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Peace research facilities of Hiroshima University and Hiroshima City University to be relocated to A-bombed building

by Masami Nishimoto, Staff Writer

It was learned on June 25 that Hiroshima University and Hiroshima City University have both made the decision to relocate their peace research departments to Hiroshima University’s former faculty of science building No. 1 in Naka Ward, an A-bombed building owned by the City of Hiroshima. Though efforts to develop measures to conserve and utilize the former Hiroshima University building have proceeded at a sluggish pace for some time, since the university completed its integration and relocation to Higashihiroshima in 1995, this news marks the first step toward making use of the building.

On the same day, Hiroshima University held an executive board meeting attended by the president and administrators and approved the plan to relocate the Center for Peace in Higashisenda-machi to the adjacent A-bombed building No. 1, which stands at the site of the former campus.

Responding to questions from the Chugoku Shimbun, Mitsuao Ochi, the president of Hiroshima University, said, “It can be said that building No. 1 is a legacy of the A-bombed city. Making use of this property will lead to the further development of our university that pursues a peaceful world.” He also shared the idea of selecting suitable materials held by the university’s Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, located in Minami Ward, and displaying them at the building on a regular basis.

Based on a request from Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, board members of Hiroshima City University, located in Asaminami Ward, have already agreed to relocate the university’s Hiroshima Peace Institute to the A-bombed building. At the same time, its new Graduate School of Peace Studies, which opened this past April (with a capacity of 10 students), will also move to the same building.

Shinichi Wakabayashi, the president of Hiroshima City University, said, “We would like to promote collaborations with the city and with Hiroshima University at the building after the relocation so we can become a domestic and international hub of peace education and research. We will also seek to establish a satellite campus for citizens.”

The former faculty of science building No. 1, a three-story concrete structure, was originally constructed as the main building of the Hiroshima University of Literature and Science, the forerunner of Hiroshima University, in 1931. When the city was attacked with the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, the building, which is located about 1.4 kilometers from the hypocenter, was able to survive the disaster but many people inside the building were killed. It was then used for the faculty of science when Hiroshima University was established in 1949. Since then, trees have stood in a line from the front of the building to the university’s former entrance gate, including Phoenix trees that were donated by universities in the West. The area where the building sits is a historic site that also conveys the steps that Hiroshima pursued in the past.

The City of Hiroshima registered the building as an A-bombed building in 1993. After the title to the building was transferred by the Japanese government to the city in 2013 for free (a site of about 6,300 square meters with a floor space of 8,500 square meters in total), the city established a council in 2016 to oversee the site’s conservation and utilization. In the following year, the basic policy of maintaining the front part of the building and turning it into an I-shaped structure was announced. The overall floor space to be preserved will total 3,500 square meters, and the cost of the renovation work has been estimated at around 1.85 billion yen.

Last fall the council of experts submitted a proposal to the city with a concept for the building’s use, including the establishment of a peace education and research facility and a community space. The city then allocated about 6.29 million yen to cover expenses involved in developing the basic plan, funds included in the supplementary budget proposal in June, which was approved at the regular session of the city council on June 25.

An official of the city’s urban functions adjustment department said, “We will work out a proposal for maintaining the building, such as how much floor space will actually be needed for the university facilities, and put together this plan by the end of this fiscal year.”

Comment by Norioki Ishimaru, former professor of Hiroshima University who edited the book Architectural Witness to the Atomic Bombing—A Record for the Future (published by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum)

Preventing the deterioration of the former faculty of science building No. 1 is an urgent concern. Therefore, I would like the city to take the lead and create a path for making use of such historic buildings more actively. By taking advantage of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law, which in August will mark the 70th anniversary since it came into force, the city should seek to gain the financial support of the national government so the significance of Hiroshima can be conveyed more widely to the world. It is important to establish functions and facilities with the perspective of the 100th anniversary of the atomic bombing in mind.

(Originally published on June 26, 2019)

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