My family was in Hungary during WWII （「第二次世界大戦」 in Japanese) and so I like to think that my ancestors had very little to do with the bomb. However that is not what's important and that is not the message of the Peace Museum.
In my International Relations class here at Konan University （甲南大学） we had many arguments on whether or not the bombs were justified. But the truth is, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we learn from it and make sure we do our part to ensure a world where such weapons will never again be used. That is the message. Forgiveness, peace, education.
I wish I could have taken a picture or a video, but what happened to me right before going to the Peace Museum left me dumbstruck.
An old man, looked to be in his 80's walked up to Aaron, Buddy, and I on the streets of Hiroshima and asked us where we all came from. Then he told us that he lost his father and brother to the A-Bomb and watched them both die in his arms. --I was ready for a very mean session of "get out of our country foreign devil" ranting but what happened next just left me at a loss of words and frozen stiff. The man shook our hands and told us about the pride of Hiroshima; how it went from nothing to a major city. How we should go to the Peace Museum and learn better of what took place on that day many years ago.
The man greeted us with love and forgiveness. He watched his father and brother die in his arms by the A-Bomb and had no resentment towards us. Instead he told us the importance of forgiveness and peace. How Hiroshima is the ultimate symbol of peace, not destruction and hate. The man left us with a smile of friendship.
That man is truly a saint. I hope all the people that I meet in my life could be like him, even myself.
Here are some pics from the Peace Museum and Memorial Park:
(I left some photos larger so you can see the finer details)
A message from Pope John Paul II:
Korea's Gift for Peace:
I would like to point out how much Hiroshima looks like Pittsburgh:
A wall stained with "black rain":
A tricycle and helmet:
Some glass bottles melted by the heat:
Some sheets of glass melted by the heat:
A pocket watch and wristwatch: (I left the wristwatch photo large so you can check the finer details)
And now the Peace Memorial Park:
Thousand Crane Memorial:
Memorial Dome:
Needless to say there were many disturbing photos and actual items on display that I could not bring myself to take a picture of. I encourage you to go and visit the Memorial Museum and Peace Park on your own for the full experience, and to learn some things. You won't regret it.
I hope you enjoyed this first post. I will post Day 2's trip soon.
I'm working on editing the videos, that takes a while <.<
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