clear skies

Hiroshima is a very beautiful city these days. In the reconstruction that followed the bombing in World War 2 there was a division amongst people as to whether or not surviving buildings should be removed because they were dangerous and a horrible memory, or preserved as a reminder and hope for the future. As more and more buildings were torn down the desire to retain such a reminder grew and thankfully, today, we are left with the A-Bomb Dome that was located almost directly underneath the exploding bomb and was saved the full force of the blast.

It's hollow structure and skeletal metal dome crowning the building is an eerie sight that becomes even more so at night when they light it up and the peace park that surrounds it is all but devoid of people. Scattered around the dome are numerous memorials including one specifically for the children that were drafted into the deconstruction of Hiroshima's wooden structures (in those days, a lot of buildings were made of wood and in the case of a bombing, fire would spread quickly across the city). There were tens of thousands working on the deconstruction when the bomb hit.

At the bottom end of the park is a museum housing exhibits and presentations. To begin with it has information on weapons atomic energy, letters from Einstein to the President and then later moves towards the after effects of the bombing; burn victims, radiation poisoning, black rain, cancer. They show clothing and pieces of preserved scarred flesh. Displays of people and children with skin peeling from their arms as fires blaze in the background. Some harrowing stuff indeed.