Hiroshima Travelogue - Episode 11
We move out of the Chugoku daily; exactly called the Chugoku Shimbun daily. They say it circulates some 700,000 copies every day. It will publish an article about the meeting between members of [Iran’s] Peace Museum (us) and survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima.
Here we go to the Peace Park. Everything seems to be ready to the upcoming ceremony. Erected in a corner of the park is a monument to the Hiroshima Bombing with a map of the building at its entrance and a structure at the end with a Japanese epigraph and a large clock showing 8:15; the exact time of the bombing on August 6th 1945. The clock is wet; water pours over the clock and forms a little pond about it as a memorial to those who perished out of thirst and injury. The debris garnered from the ruins of the bombing is placed about the pond.
The river beside the Peace Park; the picture shows the remnants of a dome structure which have survived the Hiroshima bombings.
We step in a steep path to reach the main building of the complex. The bomb hit the ground some 200 meters away north east of the complex. The building’s entrance is decorated with innumerable pictures of probably the event’s victims. We keep on our way down the steep path anti-clockwise to get to the main hall; to the day of the bombardment.
Entrance of the Monument
Here is a round structure with a 360 degree view. It is constructed with over 140,000 pieces to resemble those killed directly or indirectly in the bombing until the end of 1945. 12 pillars keep the structure up and are said to be the link between present and the past; or the alive and the dead. Right in the middle of the round structure is the time 8:15 inscribed on a stone watch covered with water current. The monument abounds with meaning despite simplicity.
We also pop in other spots of the Hiroshima memorial complex during our visit. Numerous screens are placed in a hall to give visitors information of any kind about the A-bomb attack in the city. Visitors are also allowed to access archives of memoirs belonging to the survivors and their pictures of the incident. All the data is available in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.
***
The sunset in Hiroshima
Accompanied with some of our group members who still could and would continue the visit, we went to the riverside as the sun was about to set. Music could be heard from the river bank. The players played it flawlessly. It is like it’s being played in memory of the August 6 victim. Here are individuals from the green and black continents not to mention the attending Japanese. A backpacking lad happens to realize that we are from Iran and comes closer. He says he is from Canada and calls US President Obama’s name several times. I don’t know what he is thinking but he smells of booze as I take a picture with him.
Hedayatollah Behboudi
Translated by: Abbas Hajihashemi
Number of Visits: 5563
The latest
- Theory One: “The Structural Duality of Opportunity–Threat in the Government’s Entry into Oral History”
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 7
- From Revolutionary Circles to the Military Arm of the Islamic Government
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 29
- 100 Questions/28
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 6
- Memories of Farshid Eskandari
- Authenticating Oral History: From Possibility to Necessity
Most visited
- An Interview with Members of an Iraqi Mawkib Present at the Gatherings in Tehran
- Memoirs of Manizheh Lashkari
- The 373rd Night of Memories – Part 6
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 28
- Authenticating Oral History: From Possibility to Necessity
- Memories of Farshid Eskandari
- 100 Questions/28
- Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 29
The Beating Pulse of a Nation at the Moment of Nowruz
Every year, in the days and nights leading up to Nowruz, Shohada Square had a special charm. A few days before the New Year, the shops would fill with customers, and street vendors would take over the sidewalks. You could find everything in their stalls (from items for the Haft Sin table, candles, goldfish, and spring flowers to clothes, bags, and shoes).The Editor's Missing Place on the “Deck”
The book From Deck to Heaven offers a relatively fresh approach to examining the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Navy (AJA) during the eight years of the Sacred Defense, published under the “Oral History of the Islamic Revolution” series. To compile this book, the esteemed author has utilized documentary research (referring to relevant archival centers and selecting documents) and field research ...An Exceptional Haft‑Seen Table
I wanted to celebrate the new year with my family. Together with two relief workers I boarded buses designated for transporting the wounded to Choubideh and received our mission orders. We waited for a helicopter to take us to Bandar Imam Khomeini. I was stationed near the helicopter’s touchdown zone and was slight in build. As the helicopter was about to land, I could not steady myself; the breeze generated by the rotor blades lifted me off the ground.Spring under the shadow of war
Composing the Spring special for the new year in the past years was mostly along with hope, nature’s rebirth and the promise of renewal of life. Spring has always been a reminder for returning of life and peace after the Winters’ cold. This year though, another atmosphere has settled over our land in the last days of Esfand (March).
