LOST IN TRANSLATION - Chapter 6 - Hiroshima

It was late afternoon when we arrived in Hiroshima. What was I expecting? We would be visiting the site which related to the A-bomb Dome. Hiroshima was part of my childhood history and I could only see bomb sites and misery. To the extent that Hiroshima was a word and place that I was hiding from. Not for any longer.

It was twilight when we arrived. From a heart beat to a dead heart, I was drawn into a scene which I have never looked at and I’ll never see again. What is left of Hiroshima today is enough for anyone to say, « Never again ». 

At 8-15am, August 6, 1945 an American B29 bomber carried out the world’s first atomic bombing. It exploded approximately 600 meters southwest of Hiroshima Prefectural Promotion Hall, ripping apart and igniting the building, killing everyone in it - instantly.













The memorial

Looking through the memorial to the building
Because the blast struck from almost directly above, some of the centre walls remained standing, leaving enough of the building and frame to be recognizable as a dome. 

After the war, these remains came to be know as the A-bomb Dome.

I am glad that despite public opinion and even if the dilapidated building evoked stress and painful memories, that it has been preserved. Now after many public interventions, it looks as it did after the bombing.

From a heart beat to death. How could I not be touched by such a scene. Even more so that it was the evening. The illuminated sites were overwhelming .


Even the modern memorials seemed to leap out of the yellow lights…

 Later  we would discover shop windows, bears , shopping malls, robots - the contrast was practically a relief..












Not to mention this robot - who could not of course talk to me in English







Or learning how to eat noodles...





before briefly coming back to see the sites in broad daylight.









I was pleased to see that children visited these sites, and the memorial building which we too visited. I think that Laurent preferred the day visit to the evening. I preferred Hiroshima by night.

  There was of course the castle to visit...or the outside of it...






And watch a little boy feeding the carp...















 And a quick look at the bay. Tomorrow we would be taking a navette from the hotel to visit Miyajima - for the day...

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