Hiroshima Peace Memorial

On August 6th 1945 at 8:15 AM Hiroshima had the first A-bomb dropped on it. The initial blast killed approximately 100,000 people. Over the next ten years estimates state about another 100,000 died due to the after effects of injuries and the radiation.

The peace memorial does a wonderful job explaining the history leading up the event as well as the impact after. At no point does the peace memorial point the finger at the United States as the bad guy. It even provides a section that explains why the United States and Britain decided to use the A-bomb. It also states why Hiroshima was chosen. The basic goal of the Hiroshima Peace memorial is to eliminate all current nuclear development. The mayor of Hiroshima sends an annual postcard to all countries where nuclear technology (for war) is being developed asking them to stop the development of nuclear war.

It can be hard to believe that a museum like this could refrain from the politics of nuclear issues. But it does. I believe that the museum does a very fair job stating the facts. The museum even explains the theory that supports the development of nuclear weapons. This theory is called Nuclear Deterrence. In short, this theory states that Nuclear weapons can prevent war because hostile enemies won't attack due to fear of the power of the opposing countries nuclear weapons.

As I walked through the museum I found myself feeling very emotional. There were multiple times when I pushed my tears back in. I am not a crier. Normally the only thing that can get a tear out of me is if it's a movie about animals and one of the animals either dies or is missing. But unexpectedly there were many times when tears came to my eyes. When I got there I also got a recorder that explained many personal stories. These stories were very touching.

To the left is a picture of a tricycle of a small 3 year old boy named Yariko (may have spelled it wrong). When the bomb struck Yariko was outside on his tricycle. The mother and father were in the house. The father rushed outside after the bomb struck. Yariko was on the ground. He was severely burned and could not move. The father brought him inside. Within a few minutes of laying in his father's arms the child died. The father believed that Yariko was too young to be all alone in a graveyard. He buried Yariko and the tricycle in the backyard so he could be safe and play with his tricycle in the afterlife. 40 years later the father dug up Yariko and gave him an appropriate burial in a grave. He donated the tricycle to the museum. This is one of a thousand stories.

Prior to the trip I planned to come to the peace memorial but didn't give it much thought. I was going because I knew that it was important so I should go. I had no idea how emotional it would be. I strongly believe that if anyone ever visits Japan they must come to Hiroshima and they must come to this museum. My words can do it no justice.


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