Hiroshima City to prepare peace exhibits at Honkawa and Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museums, explaining A-bombing’s damage in simple language
May 21, 2025
by Koji Higuchi, Staff Writer
The Hiroshima municipal government is preparing thematic exhibits and content at the Honkawa and Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museums, both designated national historic relics and atomic-bombed buildings in Naka Ward, so children can easily understand the reality of the atomic bombing. It is scheduled to open after renovation in fiscal 2028. The city is putting more efforts to welcome students who visit Hiroshima on school trips from nationwide. It also plans to create a tour linking the two museums along with the Peace Memorial Museum in Naka Ward, which will also feature new exhibits for children.
The Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum is located 410 meters from the hypocenter, and the Fukuromachi Museum is 460 meters away. The remaining reinforced-concrete structures, once part of both school buildings that were later torn down, now convey the tragedy of that day through children’s belongings and photos, when students were killed in the bombing. After the renovation, the explanations for exhibits will be written in simpler language than those at the Peace Memorial Museum, making the reality of the A-bomb’s destruction easier to understand. To preserve the materials, highly airtight display cases will be installed. Honkawa Elementary School also plans to build a surrounding fence along the side of the school buildings and to add toilet facilities.
As of now, total project costs are estimated at 520 million yen, with an additional 28 million yen added to the initial budget in fiscal 2025. After beginning the basic design phase, the city plans to move on to detailed designs and exhibit renewals in and after 2026. In fiscal 2028, an exhibition room and a study space for children will be created on the first basement level of the Peace Memorial Museum’s east building, in step with the School Peace Museums.
The city has received a subsidy from the national government and is working to welcome students who visit Hiroshima on school trips for peace education. An employee at the Hiroshima City’s Peace Promotion Division said, “We want to design exhibits that help children see the damage caused by the A-bombing as something personal, by visiting both the School Peace Museums and the Peace Memorial Museum together.”
In 2023, the city decided to designate both School Peace Museums as exhibit facilities affiliated with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It has been exploring ways to renovate them. Initially, the city had planned to reopen the museums after renovations in November 2025, but the schedule was delayed due to coordination with local people involved and the application process for designation as national historic relics.
Keywords
The Honkawa and Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museums
Completed in 1928, Honkawa Elementary School was the first reinforced-concrete school building among public elementary schools in Hiroshima with three floors above ground and one below. Part of the building was later torn down, and the School Peace Museum opened there in 1988. Roof tiles that melted in the A-bombing and a panorama depicting the devastation in central part of the city are on display on the first and basement floors. In 2024, it was visited by 29,669 people. Fukuromachi Elementary School was completed in 1937 as a reinforced-concrete school building with three floors above ground and one below. After the A-bombing, the school served as a relief station. In 1999, messages written in chalk on a wall, asking about the safety of students and teachers, were found. The School Peace Museum opened in 2002. In 2024, it was visited by 27,816 people.
(Originally published on May 21, 2025)
The Hiroshima municipal government is preparing thematic exhibits and content at the Honkawa and Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museums, both designated national historic relics and atomic-bombed buildings in Naka Ward, so children can easily understand the reality of the atomic bombing. It is scheduled to open after renovation in fiscal 2028. The city is putting more efforts to welcome students who visit Hiroshima on school trips from nationwide. It also plans to create a tour linking the two museums along with the Peace Memorial Museum in Naka Ward, which will also feature new exhibits for children.
The Honkawa Elementary School Peace Museum is located 410 meters from the hypocenter, and the Fukuromachi Museum is 460 meters away. The remaining reinforced-concrete structures, once part of both school buildings that were later torn down, now convey the tragedy of that day through children’s belongings and photos, when students were killed in the bombing. After the renovation, the explanations for exhibits will be written in simpler language than those at the Peace Memorial Museum, making the reality of the A-bomb’s destruction easier to understand. To preserve the materials, highly airtight display cases will be installed. Honkawa Elementary School also plans to build a surrounding fence along the side of the school buildings and to add toilet facilities.
As of now, total project costs are estimated at 520 million yen, with an additional 28 million yen added to the initial budget in fiscal 2025. After beginning the basic design phase, the city plans to move on to detailed designs and exhibit renewals in and after 2026. In fiscal 2028, an exhibition room and a study space for children will be created on the first basement level of the Peace Memorial Museum’s east building, in step with the School Peace Museums.
The city has received a subsidy from the national government and is working to welcome students who visit Hiroshima on school trips for peace education. An employee at the Hiroshima City’s Peace Promotion Division said, “We want to design exhibits that help children see the damage caused by the A-bombing as something personal, by visiting both the School Peace Museums and the Peace Memorial Museum together.”
In 2023, the city decided to designate both School Peace Museums as exhibit facilities affiliated with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It has been exploring ways to renovate them. Initially, the city had planned to reopen the museums after renovations in November 2025, but the schedule was delayed due to coordination with local people involved and the application process for designation as national historic relics.
Keywords
The Honkawa and Fukuromachi Elementary School Peace Museums
Completed in 1928, Honkawa Elementary School was the first reinforced-concrete school building among public elementary schools in Hiroshima with three floors above ground and one below. Part of the building was later torn down, and the School Peace Museum opened there in 1988. Roof tiles that melted in the A-bombing and a panorama depicting the devastation in central part of the city are on display on the first and basement floors. In 2024, it was visited by 29,669 people. Fukuromachi Elementary School was completed in 1937 as a reinforced-concrete school building with three floors above ground and one below. After the A-bombing, the school served as a relief station. In 1999, messages written in chalk on a wall, asking about the safety of students and teachers, were found. The School Peace Museum opened in 2002. In 2024, it was visited by 27,816 people.
(Originally published on May 21, 2025)
