Exhibit facilities of Honkawa Elementary School, Fukuromachi Elementary School and former Outpatient Ward of Teishin Hospital to serve as Peace Museum’s affiliated facilities
Jan. 13, 2023
Hiroshima City aims to enhance ability to disseminate information
by Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writer
On January 12, it was learned that the City of Hiroshima has decided to turn Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum, Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum and the former outpatient ward of Hiroshima Teishin Hospital, all A-bombed buildings located in the city’s Naka Ward, as exhibition facilities affiliated with the Peace Memorial Museum. The three buildings will be managed and operated in an integrated manner, with the aim of enhancing the city’s ability to disseminate information related to peace. The city plans to review the contents of the exhibits of the three facilities starting in fiscal year 2023 and open them in stages in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
The distance from the hypocenter is 0.4 km for the Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum, 0.5 km for the Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum and 1.4 km for the former Outpatient Ward of Teishin Hospital. Both the elementary school peace museums have been managed by the city’s board of education, while the former outpatient ward was transferred from Japan Post to the City of Hiroshima in 2018 at no cost to the city. The facilities display A-bomb related items to convey the reality of the atomic bombing to visitors from Japan and abroad.
According to several sources, the city intends to position these three facilities as exhibition sites affiliated with the Peace Memorial Museum, aiming at an effective approach to exhibition of A-bombed items. It will make repairs and review exhibits as necessary, and open the former Outpatient Ward Peace Museum in November 2024 and the Peace Museums of Honkawa Elementary School and Fukuromachi Elementary School in November 2025. The city is also considering initiatives to disseminate information about peace, utilizing the characteristics of the buildings as a hospital and as educational facilities.
The city government renovated the community center built in 1951 by the late Floyd Schmoe, an American peace activist, and opened it as the Schmoe House located in Naka Ward, an exhibition facility affiliated with the Peace Memorial Museum, in November 2012. The house has since served as a place to convey the reconstruction of the city as well as support from overseas. The three museums, which will be established as new affiliated facilities, are expected to work in an integrated manner, while disseminating information about the horrors of the atomic bombing and relief efforts made to A-bomb survivors.
(Originally published on January 13, 2023)
