On the day of the atomic bomb -Atomic bombing target point Aioi Bridge-

This time, it is about the atomic bombing target point.

相生橋 -Aioi Bridge-

As you may know, at 08:15 am on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by a B-29 bomber (commonly known as Enola Gay). This is the first time nuclear weapons have been used in war since history.It is said that this single bomb killed nearly half of Hiroshima's population, 140,000 people.

The U.S. military operations at that time were:

1) Attack date August 6
2) Attack target Central Hiroshima and industrial area
3) Preliminary 2nd target Kokura Arsenal and the city center
4) Preliminary 3rd target Nagasaki city center
5) Special Directive Limited to visual drop

It was so.

* At first, on August 9, the atomic bomb was to be dropped on Kokura, the second target, but it was changed to Nagasaki , the third target, couse of poor visibility due to bad weather.

The sky above Hiroshima city at 8:15 am on August 6 was sunny. Therefore, the atomic bomb was dropped as planned.

The fifth point of the strategy, "Special Order Visual Drop", was marked by the unique shape of the T-shaped "Aioi Bridge".

Hiroshima city from the height of 9,600m where Enola Gay actually dropped the atomic bomb.It is located almost at the center and you can see the T-shaped "Aioi Bridge" (red circle).

The positional relationship between the “A-bomb Dome” and the “Aioi Bridge” (1,000m above the sky).The actual hypocenter is said to be slightly southeast of the A-Bomb Dome, offset from Aioi Bridge.

Photos near the hypocenter before and after the atomic bombing.Needless to say, the left is before the drop and the right is after the drop.Looking at the photos after the drop, you can see that everything had been erased.

The surface temperature of the fireball generated by fission is tens of thousands of degrees.The thermal energy received by the hypocenter was thousands of times the solar irradiation energy.The surface temperature became 3,000 ~ 6,000 ℃.The blast seemed to have a terrible destructive power about 10 times the central wind speed of a strong typhoon.

At that time, wooden houses were mainly used. Houses within a radius of about 3 km from the hypocenter were destroyed by heat rays and blasts.At the hypocenter, the houses collapsed and burned due to the shock wave and heat of the blast that exceeded the speed of sound in an instant, and all lives died.

If you've read "Barefoot Gen", you probably know it. People exposed to heat rays that exceed the human wisdom were evaporated and carbonized.It also depicts a free-running city train with a carbonized body holding a railing.

Another story, but the Great East Japan Earthquake has caused an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant seems to have yet to be resolved.
Alpinist Ken Noguchi reports on livestock victims in the area entitled "The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a World Within 20km". The misery is a terrible sight reminiscent of Barefoot Gen.

アルピニストの野口健さんのブログ「福島第一原発、２０キロ圏内の世界」※かなり衝撃的な写真が掲載されています。ご留意ください。


Chernobyl, Three Mile, Fukushima Daiichi.
Chernobyl prepares a sarcophagus that further envelops the existing sarcophagus and deals with radioactive leaks.The destructive power of atomic bombs (nuclear weapons) that exceeds human knowledge.

Humans tend to be illusioned that they can freely manipulate nuclear energy, but I don't think it's a human-controlled thing.


Now that the myth of nuclear power has collapsed, nuclear power is an extremely uneasy (dangerous) factor for Japan, where earthquakes frequently occur. It is impossible to decommission all of the nuclear power plants in Japan right now, but it may be necessary to rely on nuclear power plants.



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On the day of the atomic bomb -Children's Peace Monument-

In this issue, I will introduce the “Children's Peace Monument”.

原爆の子の像 -Children's Peace Monument-

It is also known as "Senba Crane Tower" and "Sadako Sasaki's Monument" and is one of the statues symbolizing Peace Memorial Park.

Sadako Sasaki was exposed to "black rain" at the age of two.About 10 years later, she was hospitalized with leukemia by Aftereffects of exposure.Sadako prayed for a recovery on the bed and made a thousand paper cranes, but she died at the age of 12.

After Sadako's death, her classmates became the founders, and fund-raising activities were conducted nationwide and around the world, and "Children's Peace Monument" was erected.

Every year, many thousands of paper cranes are set aside "Children's Peace Monument" by visitors from all over the country.

In 2002, a case was installed to store a thousand paper cranes to keep out the rain.On the other hand, I am deplored that it is a measure against repeated arson.

In addition to the so-called thousand paper cranes, message boards made with cranes are also served around the country.

Inscription "This is our cry. This is our prayer. To bring peace to the world."

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On the day of the atomic bomb -Give Back the Human-

This time, I will introduce the Sankichi Toge Monument and several memorial monuments.

峠三吉碑 -Toge Sankichi Monument-

　Give back my father Give back my mother.
　Give grandpa back, Grandma back.
   Give my sons and daughter back. 

　Give me back myself.
　Give back the human race.

　As long as this life lasts, this life, 
   Give back peace.
   That will never end.　

It is a poem in which the misery brought by the atomic bomb and the feeling of Sankichi Toge moves me.

This poem is included in the beginning of Sankichi Toge's “A-Bomb Poems”.In addition, Sankichi Toge left the following words at the beginning of "A-Bomb Poems".

"On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb dropped On Hiroshima, and on the 9th on Nagasaki. I dedicate to those who were killed and suffering from the fear and pain of death, those who have no choice but to erase their agony and grief as long as they live, and those who hate the atomic bombs of the whole world. "

原爆供養塔 -Atomic bomb memorial tower-

After the bombing, countless bodies were scattered around this area and cremated near the memorial tower.It is said that the atomic bomb memorial tower contains 70,000 that cannot be identified.These include US POWs, Koreans, and Chinese.

Every August 6, a joint memorial service is held across religious barriers.

韓国人原爆犠牲者慰霊碑
-Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial-

At that time, Hiroshima was a military industrial city.

Many Koreans were recruited from the Korean Peninsula as labor. The number is about 100,000.It is said that about 20,000 of them were victims of the atomic bomb.Initially, the Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial was outside of the Peace Park and was said to be a symbol of discrimination.

Even now, the word "resident in Japan" has not disappeared, and it is certain that Japanese people still have a sense of discrimination against Koreans.

Recently, the memorial was relocated to the site of the Peace Park, but there have been cases where somebody paints the memorial..

At present, the Korean wave is prevalent in Japan, and it is easy to imagine that Japan and Korea have a close relationship.

"Racial (ethnic) discrimination", which may be more difficult to resolve than "nuclear weapon abolition", still persists.

平和の鐘 -Bell of peace-

It was established by the atomic bomb survivors Hiroshima wishing crystal society, with the hope of realizing a world in which there is no nuclear war and peace can coexist.

It has been selected as one of the 100 Best Japanese Soundscapes to Keep.
Please ring when you visit Peace Memorial Park. A sound that calms your mind.

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On the day of the atomic bomb -Mother and Child in the Storm-

The day of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima is approaching this year.


I myself would like to visit and learn the memorials, statues and heritage related to Peace Memorial Park again.

嵐の中の母子像 -Mother and Child in the Storm-

The mother is holding her baby with her right arm to protect her.

I wonder she is holding another child with her left arm so that she can not come off, or carry him?They hold on to their mother not to stay away from her.And the mother is leaning forward.It's a blast from the atomic bomb, a storm, but that can tell you the desperation of going forward, against the tragic cruelty of the war.

I think...,
Is this mother-child statue applicable only to the atomic bomb?
Even in places where Japan invaded in the war, Isn't the mother and child looking similar?Isn't the mother and child in war and conflict in the world still looking the same?

When I look up at this mother-child , I feel sorrowful.

The creator is Hongo Shin.In 1959, at the time of the 5th Atomic Bomb Ban World Congress, it was donated by the Atomic Bomb Ban Japan Council. At that time it was a plaster statue.Later, the Hiroshima City Women's Association allegedly raised money and donated the current bronze statue.

広島平和記念資料館(原爆資料館)
-Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum-

A museum that conveys the misery of the atomic bomb. There is behind the "Mother and Child in the Storm".It consists of the main building (designated as an important cultural property) and the east building.

In the "East Building", panels that explain the history of the war with photographs etc. are displayed.Basically, you can confirm the history, so you can visit with ease, but you should consider it as a preparation for visiting the "Main Building".

The value of the Atomic Bomb Museum is condensed in the Main Building.
I think it is meaningful to visit the Main Building, and the East Building is a　supplement.* In fact, at the beginning it was only the main building. The East Building has been added recently (although more than 20 years ago).

The main building displays photographs, dioramas, and actual objects that will make you look away.On display are photographs of people who was burned in their entire body, "Black Lunch Box", a relic of a student who was killed by the atomic bomb, and "Shadow Stone", in which the shadow of a person is stuck on the stairs with the heat rays of the atomic bomb.

In addition, life-size dolls wandering in the devastated land with the skin of the limbs melted and drooped by the high heat are also exhibited.

Before the East Building was established, the Atomic Bomb Museum seemed to have a strange atmosphere.In front of the doll, little childlen were crying and screaming in awe.I also remember the fear of my childhood.

Some of the exhibits are introduced on the following site.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum(East)

被爆したアオギリ -A-bombed Aogiri-

In the past, three Aogiri plants were planted at a communication station (currently China Post Office) about 1.5 km away from the hypocenter.At the time of the bombing, the blast and hot air of the atomic bomb burned and destroyed half of the trunk as well as the leaves.At the time of the atomic bombing, it was said that plants would not grow in Hiroshima for the next 75 years, but in the spring of the following year, sprout came out from these three deadly trees.

Aogiri, which survives the atomic bomb, geve hopes to people in despair.It was moved to the Peace Memorial Park site in 1973, but one has died and only two survive.

In the photo below, you can see that three bluebirds are planted.The left two Aogiri were bombed. The rightmost Aogiri is “A-bombed Aogiri II”.It seems that Aogiri II is now being sent nationwide as a "messenger of peace" and is being cherished.

You can see the new trunk covering the burnt trunk skin.

“A-bombed Aogiri” keeps to convey the terribleness of war and the preciousness of living.


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