Hiroshima and Nagasaki display panels of each other’s A-bomb damage for the first time ahead of the 80th anniversary next year, distributing commemorative gifts
Aug. 2, 2024
First cooperation between the two cities in tourism
by Keiichi Nobira, Staff Writer
On August 1, a panel exhibition introducing the damage caused by the atomic bombs and the reconstruction process of the two cities started simultaneously at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. The exhibition was organized with the aim of sending out the culture of peace and creating a new tourist program ahead of next year’s 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings and the 50th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki having affiliated as “Cities of Peace and Culture.” The exhibition will last until the end of March next year. Commemorative gifts will also be distributed. This is the first time the two cities have cooperated in the field of tourism.
On the first underground floor of the east wing of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, four B1-size panels of photographs related to Nagasaki are on display, including panels capturing the mushroom cloud after the atomic bombing, the restored Urakami Cathedral, and the night view of reconstructed Nagasaki City. A banner and poster promoting the campaign are also put up in the museum. At the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, four panels related to Hiroshima, such as the Atomic Bomb Dome, people and the city under reconstruction, and the cityscape with streetcars running, are displayed.
As a commemorative gift, 10,000 can badges and 7,000 bags with the campaign logo of "80" and an image of a dove have been made. They will be given at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Rest House, Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museum, and Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum, all in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, as well as the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and Nagai Takashi Memorial Museum Nagasaki in Nagasaki City, to visitors who follow the Instagram accounts designated by the two cities. Distribution of the gifts will end as soon as they run out.
The campaign was planned by the Executive Committee of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Collaboration Tourism Project, organized by the two cities, as part of the 80th anniversary commemoration activities. An official from Hiroshima City government’s Tourism Policy Department said, “We want people to visit peace-related facilities in both cities and learn about the citizens’ efforts to reconstruct after the devastation caused by the atomic bombs.”
(Originally published on August 2, 2024)
