Location of the Peace Memorial. Architect Jan Letz
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Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Japan)
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TheHiroshima Peace Memorial (広島平和記念碑,Hiroshima Heiwa Kinenhi), originally theHiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called theGenbaku Dome,Atomic Bomb Dome orA-Bomb Dome (原爆ドーム,Genbaku Dōmu), is part ofHiroshima Peace Memorial Park inHiroshima, Japan, and was designated aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1996.[1]
The building is a prominent structure that remained standing in the area around theatomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, three days before the atomic bombing ofNagasaki and nine days beforeJapan surrendered, endingWorld War II.[1] The ruin of the hall serves as a memorial to the over 140,000[2] people who were killed in the bombing. It is permanently kept in a state ofpreserved ruin as a reminder of the destructive effects ofnuclear warfare.
The Product Exhibition Hall building was originally designed by Czech architectJan Letzel. The design included a distinctive dome at the top of the building. It was completed in April 1915 and was named theHiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition (HMI).[2] It was formally opened to the public in August that year. In 1921, the name was changed to theHiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall, and again, in 1933, to theHiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (広島県産業奨励館 Hiroshima-ken Sangyo Shourei-kan). The building was located in the large business district next to theAioi Bridge and was primarily used for art and educational exhibitions.[3]
During theSecond World War, at 8:15 a.m. on 6 August 1945, the firstatomic bomb to be used in war was dropped on Hiroshima. The bomb possessed a force equivalent to 15,000 tons ofTNT, and effectively obliterated the city.[4] Hiroshima was chosen as a target because it was an important port on southernHonshu and was headquarters of theJapanese Second General Army with 40,000military personnel in the city,[5] and was the only large city that was not known to have a POW camp.[6] Intended for theAioi Bridge, the bomb missed its target by 240 m (790 ft) and exploded directly over theShima Hospital, which was very near to the Genbaku Dome. The center of the blast occurred 150 m (490 ft) horizontally and 600 m (2,000 ft) vertically from the Dome. Everyone inside the building was killed instantly.[7][8]
Because the explosion was almost directly overhead, the building was able to retain its shape.[9] 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 building's durability can also be attributed to its earthquake-resistant design; it has held up to earthquakes before and since the bombing.
The Genbaku Dome amidst the devastation in October 1945. Photograph byShigeo Hayashi, one of two photographers attached to the academic survey teams.[10]EmperorHirohito visiting Hiroshima in 1947. The memorial can be seen in the background.
Due to its stone and steel structure, the building was one of the few structures left standing near the bomb'shypocenter.[1] Soon commonly called the Genbaku ("A-Bomb") Dome, due to the exposed metal dome framework at its apex, the structure was 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, with some locals wanting it torn down, while others wanted to preserve it as a memorial of the bombing and a symbol of peace.[11] Ultimately, when the reconstruction of Hiroshima began, the skeletal remains of the building were preserved.[1]
From 1950 through 1964, theHiroshima Peace Memorial Park was established around the Dome. The Hiroshima City Council adopted a resolution in 1966 on the permanent preservation of the Genbaku Dome, officially named the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome). The Dome continues to be the park's primary landmark.[1]
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 "Genbaku 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 Genbaku Dome was completed in 1967.[2][12] The Genbaku Dome has undergone two minor preservation projects to stabilize the ruin, notably between October 1989 and March 1990.[2]
The Genbaku Dome stands almost exactly as it did after the bombing on 6 August 1945. Changes to the ruins, meant to ensure the stability of the structure, have been minimal.[1] A metal frame was installed inside to give the ruin more stability.
In international politics,Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to visit the Memorial on 27 May 2016. As an act of reciprocity, Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe visited theUSS Arizona Memorial, Honolulu the same year.[13] The leaders of the49th G7 summit visited the Memorial on 19 May 2023.[14]
In December 1996, the Genbaku Dome was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List based on the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.[2] Its inclusion into the UNESCO list was based on its survival from a destructive force (atomic bomb), the first use of nuclear weapons on a human population, and its representation as a symbol of peace.[1]
Delegates to the World Heritage Committee from China and the United States had reservations regarding the confirmation of the memorial as a World Heritage Site. 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, and the United States stated that having a memorial to a war site would omit the necessary historical context. The United States dissociated itself from the decision.[16]
180° view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The Genbaku Dome can be seen in the center right of the image. The original target for the bomb was the T-shapedAioi Bridge seen in the left of the image.
Products Exhibition Hall in its original condition (c. 1921–1933)
Hall, taken from Motoyasu Bridge (c. 1921–1933)
Nighttime photograph, 1921
Photograph in March 1929
Citizens of the city pass by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on their way to a memorial ceremony on 6 August 2004
The Dome, photo taken from the southwest side
Distant view of the Dome; shot is taken from the Aioi Bridge
^abcde"原爆ドーム" [A-Bomb Dome].Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012.OCLC153301537. Archived fromthe original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved18 September 2012.
^Logan, William (2008).Places of Pain and Shame: Dealing with 'Difficult Heritage'. Routledge.
^Schofield, John; Cocroft, Wayne, eds. (2009).A Fearsome Heritage: Diverse Legacies of the Cold War. Left Coast Press.ISBN9781598742596.
^Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall Memorial Plaque
^Milam, Michael C. (July–August 2010). "Hiroshima and Nagasaki".Humanist.70 (4). Buffalo, NY: American Humanist Association and the American Ethical Union:32–35.
^"浜井信三" [Shinzo Hamai].Nihon Jinmei Daijiten (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. Archived fromthe original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved23 October 2012.
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