The Wonderful Travels of Jocasta Gee: April 2013

Unlike many of my other stops in Japan, this was a sad and sobering moment. As an American visiting Hiroshima, it is hard to mentally get past the thought of the atomic bomb. You can try to push the thought into the back of your mind and desensitize yourself, but eventually the realization will return. This moment of realization happened to me while visiting Peace Memorial Park and Museum.

Next are images of the Atomic Bomb Dome. It is located 160 meters from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb. Everyone inside the building was killed instantly.

This is the Aioi Bridge. It is in the shape of a "T'. It was the target of the atomic bombing since the sight was very visible from the sky. It was subjected to an estimated blast pressure of seven tons per square meter (15 times greater than normal). Under the sudden pressure, the bridge thrashed like a leaf-spring being snapped back and forth. However, the bridge averted collapsing. It was repaired and used for 35 more years before being completely replaced in 1983.

Here are laid the ashes of tens of thousand of the atomic bomb victims. (~70,000 souls) Being close to the hypocenter, numerous corpses were collected at this spot and cremated.

Memorial Cenotaph. This monument embodies the hop that Hiroshima, devastated on August 6, 1945 by the world's first atomic bombing, will stand forever as a city of peace. The stone camber in the center contains the Register of Deceased A-bomb Victims. 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.

Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil

Here are images of the Children's Peace Monument. Sadako was two years old when she was exposed to the A-bomb. She had no apparent injuries and grew into a strong and healthy girl. However, nine years later in the fall when she was in the sixth grade of elementary school (1954), she suddenly developed signs of an illness. In February the following year she was diagnosed with leukemia and was admitted to the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital. Believing that folding paper (origami) cranes would help her recover, she kept folding them to the end, but on October 25, 1955, after an eight-month struggle with the disease, she passed away.

Sadako's death triggered a campaign to build a monument to pray for world peace and the peaceful repose of the many children killed by the atomic bomb. The Children's Peace Monument that stands in Peace Park was built with funds donated from all over Japan. Later, this story spread to the world, and now, approximately 10 million paper cranes are offered each year before the Children's Peace Monument.

Children's Peace Monument

Full of paper cranes

Here are photos from inside the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Entering the museum

Oh Tennessee

Before and After

Before

The atomic bombing occurred August 6, 1945 at 8:15am. When a bomb explodes it emits an electromagnetic pulse. This pulse stops all electrical/electronic systems including clocks and watches. Basically time stands still.

A person sitting on the steps to the bank waiting for it to open was exposed to the flash from the atomic bomb explosion. Receiving the rays directly, the victim must have died on the spot from massive burns. The surface of the surrounding stone steps was turned whitish by the intense heat rays. The place where the person was sitting became dark like a shadow.