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Reality of atomic bombings are conveyed through Google Cultural Institute

by Aya Kano, Staff Writer

On August 19, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum began presenting items from their collections through the Google Cultural Institute, a site which displays historical artifacts from around the world. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki museums are the first facilities in Japan to make use of this online resource. A total of 232 artifacts, which include belongings left behind by the victims of the atomic bombings and items not usually shown to the public, have been posted at the site.

From Hiroshima, 55 artifacts from among the museum’s collection of 21,000 items are shared under four themes. One themed section, entitled “Hiroshima,” offers an online look at the museum’s permanent exhibition through the use of images and text, showing such artifacts as a watch that stopped at 8:15, the time of the atomic bombing.

The other three themes, entitled “Recalling the Lost Neighborhoods,” “Last Logs on August 5,” and “Last Words,” are based on special exhibits held twice a year at the museum. Items include a diary which contains a girl’s final entry on the day before the bombing.

Nagasaki is presenting 177 artifacts at the Google site, divided into three themes: “Destruction of a City,” which traces the development of the city from the atomic bombing to reconstruction, “Atomic Bombing in Nagasaki and Urakami Cathedral,” and “The Nagasaki Atomic Bombing and Nature.”

The Google Cultural Institute was launched last year to introduce artifacts from historical events that are exhibited in museums throughout the world, accompanied by text to explain their significance. Currently, the site, which can be accessed freely, contains artifacts from 40 museums in 14 countries, including the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

At the Peace Memorial Ceremony held in Hiroshima on August 6, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui stressed the value of the Google Cultural Institute, saying that people who are unable to visit Hiroshima can still be moved to support the abolition of nuclear weapons. Kentaro Tokusei, Google’s director of product management, said, “I hope that people out in the world will touch the reality of the atomic bombing.”

The Google Cultural Institute: http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/home

(Originally published on August 20, 2013)  

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