City of Hiroshima plans to exhibit remains of A-bombed district, now buried beneath Peace Memorial Park, in fiscal 2020
Jan. 27, 2018
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writers
The City of Hiroshima has decided that in fiscal 2018 it will begin planning for an effort to exhibit remains of the former Nakajima district, which was completely destroyed by the atomic bomb and remains buried under the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. Based on the opinions of experts, the city will first select which remains will be suitable for the exhibition then start trial excavations of that site in fiscal 2019. Due to the advancing age of the A-bomb survivors, the city is seeking to mount an exhibition in fiscal 2020 that can convey the catastrophic conditions of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bombing.
Before the United States attacked Hiroshima with the atomic bomb, the streets of the Nakajima district were lined with houses, shops, and temples. According to several people involved in this project, city officials will make use of expert knowledge and consider the best location and best approach for conveying the lives of the people who lived in the area before the bombing. They will also determine the most effective way of preventing the deterioration of the remains before eventually finalizing the project plan. The city may include the costs related to this preliminary work in the budget for fiscal year 2018.
Because little is known about the actual conditions of the A-bombed remains beneath the Peace Memorial Park, the city will use the results of the trial excavation to examine and determine the location for the exhibition as well as create a plan for the exhibition design. Concerning the method used to preserve and exhibit the remains, observing these artifacts will be made possible from ground level through a plate of reinforced glass, as in the case of the Remains of the Yokohama Customs House (located in Naka Ward, Yokohama). Because the Peace Memorial Park is a government-designated place of scenic beauty, the city will also consult with the Cultural Affairs Agency to secure approval for the construction.
Some A-bombed remains of the former Nakajima district were unearthed approximately 70 centimeters below the ground at the site of the main building of the Peace Memorial Museum during a preliminary excavation that took place between November 2015 and March 2017, prior to the start of earthquake reinforcement work. The city has made clear its plan to exhibit these remains at a different location in the Peace Memorial Park in 2020, and has asked former residents of the Nakajima district, A-bomb survivors, and civic groups to work together to ensure that this plan will be realized. In preparation for this exhibition, staff members from the Hiroshima City government made an inspection tour of the Remains of the Yokohama Customs House in fiscal 2017.
The former Nakajima district was featured in the animated film titled “In This Corner of the World” (released in November 2016) and has since drawn growing attention. Through the exhibition of remains which can bear witness to the atomic bombing’s indiscriminate killing of scores of innocent citizens in the heart of the city, the City of Hiroshima hopes to further convey the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons, a perspective that helped fuel the adoption of the nuclear weapons ban treaty at the United Nations last year.
(Originally published on January 27, 2018)
The City of Hiroshima has decided that in fiscal 2018 it will begin planning for an effort to exhibit remains of the former Nakajima district, which was completely destroyed by the atomic bomb and remains buried under the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. Based on the opinions of experts, the city will first select which remains will be suitable for the exhibition then start trial excavations of that site in fiscal 2019. Due to the advancing age of the A-bomb survivors, the city is seeking to mount an exhibition in fiscal 2020 that can convey the catastrophic conditions of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bombing.
Before the United States attacked Hiroshima with the atomic bomb, the streets of the Nakajima district were lined with houses, shops, and temples. According to several people involved in this project, city officials will make use of expert knowledge and consider the best location and best approach for conveying the lives of the people who lived in the area before the bombing. They will also determine the most effective way of preventing the deterioration of the remains before eventually finalizing the project plan. The city may include the costs related to this preliminary work in the budget for fiscal year 2018.
Because little is known about the actual conditions of the A-bombed remains beneath the Peace Memorial Park, the city will use the results of the trial excavation to examine and determine the location for the exhibition as well as create a plan for the exhibition design. Concerning the method used to preserve and exhibit the remains, observing these artifacts will be made possible from ground level through a plate of reinforced glass, as in the case of the Remains of the Yokohama Customs House (located in Naka Ward, Yokohama). Because the Peace Memorial Park is a government-designated place of scenic beauty, the city will also consult with the Cultural Affairs Agency to secure approval for the construction.
Some A-bombed remains of the former Nakajima district were unearthed approximately 70 centimeters below the ground at the site of the main building of the Peace Memorial Museum during a preliminary excavation that took place between November 2015 and March 2017, prior to the start of earthquake reinforcement work. The city has made clear its plan to exhibit these remains at a different location in the Peace Memorial Park in 2020, and has asked former residents of the Nakajima district, A-bomb survivors, and civic groups to work together to ensure that this plan will be realized. In preparation for this exhibition, staff members from the Hiroshima City government made an inspection tour of the Remains of the Yokohama Customs House in fiscal 2017.
The former Nakajima district was featured in the animated film titled “In This Corner of the World” (released in November 2016) and has since drawn growing attention. Through the exhibition of remains which can bear witness to the atomic bombing’s indiscriminate killing of scores of innocent citizens in the heart of the city, the City of Hiroshima hopes to further convey the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons, a perspective that helped fuel the adoption of the nuclear weapons ban treaty at the United Nations last year.
(Originally published on January 27, 2018)
