Fountain of Peace- Many of those killed in the atomic bombing died calling for water. This fountain is dedicated to their memory. The inscribed passage is taken from the diary of a young woman who experienced the bombing. She wrote, "I was so terribly thirsty..." The constantly changing pattern of the falling water looks like the wing-beats of a dove... apparently.
Flame of Commitment - The flame on the top of this torch is actually the Olympic flame received by the City of Nagasaki from Greece in 1983. It's the only time the flame has been removed for something other than the olympics. They will keep it burning until all world nuclear weapons are gone.
Urakami Cathedral Wall - The biggest most elaborate Catholic church in all of East Asia until it was destroyed in the bombing (Nagasaki has (had) a huge christian population because it was the premiere trading harbor with the East since the 18th century). This section of the southern wall of the sanctuary was saved and rebuilt.
Peace Statue - This thing is massive! I am sitting 20 feet from the base of the statue unveiled in 1955 on the 10th anniversary of the atomic bombing. The right hand points to the sky and the threat of nuclear weapons, while the left hand symbolizes peace. The eyes are closed in a prayer for the dead.
Peace park is covered with these long strands of hand-made Origami cranes. Each statue and memorial had hundreds of strands of thousands of cranes. This is just one spot.
Peace park is covered with these long strands of hand-made Origami cranes. Each statue and memorial had hundreds of strands of thousands of cranes. This is just one spot.
Something I learned - The "Bockscar" was actually flying to Kokura, Japan to drop the bomb, but due to visibility issues it changed course to Nagasaki since the company Mitsubishi (yeah, crazy huh) had a massive arms factory there.
Posts
