Facilities exhibiting A-bombed structural remains open to public, convey evidence of people’s lives in former Nakajima district
Mar. 27, 2022
by Masaharu Kawamura, Staff Writer
Facilities for the exhibit of A-bombed structural remains from the former Nakajima district, an area devastated in the U.S. atomic bombing that is located underneath the present-day Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s Naka Ward, opened its doors in Peace Park on March 26. On display in the facilities are part of a street and the foundation of a house destroyed in the fires that arose immediately after the bombing, communicating to visitors the inhumanity of the single atomic bomb that destroyed people’s lives there.
The facilities are made up of a one-story, steel-frame building. The 80-square-meter structure was built by the Hiroshima City government to the north of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum’s East Building. Visitors can have a close look at a roughly 3.2-meter square piece of structural remnants — including street asphalt, stone materials used for a private home, and roof tiles — that were discovered about 60 centimeters below ground during an excavation survey. The facilities also include photographs conveying the lives of people in the area before the bombing, and an explanatory video shown on a large display screen.
On the initial day, the facilities opened at 8:30 a.m. The first visitor was Fumimasa Hosokawa, 58, a photographer from Tokyo’s Minato Ward. He remarked, “Looking at the exhibits, I was able to realize how people’s lives were destroyed in an instant in the atomic bombing. I’m speechless.”
The facilities were constructed after remnants of the former Nakajima district were discovered during an excavation survey carried out during 2015–2017 to prepare for the Peace Memorial Museum’s planned seismic reinforcement work. In response to requests from the public that the remnants from those times be utilized, the city decided to display well-preserved remains discovered in 2018. The exhibit facilities were part of the city government’s plans for commemorating the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing in 2020.
Through the month of July, the facilities will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. In August, the facilities will be open until 7:00 p.m. (except for August 5 and 6, when it closes at 8:00 p.m.). From September through November, the facilities will close at 6:00 p.m., and from December through February, at 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.
(Originally published on March 27, 2022)
Facilities for the exhibit of A-bombed structural remains from the former Nakajima district, an area devastated in the U.S. atomic bombing that is located underneath the present-day Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in the city’s Naka Ward, opened its doors in Peace Park on March 26. On display in the facilities are part of a street and the foundation of a house destroyed in the fires that arose immediately after the bombing, communicating to visitors the inhumanity of the single atomic bomb that destroyed people’s lives there.
The facilities are made up of a one-story, steel-frame building. The 80-square-meter structure was built by the Hiroshima City government to the north of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum’s East Building. Visitors can have a close look at a roughly 3.2-meter square piece of structural remnants — including street asphalt, stone materials used for a private home, and roof tiles — that were discovered about 60 centimeters below ground during an excavation survey. The facilities also include photographs conveying the lives of people in the area before the bombing, and an explanatory video shown on a large display screen.
On the initial day, the facilities opened at 8:30 a.m. The first visitor was Fumimasa Hosokawa, 58, a photographer from Tokyo’s Minato Ward. He remarked, “Looking at the exhibits, I was able to realize how people’s lives were destroyed in an instant in the atomic bombing. I’m speechless.”
The facilities were constructed after remnants of the former Nakajima district were discovered during an excavation survey carried out during 2015–2017 to prepare for the Peace Memorial Museum’s planned seismic reinforcement work. In response to requests from the public that the remnants from those times be utilized, the city decided to display well-preserved remains discovered in 2018. The exhibit facilities were part of the city government’s plans for commemorating the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing in 2020.
Through the month of July, the facilities will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. In August, the facilities will be open until 7:00 p.m. (except for August 5 and 6, when it closes at 8:00 p.m.). From September through November, the facilities will close at 6:00 p.m., and from December through February, at 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.
(Originally published on March 27, 2022)
