What is being memorialized?
Peace is a commodity that’s often taken for granted in our modern world. Most people hardly even notice that they lead such peaceful lives because it comes so easy to us and it’s so calm and placating that it’s hard to realize not many people can really have this experience around the world. In fact relative peace is something new to the world, one could even make the argument that we’ve never truly had peace in the first place seeing as war still rages on in some parts of the world. The yearning for peace is something we all know and we all feel and is very well represented in a lot of cultures. One notable representation of this would be the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. Over 75 years ago, back in World War II, Japan would be the site of some of the most gruesome, visceral and ruthless actions ever committed by humanity. There’s a lot to discuss regarding that but the most infamous event to have ever occurred in this part of the world would have to be the United State’s use of nuclear weapons. One of the many monuments in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a large cenotaph in the memorial park, a cenotaph is an empty tomb meant to commemorate countless lives. The epitaph on this cenotaph reads, “please rest in peace, for [we/they] shall not repeat the error.” The variation between the words “we” and “they” is due to how Japanese is written, and this sentence was written to have no particular subject so as to avoid any political implications. At this point it becomes clear that the aim of this monument is to memorialize the many lives lost due to the bombs and to wish for peace in the future. That this event shall never happen again, that “they shall not repeat the error” . The lives lost and the belief in everlasting peace is what is being memorialized.
Who built the monuments? Why and why then?
As for who built the park and its many monuments. Kenzō Tange is credited as the architect who planned and designed the entire park but each monument also has its own separate artist. Kazuo Kikuchi (a Japanese sculptor) is responsible for designing the Children’s Peace Monument. A monument that will be further elaborated upon later that is dedicated to Sasaki Sadako. A young girl that was in Hiroshima when the bombs fell and died shortly after due to radiation poisoning. The Rest House is another monument but wasn’t built as part of the museum but is rather a building that survived the “Little Boy” that formerly served another purpose. In the past it was known as the Taishoya Kimono Shop when it was built all the way back in 1929 and was located in the Nakajima District which was a huge business quarters back in the day where the Monument Park now stands in modern times. The Memorial Cenotaph that was previously mentioned was built on August 6th 1952 and designed by Kenzō Tange and the epitaph was written by Tadayoshi Saika who is an English Professor at Hiroshima University. The epitaph was written to express his desire for peace in the future. Across from the cenotaph lies a torch called “The Peace Flame” that has been burning since 1964 and it will remain lit until all nuclear bombs in the world are disarmed. Next are the three Peace Bells, all of which were designed by Masahiko Katori and were cast by Oigo Bell Works. After that there are a few more monuments, an Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound which is a large knoll covered in grass that contains the cremated ashes of atomic bomb victims. It was designed and constructed by Kikuji Ishimoto and the city of Hiroshima in August of 1955 due to the amount of cremated remains around the area and the unidentified remains of the victims. Additionally, there is a Cenotaph for the Korean victims of the attacks that is accredited to no specific person in particular but it was built to commemorate the often neglected Koreans that were in Japan that ended up dying due to the bombing. Lastly there are three more monuments to speak of, The Gates of Peace which was added very recently as opposed to everything else (in the year 2005) and the Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students. The Gates of Peace are a very unique case, Clara Halter and Jean-Michel Wilmotte are both accredited with the design and donation of the installation and they both hail from France. The Gates of Peace were built and then donated in 2005 because it was the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing. The Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students was completed in July of 1967 and was built by the Hiroshima Prefecture Mobilized Students Association. It was dedicated to the students who had to work in munitions factories during the war that ended up being caught in the explosion when the bombs dropped. It was built at the time it was because the government failed to memorialize all the students that had died due to them only counting those who were known or could be identified, so this current monument stands to commemorate all of those lost. And lastly, the A-Bomb Dome. The A-Bomb Dome is similar to The Rest House in the way that it already existed before Hiroshima and is actually a building that was damaged by the attack that was left there as a memorial. All of these monuments are here to commemorate the lives lost in the attack and to wish for peace in the future and are often built by Japanese architects or organizations who wish to keep the memory of the attack and its victims alive and to hopefully contribute to a peaceful future. Most of these monuments were built in the 20th century except for The Gates of Peace which is the only monument without Japanese hands being involved in its creation and the only monument to have been built in the 21st century.
What message do these monuments send?
All of the monuments have the same overarching message against conflict but all have very unique ways of presenting it as well as having some unique messages of their own. To start, The Children’s Peace Monument (as previously mentioned) is dedicated to Sasaki Sadako and all the kids who suffered due to the bomb. It features a large pedestal decorated with a boy and a girl on the side of it meant to represent the children lost in the war. Atop the large bronze pedestal stands a statue of Sasaki Sadako, the aforementioned girl the monument is dedicated to and physically represents. What stands behind and is taller than her is a crane. Sasaki loved making cranes and it’s an integral part of her story. A crane is a type of origami meant to be a paper visage of the Crane, a bird species that can be most commonly found in East Asia and Europe. Sasaki folded over 1000 of these cranes and so children all over the world fold cranes and send them over to Hiroshima so Sasaki can forever be inundated with cranes. The way her statue is posed in front of the crane figure almost makes her appear as if she is being crucified and from far away one could even mistake the figure for a crucifix. This is likely done to portray her as a sort of Christ-like entity, someone whose impression and image has been immortalized on Earth forever. This combined with her infinitely streaming supply of cranes that immortalizes her wishes has forever maintained her memory. Under the monument features a plaque that states, “This is our cry, this is our prayer: for building peace in the world”. The monument sends a message of peace along with an important message to protect children from the chaos and cruelty of war. Making for a very impactful serious message to be remembered.
As for other monuments, the A-Bomb Dome and Rest House are two very similar monuments meant to bring the reality of war in the face of the onlooker. The downright derelict state of these memorials (the Rest House doesn’t appear to be damaged on the outside but the basement inside tells a different story) is very telling in that regard and it is the park’s way of conveying the sheer destruction Japan faced at the time. The A-Bomb Dome is also recognized as a World Heritage Site and was given a marker indicating that in April of 1997 that reads, “As a historical witness that conveys the tragedy of suffering the first atomic bomb in human history and as a symbol that vows to faithfully seek the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting world peace, Genbaku Dome was added to the World Heritage List in accordance with the ‘Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention).’ December 7, 1996, Hiroshima City”. The Rest House is mostly renovated to be used as offices for the area and a gift shop but the basement has been left almost completely untouched since it was hit by the bombs leaving an everlasting reminder of what had occurred that day. These two buildings are maintained to show how damaging war is.
The two cenotaphs have very different designs, the standard Cenotaph has a saddle shaped structure covering it and the Peace Flame across from it, this structure is meant to symbolize a shelter for the souls of the victims. The Cenotaph as previously stated has the epitaph, “please rest in peace, for [we/they] shall not repeat the error” the subject isn’t present in the Japanese version of this quote to avoid any political controversy but the English translation simply reads, “Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil” there’s also a plaque that was added to the monument in 1983 that states, “The inscription on the front panel offers a prayer for the peaceful repose of the victims and a pledge on behalf of all humanity never to repeat the evil of war. It expresses the spirit of Hiroshima — enduring grief, transcending hatred, pursuing harmony and prosperity for all, and yearning for genuine, lasting world peace.”. All of the text on the Cenotaph expresses a desire for everlasting peace and for the crimes committed in World War Two to never be repeated ever again. The Korean Cenotaph is a tall structure sat atop of a statue of a turtle that on the front reads, “The Monument in Memory of the Korean Victims of the A[tomic]-Bomb. In memory of the souls of His Highness Prince Yi Wu and over 20000 other souls” and on the side reads, “Souls of the dead ride to heaven on the backs of turtles.”. It’s clear that the quotes are meant to memorialize the thousands of Koreans that died to the bombs but what does the quote on the side mean? It refers to the folk belief that souls of the dead do in fact literally ride on turtles on their way to heaven.
The Peace Flame and Peace Bells both have their own messages separate from each other. The Peace Flame represents a wish to see all atomic bombs be disarmed to prevent any nuclear attacks from happening ever again, this is represented through the fact that the flame will never go out until all the bombs are made effectively useless. The Peace Bells are referring to a number of specific bells, one smaller bell that is used for the Peace Memorial Ceremony, and another large bell that is highly decorated. The Greek phrase “Know yourself” is inscribed onto it as well as a world map. The rest of the design includes a map of the world embedded onto it which is supposed to represent the bell’s wish for world peace.
The Memorial Mound is meant to be in the shape of the tomb of Emperor Meiji with a pagoda finial on top. A pagoda finial is the top of a Japanese pagoda which is a large tower in Japan. The significance of the finial is likely to dignify those who were lost, to treat them like royalty. Under the mound lies a vault with the ashes of tens of thousands of victims of Hiroshima, these ashes are placed here because either the entire family connected to some of the remains are dead or the individuals are completely unidentified. Through the use of the ashes and the pagoda on top of the mound this monument is able to physically dignify those who were completely lost in the attack, almost like a grave.
Finally, there are two more monuments to discuss, The Gates of Peace and The Memorial Tower for Mobilized Students. The Gates of Peace are ten glass gates with the word “peace” translated into 49 separate languages and engraved onto each and every single one. The Gates are stated to represent Dante’s inferno, the nine circles of hell with one more “circle” that’s meant to represent the living hell created by the attack on Hiroshima that day. The several “gates” are meant to be doors to open towards a peaceful future for mankind. And lastly, the Memorial Tower that is dedicated to the middle and high-school students that were caught in the bombing. In August of 1944, the government of Japan enacted the Student Labor Service Act. Because of this, students were taken out of their education and put into jobs that contributed to Japan’s war effort. The monument is a large twelve meter structure with several decorations. The Goddess of Peace is under it as well as eight doves surrounding the tower. The sides of the tower feature plaques that depict what the student’s jobs were like factory work and sewing. The tower could be a representation for the buildings they worked in and doves in Japan represent the end of war so that’s likely their meaning here in the monument as well. The monument wishes for an end to war but also an end to student’s and young people’s involvement in war, even if they aren’t directly contributing by fighting.
What did people think of these monuments when they were and built and what do they think now?
The park and its many monuments were held in very high regard by both tourists and citizens of Japan alike. It’s hard to find a general consensus of regular citizens in the past but important figures do have documented quotes on their experience and their thoughts.
In October of 1957, Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime Minister of India at the time) visited the park and reportedly stated that it was a trip of holy sites, likening it to some kind of church or synagogue. Pope John Paul II visited the park in 1981 and said “To remember the past is to commit oneself to the future”, he believes it’s very important that memorials like this exist and that we remember past actions so as to choose better decisions in the future. It seems that people in the past respected these monuments just as much as they do now and there just hasn’t been much variation in this belief because these monuments are just not very controversial or provocative, especially at the time.
Today Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is seen as a very moving and emotional experience for the average visitor. Many people and many sources still consider it worth a visit. There are no articles or studies specifically detailing how people feel about these monuments in the current day. But looking at some more common sources that travelers use might help one come to some proper conclusions. To quote some reviews from a well known tourism site TripAdvisor, Caroline C. called it a “Wonderful and sobering experience”. David M said it was “A peaceful and tranquil place to visit and reflect”. It seems the general consensus is that Hiroshima Peace Park is as peaceful as it presents itself and it brings an overwhelming sense of calmness and reflection onto the visitor. It being described as “sobering” means that it’s an experience that brings reality in the face of the viewer. A very serious moment that can really ground some people back into just how much potential humanity has for brutality and how it can affect innocent people. Overall, views on the monuments haven’t really changed since they were built and no one seeks to remove them as none are found to be particularly controversial to any severe extent and they have all been highly regarded and respected since they day they were put up.
Resources
Attribution Statements for Images
Children’s Peace Monument by Neepster is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
The Gates of Peace by Kaj Metz is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Hiroshima Peace Flame by Maarten Heerlien is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Memorial Cenotaph by Maarten Heerlien is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Korean victem en survivors memorial site by Andre Pronk is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Hiroshima Peace Bell by Surgeonsmate is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Hiroshima Rest House by Taisyo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.1
Close-up of the A-Bomb Dome by Rdsmith4 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5
Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound by Mike Desisto is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students by Steven Perez is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Links for Images
https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/93057/The-Gates-of-Peace.htm
Childrens Peace Monument Photo
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hiroshima_Peace_Bell.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hiroshima_Resthouse_2008_01.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28464
Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students
Text Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial_Park
Primary Source Documents – Japanese POV
Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki: And the Thousand Paper Cranes novel by Masahiro Sasaki and Sue DiCicco
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/775
https://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/map-e/irei/tour_20_e.html
https://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/map-e/irei/tour_52_e.html
https://peace-tourism.com/en/spot/entry-47.html
https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-atomic-bomb-and-the-nuclear-age/sources/53
https://peace-tourism.com/en/spot/entry-50.html
MLA Citations
“Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Nov. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial_Park.
“I Peace Administration.” 国際平和拠点ひろしま〜核兵器のない世界平和に向けて〜, hiroshimaforpeace.com/en/fukkoheiwakenkyu/vol1/1-50/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
Pacific Historic Parks Bookstore. “The Story of Sadako Sasaki.” Pacific Historic Parks Bookstore, pacifichistoricparksbookstore.org/blogs/all-about-pearl-harbor-official-nonprofit-blog/the-story-of-sadako-sasaki?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&force_utm=true&campaign=15487464430&content=594148824152&keyword=sadako+sasaki&gad_source=1. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
DiCicco, Sue, and Masahiro Sasaki. The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Tuttle Publishing, 2020.
Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome).” UNESCO World Heritage Centre, whc.unesco.org/en/list/775/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
“‘appeal for Peace at Hiroshima’, Pope John Paul II, 1981.” カトリック中央協議会, www.cbcj.catholic.jp/1981/02/25/3451/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims, www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/map-e/irei/tour_20_e.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
Gates of Peace, www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/map-e/irei/tour_52_e.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
“The Flame of Peace: Spot.” HIROSHIMA PEACE TOURISM, peace-tourism.com/en/spot/entry-47.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
The Atomic Bomb and the Nuclear Age | DPLA, dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-atomic-bomb-and-the-nuclear-age. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
“Korean Victims and Survivors Memorial Monument: Spot.” HIROSHIMA PEACE TOURISM, peace-tourism.com/en/spot/entry-50.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298561-d1165220-Reviews-Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial_Park-Hiroshima_Hiroshima_Prefecture_Chugoku.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
