emotionally intense, but so important to know. From the making of the bomb, to the US's reasoning behind using it, to the explosion and intense aftermath and long term effects. All the personal stories, the misery and pain, the suffering and loss, the heart-wrenching photos, words and artifacts.
Also given credit was the story of Sadako (from Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes). Having read the story with my 5th graders, it was special to see her photos and artifacts, and even some of her original cranes!
Did you know that yesterday was the anniversary of the bombing? In Hiroshima Park in Kiel people gathered to fold origami lotuses, and then at dusk put candles in them and floated them on the lake. The real Hiroshima sounds amazing.
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