At 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6, 1945, an atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” was dropped above the city of Hiroshima. A single bomb killed thousands of people in a matter of seconds.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum tells the stories of victims, survivors and the aftermath of the explosion. The motto of the museum is “No more Hiroshimas.” Presenting artifacts, belongings and testimonies allows Hiroshima to advocate for peace and the end of nuclear weapons.
The beginning of the museum displayed a panoramic photo of Hiroshima before the bombing and then what the city looked like after the bomb was dropped. There was also an aerial view recreating the way the bomb was dropped.
The city was destroyed immediately and later engulfed in flames. The victims’ bodies were badly burned, their skin peeled and blistered. However, because of the intensity of the A-bomb, many close to the hypocenter were reduced to ashes.
One of the first exhibits described the children who were killed in the explosion. Their ripped and stained clothes were laid out as a reminder of the pain they endured. Because of the burns on their bodies, victims sought relief by jumping into the river.
I instantly noticed the artwork that replicated what victims saw and experienced when the bomb dropped. The drawings were made by people who witnessed the effects of the bomb. The drawings made me feel more connected to what they experienced and knowing the severity of the explosion.
About 30 minutes after the explosion, black rain, dark and sticky acidic precipitation, fell to the ground. Because of their thirst, people instinctively put their heads back and opened their mouths wide to drink the water. The rain was radioactive. Akiko Takakura, a survivor, described the black rain.
“The rain drops were so huge that they hurt,” Takakura is quoted as saying in an exhibit. “My whole body turned grey.”
Temporary relief stations were set up and became flooded with victims looking for medical attention. Medical supplies and medicine were scarce, and many died because of inadequate, poor and nonexistent medical care. Several survivors suffered from diarrhea, hair loss and later developed cancer from the amount of radiation they were exposed to.
Victims also suffered mental agony. Kazuo, an A-bomb victim, kept a diary detailing the aftereffects he dealt with. His dream was to be a professor and studying is what motivated him.
“I want to be a professor,” he wrote. “I will study hard so I can study abroad. This thought stimulates my desire to learn and I feel I need to do something right away.”
Gradually his writing got sloppier but he demonstrated his will to live.
“I hate it, I don’t want to die.”
His last entry was on April 26, 1948. He died three years after the bombing on Aug. 9, 1948.
There were approximately 2,000 to 6,000 A-bomb orphans, but the true figures of casualities are unknown. Several children found out that their families were gone while they were at the evacuation sites. For the years to come they struggled after the war. They were alienated due to poor education and poverty.
One of the most well-known stories of Hiroshima is the story of Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was at home at the time of the blast, about 1,600 meters (5,249 feet) from the hypocenter. She eventually developed leukemia and later cancer on her left breast and suffered purple spots all over her body.
Sadako learned about an old saying: “Fold 1,000 paper cranes, and your wish will come true.” She folded origami cranes using the paper that came on her medicine. It is rumored that she made 1,000 cranes in less than a month. After battling the disease for eight months, she died at the age of 12. The origami cranes later became a symbol of hope for Hiroshima.
Although countless structures were wrecked, many parts of it still survived. A concrete chimney from a soy sauce brewery, spouts from the fountain that was in the courtyard of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall (now the Genbaku Dome or A-bomb Dome) and flower stands from the front of a temple are all reminders of how the city still stood before the bombing and how it survived after the tragedy.
About The Author
