Age and Antiquity: Hiroshima

The Peace dome, only structure left standing
after the atom bomb blast.

The title of this blog post does not need explanation. The name Hiroshima stands for absolute destruction. At 8:15 am on 6 August 1945, the US Air Force detonated an atomic bomb 600 meters above the city and the result is recorded in the photo at left. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, estimated to consist of about 20,000 combatants, 2000 Korean slaves, and the rest civilians including many women and children. The river delta city has been rebuilt from the ashes, but the unreconstructed Peace dome seen above and below marks the entry to the Peace Park which has been dedicated to the proposition that such an act should never occur again.

The Peace Dome today

A flame burns in the park and shall be extinguished only after all atomic weapons have been destroyed, a prospect that doesn't risk happening anytime in the near future.
In our roles as hosts, we accompanied 25 Virtuoso pilgrims on a tour of the Peace Park and the Peace museum. It was a nice, sunny day, if a bit cool, and a perfect day to stroll through the park. The complimentary excursion is included for cruise passengers who have booked their travel through a Virtuoso agent. Virtuoso has over 20,000 agents worldwide (I am one of them) who dedicate themselves to excellence in the profession. As a smaller tour than the one offered by the ship, we were able to stroll through the park at a leisurely pace and absorb the many different monuments and plaques which occupy the park.

A willow weeps in the Hiroshima Peace Park

The tour ended in the Peace museum which includes an interactive map showing the city before and after the bomb. It's hard to picture the meeting in which generals and civilians discussed which city would best suit the purpose of ending a brutal war by the means of unspeakable brutality and destruction. Hiroshima had no prisoner-of-war camps (although 2 American soldiers lost their lives), and contained many military depots, so they decided it was a perfect target. The citizens had prepared for traditional bombing (bad enough) but had no idea of the black fire which would reign down on them. Reliving the experience through the interactive map gives one chills and sends you away praying, "Never again." But then we returned to the ship to learn of a young man in New Zealand who willfully and angrily shot down over 50 innocent people. It seems brutality and destruction will always be with us.

A nice lunch was included in the tour, after which we went to a beautiful little park in the middle of the rebuilt downtown. All in all, it was a nice day giving one pause for reflection.