“Silent witness” role grows: Based on report about designation of “Hiroshima A-bombed ruins” as historic sites, local stakeholders focus on public relations
Oct. 23, 2023
by Yu Kawakami, Staff Writer
Responding to a report issued on October 20 by the Japanese government’s Council for Cultural Affairs, six A-bombed buildings in Hiroshima City are projected to be designated national historic sites as “Hiroshima A-bombed ruins.” The role played by the buildings to convey, in the place of the A-bomb survivors, the tragedy of August 6, 1945, the day of the atomic bombing, continues to grow in importance. Local stakeholders will place greater emphasis on public-relations efforts for the preservation and passing on to future generations of the “silent witness” buildings as cultural assets.
Japan’s Council for Cultural Affairs described the A-bombed buildings as structures that “communicate the damage wrought by nuclear weapon and the inhumanity of war.” In July, the Hiroshima City government applied for historic-site designation for the six A-bombed buildings to Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. The city selected the six candidate sites from among all A-bombed buildings based on criteria that include the buildings’ locations within two kilometers of the hypocenter, an area in which most buildings were completely destroyed and incinerated, and the structures’ importance in conveying the reality of the atomic bombing through their public accessibility.
In particular, through reference materials and photographs, the Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum and the Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum, both of which are located in Hiroshima’s centrally located Naka Ward, have continued to communicate information about the deaths of children whose futures were stolen from them by the single atomic bomb. Starting in November 2025, the museums are scheduled to become affiliated with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in the city’s Naka Ward.
Miho Iwata, 65, a volunteer guide for the Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum, was pleased by the news. “This museum has been maintained by the school and the local community. I hope its designation as a historic site serves as a good opportunity for the museum to be discovered by even more people.” Ms. Iwata has served as a volunteer guide for her alma mater’s museum for more than two decades.
In the museum, charred wooden bricks and incinerated switchboards remain. Ms. Iwata has continued in her efforts to inform visitors of the experiences of her mother, Chizuko Wataoka, who died in 2011 at the age of 82 after losing her parents and three younger sisters in the atomic bombing. With greater numbers of international visitors, she believes “the museum needs to further improve conditions to accommodate them.”
If the buildings are designated as historic sites in this way, Japan’s national government will provide grants, and other support, for up to half the repair costs. The bell tower of Tamonin Temple, in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward, the candidate site located nearest to the hypocenter among the A-bombed wooden buildings, exhibits marked damage to its beams and other structures nearly 90 years since its completion. Taiko Kameo, 40, the temple’s deputy chief priest, said, “I’m worried that the tower could collapse in a typhoon or an earthquake. Now is the time to consider how to preserve the structure.” Mr. Kameo said he is willing to conduct full-scale repairs upon its designation as a historic site.
Following designation, the Hiroshima City government will serve as the managing body for all six sites, not limited to only those in its possession. According to Hiroshima City’s Cultural Promotion Division, “It is significant because the city’s existing efforts to preserve the A-bombed buildings will have been recognized.” The division pledged to “make sure the structures are passed on to future generations based on support from the national government.”
(Originally published on October 23, 2023)
Responding to a report issued on October 20 by the Japanese government’s Council for Cultural Affairs, six A-bombed buildings in Hiroshima City are projected to be designated national historic sites as “Hiroshima A-bombed ruins.” The role played by the buildings to convey, in the place of the A-bomb survivors, the tragedy of August 6, 1945, the day of the atomic bombing, continues to grow in importance. Local stakeholders will place greater emphasis on public-relations efforts for the preservation and passing on to future generations of the “silent witness” buildings as cultural assets.
Japan’s Council for Cultural Affairs described the A-bombed buildings as structures that “communicate the damage wrought by nuclear weapon and the inhumanity of war.” In July, the Hiroshima City government applied for historic-site designation for the six A-bombed buildings to Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. The city selected the six candidate sites from among all A-bombed buildings based on criteria that include the buildings’ locations within two kilometers of the hypocenter, an area in which most buildings were completely destroyed and incinerated, and the structures’ importance in conveying the reality of the atomic bombing through their public accessibility.
In particular, through reference materials and photographs, the Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum and the Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum, both of which are located in Hiroshima’s centrally located Naka Ward, have continued to communicate information about the deaths of children whose futures were stolen from them by the single atomic bomb. Starting in November 2025, the museums are scheduled to become affiliated with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, located in the city’s Naka Ward.
Miho Iwata, 65, a volunteer guide for the Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum, was pleased by the news. “This museum has been maintained by the school and the local community. I hope its designation as a historic site serves as a good opportunity for the museum to be discovered by even more people.” Ms. Iwata has served as a volunteer guide for her alma mater’s museum for more than two decades.
In the museum, charred wooden bricks and incinerated switchboards remain. Ms. Iwata has continued in her efforts to inform visitors of the experiences of her mother, Chizuko Wataoka, who died in 2011 at the age of 82 after losing her parents and three younger sisters in the atomic bombing. With greater numbers of international visitors, she believes “the museum needs to further improve conditions to accommodate them.”
If the buildings are designated as historic sites in this way, Japan’s national government will provide grants, and other support, for up to half the repair costs. The bell tower of Tamonin Temple, in Hiroshima’s Minami Ward, the candidate site located nearest to the hypocenter among the A-bombed wooden buildings, exhibits marked damage to its beams and other structures nearly 90 years since its completion. Taiko Kameo, 40, the temple’s deputy chief priest, said, “I’m worried that the tower could collapse in a typhoon or an earthquake. Now is the time to consider how to preserve the structure.” Mr. Kameo said he is willing to conduct full-scale repairs upon its designation as a historic site.
Following designation, the Hiroshima City government will serve as the managing body for all six sites, not limited to only those in its possession. According to Hiroshima City’s Cultural Promotion Division, “It is significant because the city’s existing efforts to preserve the A-bombed buildings will have been recognized.” The division pledged to “make sure the structures are passed on to future generations based on support from the national government.”
(Originally published on October 23, 2023)
