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THE HIROSHIMA MEMORIAL PARK/MUSEUM:
Hiroshima, Japan.
October 24th, 2013, 6:53pm.
Well, I think you all have a fairly good idea of what I'm about to write about. Today was filled with devastating thoughts and images...
Before I explain all about my day, I just wanted to mention: At a vending machine yesterday, I noticed there was a hot chocolate on display. How is that possible? It's a vending machine. Beside it, was tea, coffee, anything that was a hot drink! There was also water, cola, things that are cold. I soon realized that there was red or blue backgrounds corresponding with the temperature of the drink. Could it be possible that the vending machines here dispense hot drinks? I pulled out 150 yen ($1.50) and put it in the machine. Sure enough, a scolding hot chocolate came barrelling down into the dispenser. It was in a small tin-can looking container with the same kind of top as a coke can. I took a sip, nearly burned my tongue, and actually liked it! It was nothing like Tim Horton's hot chocolate though. Oh Timmies, how I miss you!
Speaking of it being a small container, I've found that everything here is small. Their utensils, dishes, clothing, servings- everything! Even the people are small, like I mentioned before, I hardly see anyone who is overweight. And I'm beginning to think it's because of their portion controls! At restaurants, they only give out one size of everything, even soft drinks. The McFlurries at McDonalds only come in small, and their spoons and stuff look like they are for babies! It's sort of interesting, actually. It's like they make everything glamorous here. So portion and size control keeps people looking healthy and happy, while the designs and cleanliness make nothing look unappealing! All fast food restaurants have one or even two extra floors upstairs, where people can eat, socialize, and even smoke. Smoking is allowed everywhere here unless signs state otherwise. I see business men sitting at McDonalds as if it's the coolest thing they could do! It's so bizarre!
Anyways, as I was saying, the whole food/vending machine experiences have been fun. I have a feeling I'm going to miss that hot chocolate vending machine when I'm back in Canada!!!
So, today, we went to the Hiroshima Memorial Park/Museum. Mom had warned me to prepare myself! I did, sort of. But I didn't expect it to be as emotional as it was.
The day was perfect- perfect for where we were going. It rained almost as hard as when we went through the first typhoon in Tokyo! I was up to my ankles in rain water! And trust me, in socks and sneakers, it isn't as fun as it sounds.
Now, before I continue I just want to say that some of the things I'm about to tell you might make you sad/sick... Here's a little of what I learned of history about the Atomic Bombing on Hiroshima:
During World War II, tons of conflicts were going on. Japan, (from my understanding) seemed to be picking fights with just about everyone. They performed a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour, declaring war with the U.S. In response, the U.S. planned an attack on Hiroshima using nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons had been researched beginning around 1938. Scientists like Einstein apparently discovered the action of "fission." Fission is a chain reaction that occurs in molecules, making the nuclear explosion occur. There were two types of A-Bombs created- the "Little Boy" and the "Fat Boy." I think that was what they were called. The Little Boy was a thinner A-Bomb, and was the type of bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The Fat Boy was more round than the Little Boy and was used to bomb Nagasaki. I learned all about how the bombs were made, but I won't go into detail on this blog... I'm pretty sure none of you really care about learning how an atomic bomb is made!!!
So, why Hiroshima you might ask? Well, in the years leading up to the bombing, Hiroshima had become the major city for education and military affairs. What is now known as the Atomic Bomb Dome, used to be the main building for military person els to do business in. So obviously this was the most logical target site to the U.S.
On the morning of August 6th, 1945, witnesses said that it was a regular sunny summer morning. Not a cloud in the sky.
There were sirens around that would sound in case of some sort of airforce threat around the city. They had sounded twice and shut off twice that morning already. School children were evacuated due to the war itself, and some students as young as 12 were assigned to help with the demolition of some buildings in order to make room for a firehall. That's where everyone was headed, to work on this demolition project. Either that, they were headed to work, or they were staying at home.
At around 8:15am that morning, the plane from the U.S. locked onto it's target and dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. This was the first ever nuclear bomb dropped in the world- thus beginning the nuclear age. There were two other planes with the one that dropped the bomb, both to witness and film the event. How sick is that?
Anyways, the blast was instantaneous. It exploded 600m above ground, and about 130m away from it's actual target. This is why the A-Bomb Dome is still partially intact. Since it exploded nearly directly above it, the walls were able to stay standing. Of course, everyone within the building perished immediately, and much of the building blew apart or burned.
All wooden structures had vanished within a 3.5K radius. Thousands of people were already dead.
Throughout the museum, we saw many artifacts retrieved from the scene. There were countless amounts of charred, ripped clothing with descriptions on them. They were all from school kids who were working at the nearby demolition site. There were burned lunch boxes with burnt food still inside. There were melted but still intact glasses. There were wallets, train tickets, I.D cards, all still intact somehow. There were nearly unrecognizable shoes, belt buckles, hats, pins, you name it. There were even real fingernails and peeled, melted skin on display. The descriptions all had stories attached to them. Most read that the child was working at the site anywhere between 300m and 1000m away from the Hypocentre of the bomb. Most of them managed to make it home, where they died with the comfort of their family around them. Some of the bodies were never found, though. And the only reason their clothes are on display in this museum is because their parents had gone out searching for them and only found their remains.
The worst story to read was a mother desperately searching through the rubble to find her daughter, but she couldn't find any trace of her. Finally, she recovered a Japanese style shoe. The wood still had a foot print on it. She knew it was her daughter's shoe because she recognized the hand made straps she had made out of her old kimono materials. She took it home as a keepsake and eventually donated it to the museum along with her story. :'(
Another sad story I saw was a tiny tricycle and helmet. It was rusted beyond belief. The story: A little boy affected by the blast was only 3. His dad, thinking his soul was too young to be buried in a cemetery, buried him in the backyard along with his tricycle and helmet, which he had been riding during the blast and when he died. 40 years later, the dad dug up the body and cremated him. He then donated the bike and helmet to the museum along with the story.
By this time Real had gone far ahead of me. I spent most of my time reading all these stories and watching the films that were available to museum visitors. I turned the corner and walked through a hall that was made to make you feel as though you were walking through the destruction. It was a narrow hallway, but there were ruins and bricks all over the place. The walls were made to look as though you were looking out of a destroyed building, with "Hiroshima in ashes" as the wall paper. Burnt trees and ashes lie everywhere. It was horrific. I didn't like it at all. I was alone at this part of the museum, too, which made it even eerier. I scurried through that section and turned the corner again. To my dismay, I found myself in an even more uncomfortable situation. The war zone replica continued, this time with replicas of people on display. They were very VERY life like. They were walking like zombies, their arms outstretched in front of them. I had read before that they did this because it was too painful to put their arms down. And I could see why now! Burnt, melting skin was hanging off their arms- their faces twisted in an uncomfortable expression. Burnt and in pain. Some even seemed to have tears in their eyes. There was a child, obviously crying out for someone, but too injured to do anything. I cringed, shut my eyes really tight and tried to wipe the image from my mind. The lighting in this room was all red, so it was really hard to think of anything else. I shuttered and continued along. What a powerful part of the museum.
As I made my way through, I learned a lot more about the bombing. There was a large exhibit on buildings and structures. Like I said before, anything wooden was completely gone within seconds of detonation. Sandstone Buddhas were on display, their faces melted away. I saw this as almost symbolic. Roof shingles were rough and bubbly. This was because the heat rays of the blast boiled them until their surface changed. Many shingles fused together. Walls had chards of glass embedded in them, and some were stained with "black rain." Black rain was caused because of all the radiation, dust, smoke, dirt, etc. that was released into the atmosphere from the bomb. It was radioactive rain that fell upon the city a short while after the bombing.
I soon watched another video. There was no audio, but I eventually caught onto what they were showing. There were shadows of objects permanently stained onto things. For example, there were marks of ladders on walls where a ladder stood during the blast. There were dark spots where people had been sitting, blocking the harmful rays from hitting the stone. Railings of the bridges left shadows on the ground. I hope I'm explaining this clearly, because I thought this was really interesting. Imagine the bomb was the sun. Anything that was obstructing the rays from the bomb, left an outline on whatever was behind it. There was even a shape of a person forever marked into a wall, where they had been standing during the blast.
*Side note: Outside of the museum, at a nearby shrine, those "shadow marks" can still be found on a statue!*
So after that exhibit, the next one was about the effects it had on people. It was a smooth transition from one section to the next. But oh boy. There were so many more stories in this exhibit... And the PICTURES were HORRIFIC. There were burned bodies, cancerous skin, tongues, bones, everything. There were people who had purple spots all over their skin due to internal bleeding. There were bleeding gums, bald children from the radiation. The exhibit focused on the after effects of the bomb. By December of 1945, nearly 140,000 people had died. But that wasn't the end of it. Rates of cancer went up. People started vomiting and experiencing diarrhea months after the bombing. Even years after! One uoung child got so ill that he vomited up parts of his internal organs before dying days later....
The most famous story: A 12 year old girl, who was 2 during the time of the blast, had been diagnosed with leukaemia. She had a swelling tumour in her neck. In the hospital, she folded 1000 paper cranes, thinking that it would bring her luck to make her better. Despite her efforts, she passed away. Children from her school developed the Children's Peace Movement. A large statue stands just outside the museum, with a girl standing on top holding a golden crane. This symbolizes the children's dire want for peace on earth. Real and I went to go see it, and rand the bell once. Around the structure, there were about 5 huge containers with art made strictly out of cranes. They were all folded to make streamers, pictures, messages, anything! But they were all made out of cranes! How beautiful! There were every single colour of the rainbow!
We also saw the Memorial Mound, where tens of thousands of unidentified bomb victims are cremated and buried. We saw the Hypocentre, the A-Bomb Dome, and the Eternal Flame of Peace. I even rang the bell for peace once.
I really liked the museum, though. It really depicted what happened on that day. I learned so much, and truly gained so much respect for the "City of Peace."
Soaking wet, we returned to our hostel, grabbed our luggage, and headed back to the Shinkansen. Now we're headed back to Kyoto, where we will spend the last bit of our trip.
I'm really tired so I'm going to take a nap on this train! I'll write more later if I forgot to mention anything! Goodnight Hiroshima! And may all the Bombing victims of August 6th Rest In Peace. :)
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr
- comments
barbara I am sure it was very difficult to take it all in at the Museum. Thanks for your thoughts....I am sure it was emotional. Enjoy the rest of your day!
Merissa Congrats on making blog of the week! This post was so informative and moving- I feel like I was at the museum myself with how detailed your description of your experience was. Thanks for sharing. As an American I can't believe how far we went for revenge and to destroy the lives of hundreds of thousands innocent people as a result is horrifying.
LloydPetrick Congratulations on this very well written and explained Blog. It's as if I was standing right beside you Thank you for all the blogs and especially this one . Keep them coming Lindsay