On my week-long potter’s pilgrimage, I made one stop for another reason. Since my chosen route took me through the city of Hiroshima, I arranged my train schedule to allow for a few hours’ pause to convey my wishes for peace and harmony at Peace Park. A skeleton of a building left standing, the A-Bomb Dome monument, once surrounded by devastation, now rises from a regenerated park, a green expanse dotted with memorial sculptures and monuments honoring the bomb’s victims.
It tugged at my heart to see flowers blooming in this hallowed place.
A group of school children gave speeches and bowed at the Children’s Memorial, a tall arch topped with a sculpture of a girl, arms wide open, a paper crane soaring over her head. The statue was inspired by the remembrance of a young girl, Sasaki Sadako, who died at age twelve from leukemia as a result of radiation exposure to the explosion when she was two. She tried to make one thousand paper cranes, hoping to aid her recovery. The monument now stands in memory of all the children who died. The class visiting the monument added their origami crane constructions to thousands that were already there, hanging in streams of all colors, a moving sight. It was difficult to see through my camera’s viewfinder as the tears kept flowing.
One could never have guessed that, in just months after my visit, Japan would again be dealing with a nuclear disaster (Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami).
An earlier pottery trip in Japan to Mashiko, home of Shoji Hamada: A Japanese treasure. Stops along this potter’s pilgrimage: Bizen, Hagi, Karatsu. This series is an excerpt from my book.
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Ruth Rosenfeld 
That must be an incredibly moving place to visit, Ruth. Standing in places like this and reading what it all means is an emotional experience. Human tragedy caused by humans. And the worst thing is, we never learn.
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So true and heartbreaking. This was an experience that will stay with me and still moves me. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment.
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What a tragic and emotional place to visit. To see flowers growing after such destruction is a testament to nature’s resilience. I read the book Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes in school when I was a kid but I didn’t realize (or maybe I just didn’t remember) that it was based on a real person.
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Diana, I’m glad to know that you read this in school. It’s important to pass the knowledge of these things to each new generation. I appreciate your thoughtful comment.
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What a moving place to have visited Ruth, even just seeing your pictures made me feel emotional, let along being there. I went to a nuclear war exhibition in Budapest and they had a room filled with a thousand paper cranes (I see Diana mentions it above) – this sort of event should never be repeated, but I am very scared it will be.
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Let’s hope not, but humans don’t always learn from history. Thanks for weighing in on this one, Hannah.
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Who doesn’t know about what happened in Hiroshima… however a turning point in history, it was a black page in the history of Japan. That an equal thing should happen years later with a nuclear plant could not be predicted.
Indeed an emotional place to visit.
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It was certainly a dark event for humankind. The disaster later that year was a natural one that caused damage to a nuclear plant, not equal but a scary peril. I appreciate your comment.
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Good to see that children are learning of this and other stories, and contributing to the memorial. Sad to see it happening again and again though. Maggie
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It was especially moving to be there for the children’s visit. So sad. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Maggie.
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It figures that humans developed atomic energy. Meaning, we’re too “smart” for our own good.
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There are good uses for these human inventions, but the consequences of misuse are too terrifying, that’s for sure.
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Lovely day to visit, with school children paying there respects. Thanks. for bringing some new memories of Hiroshima.
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It was good to see that school classes are brought there to learn about their history. Moving visit. Thanks for your comment.
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Japan is more than just the big cities of Tokyo and Osaka, or of its beautiful natural parks and temples: it’s also a site of tragedy and mourning in more-recent history, especially WWII. Hiroshima is a testament to the horrors of war, and to the unjust perpetrators of it all– the US. Very sobering experience, indeed.
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Yes, it’s humbling to think of the destruction my country caused. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment, Rebecca.
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And the weapon that devastated Hiroshima was a small one compared to those in arsenals today. It is hard to understand how some countries believe nuclear weapons make them safer. Everyone should visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The experience often provides a new perspective similar to seeing Earth from space.
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It’s hard to imagine that ramping up nuclear weapons will keep us safe. An accident is waiting to happen, or a ruler doing something unthinkable in anger. Thanks for your perspective, John.
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That is indeed hallowed ground. The beauty of remembrance and rebirth is profound.
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I agree.
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It’s such a tragedy what happened to Hiroshima. It’s good to hear that people are visiting to honour and remember the victims. I hope we’ll learn from our mistakes and that something like this will never happen again.
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We can only hope.
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It’s amazing to see, that despite its harrowing past, Hiroshima has not only recovered but is now a buzzing and exciting metropolis, with huge amounts of growth, lots of green open parks and a young, thriving population. Visiting Memorial Museums can be very unsettling and disturbing, but I think that emotional impact can change attitudes or behaviours in visitors. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva
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I usually don’t visit memorial museums, it’s too difficult emotionally. This had a different feel to it since it was an outdoor park. It still had a strong impact.
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What a tragic and devastating place to visit. It should have never happened. Seeing the beautiful blooms in the site of annihilation is heartbreaking, because in their fragility and transience, flowers are symbolic of human life. It is also a testament to nature’s resilience and regenerative powers. I hope to visit some day as I do feel that we all should make a pilgrimage to Hiroshima and learn about and from it.
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Your eloquent comment resonated with me, Leighton. Although there were many monuments and dedications at the site, the transient beauty of the flowers moved me most. Thanks for weighing in.
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What a harrowing place to visit. The paper cranes are so lovely.
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Although I was interested in visiting the site, I hadn’t planned on it because of the distance. But when I realized my pottery route could take me through there, it was important to me to make time to get to the park.
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How special to see those colourful flowers at a place with such a sad history … and the children at the memorial. Your post is a lovely tribute, thanks for that 🌸.
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I’m glad this post resonated with you. The visit really moved me, as you can tell.
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This was a memorial that I would have liked to see. That sounds a bit morbid but I do think we should pay our respects to those who died and to remind ourselves of the horror of nuclear weapons and war.
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I hadn’t planned to go there, but once my pottery trip brought me through Hiroshima, I felt it important to visit the Peace Park. Thanks for your comment.
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