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Vault of Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound is opened to media in effort to return remains to family members

by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer

On July 9, the City of Hiroshima opened the underground vault of the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, located in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, to the media. It was the first time in 20 years that the vault, which holds the unclaimed remains of victims from about 70,000 dead, has been opened to the public. The city made this decision, in the 70th anniversary year of the atomic bombing, in order to raise awareness so that as many remains as possible can be returned to family members.

The vault is 27 square meters in size and 2 meters in height with a fence surrounding an altar in the center. The remains of 815 people whose names have been identified but are still unclaimed, and the remains of 621 others, which were placed permanently inside the mound due to circumstances surrounding the families and other reasons, are contained in individual white urns, about 10 centimeters in height and in diameter, and lined up on shelves. The great majority of the remains, where the victims could not be identified, are held in 117 wooden boxes, both large and small in size.

Starting in 1968, the City of Hiroshima has made the names of the identified victims available to the public. Since 1975, it has sent posters with these names to local governments and other entities across the nation for display. Up until 2010, this effort led to returning the remains of 845 victims to bereaved family members. But for the past five years, no more remains have been claimed.

In 2005, the city opened the vault, without the remains, to the media. The remains were placed in a different location while the vault was being renovated. The last time the vault, with the remains, was opened to the media was in 1995. Nobuto Sugiura, the section chief of the Hiroshima City Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Department, said, “We had refrained from opening the vault to the public, as it is a solemn place, like a grave. But we have opened it this time to raise awareness and cooperation as we seek family members of the victims. As the years pass, the search grows more difficult.” For further information, please call the Atomic Bomb Survivors Relief Department at 082-504-2191.

(Originally published on July 10, 2015)

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