Enshrined with the names of 6,874 victims

This monument stands immediately south of the A-bomb Dome. The 12-meter high, five-tiered tower is covered with Arita porcelain tiles. In front of the tower stands the Goddess of Peace, made by Katsuzo Entsuba (1905-2003), a sculptor from Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture.

The center column has a place for a candle to comfort the souls of mobilized students who perished in the war.

During World War II, more than three million students were mobilized from across Japan to labor in munitions factories or work to increase food production. As the war escalated, most men in the prime of life were drafted into the military, causing a labor shortage. Students were put to work to make up for this lack of manpower.

About 10,000 mobilized students died in air raids and from other causes, and 7,200 were killed in the atomic bombing. A list of names of 6,874 victims, which includes those killed in air raids, is enshrined in the tower.

While calling for state compensation for mobilized students who were killed or injured, the Hiroshima Prefecture Mobilized Student Victims Association, which was formed in 1957, brought forward the plan to erect the tower. The tower to hand down the tragedy and to comfort the souls of the victims was completed in July 1967 after three years of efforts and with donations from across the country.

On the sides of the tower are four reliefs depicting students working in a sewing factory and engaged in other labors. On the back of these reliefs are the names of the 351 Japanese schools that had mobilized students and supported the association’s activities and the raising of the tower.

Each year a memorial ceremony is held before the monument on August 6.

(Originally published on June 4, 2012)