HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK

HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK MUSEUMS and ART GALLERIES

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum focuses on the effects the Hiroshima Atomic Bombing had on the people of Hiroshima. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is within the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK MONUMENTS

Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims is near the center of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and saddle-shaped monument formed out of concrete that covers a cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims follows a traditional Shinto style, with the arch providing protection for the souls of the victims. The cenotaph carries the epitaph, "Rest in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." When you stand at the correct position, you can look through the arch of the monument to see the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome. The Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims was one of the first memorial monuments built on open field (now Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park) on August 6, 1952.

Childrens Peace Monument was built to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of other child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Sadako Sasaki is famous for attempting to fold one thousand origami cranes, while in hospital dying from leukaemia caused by exposure to radiation from the atomic bomb. In Japanese culture it is said that the gods will grant a wish to anyone that folds a thousand paper cranes. The Childrens Peace Monument was designed by Kazuo Kikuchi and Kiyoshi Ikebe symbolises Sadako Sasaki holding a golden crane. Under the statue is a bronze crane and a peace bell donated by Nobel Laureate in Physics Hideki Yukawa. Around the Childrens Peace Monument are thousands of paper cranes donated by children from around the world. The Childrens Peace Monument is one of the major monuments in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Clock Commemorating the Repatriation of Those Who Chose to Return to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The Flame of Peace represents two wrists pushed together with open palms facing up, which reflects the victims who were unable to satisfy their thirst for water. The Flame of Peace , designed by Tokyo University Professor Kenzo Tange, represents the desire for the abolition of nuclear weapons and enduring world peace. The Flame of Peace was lit on August the 1st 1964 and has burned continuously since then. The Flame of Peace is one of the main features in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Information and Rest House was originally the Taishoya Kimono Shop, but had been taken over by the Hiroshima Prefecture Fuel Rationing Union in 1944. Even though the Information and Rest House building was so close to the hypocenter of the explosion, the solid design of the building and the few openings towards the point of the blast provided some protection to those inside and the building itself. The roof of the building collapsed and the interior burnt, but a man who had been in the basement at the time of the blast lived until 1982. The basement is preserved as it was just after the explosion. The Information and Rest House provides information and a rest area for those visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Memorial Monument for the Hiroshima Municipal Commercial and Shipbuilding Industry Schools.

Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students is to commerate the roughly 6,300 students in middle and upper schools who died from the atomic bomb. During the last year of the war all students in middle and upper grades were forced by the Japanese Government to work in munitions factories or in the construction of defensive works. In Hiroshima there were approximately 8,400 students involved in forced labour. The Memorial Tower to the Mobilized Students is on the eastern river bank on the eastern side of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Monument erected by Hiroshima Gas Co., Ltd. In Remembrance of Victims of the Atomic Bombing

Monument for staffers of the Chugoku & Shikoku Civil Engineering Branch Office who died on Duty

Peace Bell is temple style bell cast by Masahiko Katori, a living national treasure. The Peace Bell features a map of the world without borders and the atomic symbol at the point where the log strikes the bell. The Peace Bell is 1.7m high, weighs approximately 1,200kg and is in the northern part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Peace Clock Tower designed by Shoji Ohata, features a spherical clock with three faces which chimes at 8:15am every day to mark the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The Peace Clock Tower stands above most of the tree line in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Pond of Peace is part of the center piece of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Pond of Peace surrounds the Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims and the Flame of Peace.

HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL PARK BRIDGES

Aioi Bridge originally had a third span which went from the centre of the main span across to what is now the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. This formed a distinctive T shaped bridge and was the target point for the atomic bomb.