Jump to content

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Coordinates: 34°23′43.7″N 132°27′12.7″E / 34.395472°N 132.453528°E / 34.395472; 132.453528
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Astronaut (talk | contribs) at 19:44, 4 March 2014 (Undid revision 598060622 by Scoop101extreme (talk) - spam). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial
(Genbaku Dome)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Ruin of Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall
CriteriaCultural: vi
Reference775
Inscription1996 (20th Session)

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (広島平和記念碑, Hiroshima heiwa kinenhi), commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or Genbaku Dōmu (原爆ドーム, A-Bomb Dome), in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation.[1]

History of the Genbaku Dome

The building was designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel. It was completed in April 1915 and was named the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition (HMI).[1] It was opened formally to the public in August that year. In 1921 the name was changed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, and again in 1933, to the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building was located in the largest business district next to the Aioi Bridge and was primarily used for arts and educational exhibitions.[2]

The building now known as the Genbaku (A-Bomb) Dome was the only structure left standing near the bomb’s hypocentre.[3] The dome was initially scheduled to be demolished with the rest of the ruins, but the majority of the building was intact, delaying the demolition plans. The dome became a subject of controversy — some locals wanted it torn down, while others wanted to preserve it as a memorial of the bombing and a symbol of peace.[4] Ultimately, when the reconstruction of Hiroshima began, the skeletal remains of the building were preserved.[3]

From 1950 through 1964, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was established. Following its completion, the Hiroshima City Council adopted a resolution in 1966 on the permanent preservation of the Atomic Bomb Dome (see Preservation). Thus, the dome continues to be the park’s primary landmark.[3]

Atomic bombing

The Genbaku Dome amidst the devastation in October 1945. Photograph by Shigeo Hayashi, one of two photographers attached to the academic survey teams.[5]

At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Little Boy — the first atomic bomb to be used in war — was dropped by the United States Army Air Forces from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber. The force of the atomic bomb effectively obliterated the city of Hiroshima, Japan.[6]

On July 25, 1945, General Carl Spaatz, commander of the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, received orders to deliver a "special bomb" attack on selected cities in Japan.[7] The first target city chosen was Hiroshima, which had an important port on southern Honshu and was headquarters of the Japanese Second General Army with 40,000 military personnel in the city.[7] The bomb was assembled in secrecy and loaded on the Enola Gay. It consisted of a uranium isotope 235 core shielded by hundreds of kilograms of lead. Little Boy possessed a force equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT. The plane dropped the bomb over the city at 8:15:17 a.m. local time on August 6, 1945. Within 43 seconds from being dropped, the bomb detonated over the city and missed its target by 240 m (790 ft). Intended for the Aioi Bridge, the bomb instead exploded directly over the Shima Clinic, which was very near to the Genbaku Dome. Because the atomic bomb exploded almost directly overhead, the building was able to retain its shape.[8] The building's vertical columns were able to resist the nearly vertical downward force of the blast, and parts of the concrete and brick outer walls remained intact. The centre of the blast was displaced 150 m (490 ft) horizontally and 600 m (2,000 ft) vertically from the dome, having slightly missed the original target, the distinctive "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge. The Dome was 160 meters from the hypocenter of the atomic blast.[8] Everyone inside the building was killed instantly.[9][10]

Preservation

Weathering and deterioration of the Genbaku Dome continued in the post-War period. The Hiroshima City Council declared in 1966 that it intended to indefinitely preserve the structure, now termed "A-Bomb Dome". The first popularly elected mayor of Hiroshima, Shinzo Hamai (1905 – 1968) sought funds for the preservation effort domestically and internationally. During one trip to Tokyo, Hamai resorted to collecting funds directly on the streets of the capital. Preservation work on the A-Bomb Dome was completed in 1967.[1][11] The A-Bomb Dome has undergone two minor preservation projects to stabilize the ruin, notably between October 1989 and March 1990.[1]

The Genbaku Dome stands exactly as it did after the bombing on August 6, 1945. Changes to the ruins, meant to ensure the stability of the structure, have been minimal.[3]

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In December 1996 the A-Bomb Dome was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List based on the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.[1] Its inclusion into UNESCO list was based on its survival from a destructive force (atomic bomb), the first use of nuclear weapons on human population, and importantly its representation as a symbol of peace.[3]

China had reservations regarding the confirmation of the memorial as a World Heritage Site and the delegate from the United States to the World Heritage Committee dissociated himself from the decision. China cited the possibility that the monument could be used to downplay the fact that the victim countries of Japan's aggression suffered the greatest losses of life during the war, while the United States asserted that having a memorial to a war site would omit the necessary historical context.[12]

180° view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Genbaku Dome can be seen in the center left of the image. The original target for the bomb was the "T"-shaped Aioi Bridge seen in the left of the image.
  • Products Exhibition Hall in its original condition (ca. 1921–1933)
    Products Exhibition Hall in its original condition (ca. 1921–1933)
  • Hall, taken from Motoyasu Bridge (ca. 1921–1933)
    Hall, taken from Motoyasu Bridge (ca. 1921–1933)
  • Nighttime photograph, 1921
    Nighttime photograph, 1921
  • Citizens of the city pass by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on their way to a memorial ceremony on August 6, 2004
    Citizens of the city pass by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on their way to a memorial ceremony on August 6, 2004
  • The dome, photo taken from the southwest side
    The dome, photo taken from the southwest side
  • Distant view of the dome; shot is taken from the Aioi bridge
    Distant view of the dome; shot is taken from the Aioi bridge
  • Side view of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
    Side view of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
  • Close up of the dome
    Close up of the dome
  • Dome with plaque
    Dome with plaque
  • Peace Dome, then and now
    Peace Dome, then and now
  • A-Bomb Dome in 2007
    A-Bomb Dome in 2007
  • A-Bomb Dome at night
    A-Bomb Dome at night
  • A-Bomb Dome at night
    A-Bomb Dome at night
  • Origami cranes
    Origami cranes

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "原爆ドーム". Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 153301537. Retrieved 18 September 2012. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Logan, William (2008). Places of Pain and Shame: Dealing with 'Difficult Heritage'. Routledge.
  3. ^ a b c d e UNESCO. "Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)". Cite error: The named reference "UNESCO" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Hiroshima Peace Museum
  5. ^ "Let's look at the Special Exhibit : Hiroshima on October 5, 1945". Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  6. ^ Schofield, John; Owen Beazley (2009). A Fearsome Heritage: Diverse Legacies of the Cold War. Left Coast Press.
  7. ^ a b Van Rhyn, Mark E. "Hiroshima, Bombing of". PBS. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  8. ^ a b Ide, Kanako (Winter 2007). "A Symbol of Peace and Peace Education: The Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima". Journal of Aesthetic Education. 4. 41: 12–23. Retrieved 10 February 2014. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall Memorial Plaque
  10. ^ Milam, Michael C. (July–August 2010). "Hiroshima and Nagasaki". Humanist. 70 (4). Buffalo, N.Y.: American Humanist Association and the American Ethical Union: 32–35.
  11. ^ "浜井信三". Nihon Jinmei Daijiten (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2012. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ WH Committee: Report of the 20th Session, Merida 1996
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome).

34°23′43.7″N 132°27′12.7″E / 34.395472°N 132.453528°E / 34.395472; 132.453528

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hiroshima_Peace_Memorial&oldid=598149761"