A Moment of Silence in Hiroshima

Historical Background: Hiroshima: Source: Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction

· The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The Japanese were amongst the last to not surrender for the war

· 8:16am the bomb was dropped 600m above Hiroshima (Southern Japan)

· The plane that dropped the bomb was named the Enola Gay.

· The A-bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had names (Fat Man & Little Boy)

· Ground Temperature when the A-Bomb dropped 7000 degrees Fahrenheit

· There were hurricane force winds that were 980 miles per hour

· The energy released was 20,000 tons of TNT

· 62,000 buildings were destroyed. The Genbaku Dome still remained standing. It's a UNESCO site today.

· Everything within a 2km radius was completely destroyed, and further injury still beyond that.

· 70,000 people were immediately killed

· By the end of 1945, 140,000 people were dead

· Total Deaths related to the A-bomb: 210,000 people

· 3 days later after the Hiroshima bombing, the U.S. dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki (August 9th) 70,000 people were immediately killed.

Traveling to Hiroshima should be a must for every human being. The city itself is a living reminder of the terrible things that humanity can do to other human beings. We often get sucked into our lives and get upset about mundane things. It's very unsettling to also know that many people that are still alive today actually witnessed this time period in history.

Turtles and cranes in Japanese history and folklore symbolize longevity. Long live the souls of people who died in vain.

Walking around the city, you can't help notice that the city has a lot of green spaces. They support nature here and you see a lot of trees and plants, unlike other cities in Japan. There definitely is an urge to promote peace in Hiroshim and nature goes hand in hand with peace.

Graveyards full of people who lost their lives or were affected by the bombing of Hiroshima. Japanese people pay their respect by cleaning the stones, bringing flowers and food for the graves. If you walk through, you will sometimes see offerings of fruit around particular holiday times. Veneration of ancestors is pretty typical in Asian culture. You will also see osenko (incense) burning if someone has just visited.

Women who wore kimonos which were made of silk found out that the silk burned onto their skin in the design patterns of their kimono. Birds flying in the sky, had their wings ripped out and they fell to the ground with just the cartilage pieces in their wings but they were still alive.

An intense thirst took place with many people after the bomb. They looked for the closest water supply which was the lake. Upon drinking the water, people died quicker because of the intense amount of radiation.

Another effect that took place on innocent civilians was the development of "microcephaly" amongst babies. In other instances, the A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) had symptoms of sickness that were sporadic. Some of the A-bomb survivors would get sick at sporadic times. Still to this day, its unexpected when they get sick or not.

There is a memorial dedicated for children who lost their life. You can see that many colourful posters and folder origami are encased within the glass boxes. Many schools make pilgrimages here and contribute some of the items within the cases. In this sense, teaching kids about this topic and allowing them to see it is POWERFUL!

Let's not repeat the past. People died in vain and it goes to show you how human beings can be greedy & destructive.