Nagasaki 長崎県 – City of Peace

After experiencing “Hell”, we made our way to Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and Nagasaki Peace Park. They are a short walk away from each other.

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum was opened in April 1996 as part of the 50th-anniversary projects for the Nagasaki atomic bombing. The Museum exhibits relics, as well as photographs, taken immediately after the bomb that depicts the devastation caused by the atomic bomb, leading up to the tragic day. The Museum also has Peace Study Rooms for listening to survivors’ talks and video rooms.

In 1949, the Japanese government enacted the “Nagasaki International Culture City Construction Law” to help the city recover from the atomic bombing. Nagasaki assumed a new role as a symbol of peace and culture – “Peace Begins in Nagasaki”.

The atomic bomb that exploded over Nagasaki at 11.02 a.m. on 9 August 1945 instantaneously reduced the city to ruins and took with it many precious lives. This wall clock (refer to below picture) was used in a house in Motofuna-machi about 2.8 kilometres south of the hypocentre. It was damaged by the blast and stopped at 11.02, the moment of the explosion. This clock is a donation by Ryoho Fumotoi.

The atomic bomb (refer to picture below – life-size model) dropped on Nagasaki was given the nickname “Fat Man” because of its shape. At a length of 3.25 metre, 1.52 metre in diameter and weighing 4.5 tons with an energy explosive force equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT. The energy released from the explosion is presumed to have consisted of the blast (approximately 50% of the total energy), heat rays (approximately 35% of the total energy), and radiation (approximately 15% of the total energy).

Before the atomic explosion on 9 August 1945, the population of Nagasaki City was approximately 240,000. The atomic bomb caused 73,884 people to lose their lives and 74,909 people injured. Many atomic bomb survivors suffered from physical and psychological damage.

At the Museum, I had mixed emotions. I felt sad for the people at Nagasaki yet relieved that Japan decided to surrender after this incident.

Atomic Bomb Hypocentre

From the Atomic Bomb Museum, we made our way to the Atomic Bomb Hypocentre – ground zero – the place where an atomic bomb exploded approximately 500 metres above at 11.02 am on the 9th of August 1945. It was the second atomic bomb used in the history of mankind after the bombing of Hiroshima on 6th August 1945.

The Hypo Centre area is a place to pray for the repose of the atomic bomb victims, to inform the world about the horror of the atomic bombing and to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons and for the realisation of lasting world peace.

Peace Fountain

From ground zero, we made our way to The Peace Park and reached the Peace Fountain, a place to pray for those victims who passed away whilst begging for water. The ever-changing shape of the water evokes the beating wings of the dove of peace and the crane. The crane is representative of Nagasaki Port, which is known as the ‘Crane Port’, because of its shape.

The Peace Statue

We continued our way to look for The Peace Statue created by Selbo Kitamura. The statue was erected by the citizens of Nagasaki in August 1955, on the 10th anniversary of the devastation of this city by the atomic bomb. The ten-metre bronze statue was dedicated as an appeal for lasting world peace and as a prayer that such a tragedy would never be repeated.

The elevated right-hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons, while the outstretched left hand symbolises tranquillity and world peace. Divine omnipotence and love are embodied in the sturdy physique and gentle countenance of the statue, and a prayer for the repose of the souls of all war victims is expressed in the closed eyes. The folded right leg symbolises quiet meditation, while the left leg is poised for action in assisting humanity.

Atomic Bombing 50th Anniversary Commemorative Monument

This monument created by Nagasaki-born sculptor, Naoki Tominaga, expresses the horror of the atomic bombing, prays for the repose of the souls of the victims, through the form of a stricken child sleeping in her mother’s warm embrace. The child is like Japan on the day of the atomic bombing, while the mother represents the support provided by the countries of the world in Japan’s efforts to build the peace nation that it has become today.

After walking around for a bit, we bought some snacks and drinks and ate at the Peace Park while we decide where to go next. We check out the Google map and found out that we are a short drive to Mount Inasa. Traffic was getting heavy as it was almost six in the evening.

Mount Inasa (Inasayama)

Mount Inasa is a 333-metre high mountain in close distance to Nagasaki’s city centre offering a great view over the city. The night view from Mount Inasa is ranked among Japan’s three best night views besides the views from Mount Hakodate and Mount Rokko. Mount Inasa is reachable by bus, car and ropeway. We drove up and parked our rental car at the open carpark located at midway, then took a free shuttle bus to the summit.

There is a daily light display from sunset until ten at the Mount Inasa Summit Radio Tower with music playing in the background. The changing colour of the light display went beautifully with the music in the background.

From the summit of Mount Inasa, we looked down onto the Nagasaki Port, the Peace Park area to Megami Bridge.

The view was great and a nice way to end our evening and our visit to Nagasaki.

Stay tuned for my next update on our experience at Kagoshima.

This trip was made in October 2017.

The Lowdown

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

Address: 7-8 Hirano-machi Nagasaki City 852-8117 Japan

Telephone: 95 814 0055

Admission Fee: 200 Yen for Adults and 100 Yen for Students

Opening Hours: 8:30 to 17:30 (last admission at 17:00) Closed from 29 to 31 December

For more information, go to nagasakipeace.jp.

Mount Inasa

Address: 407-6 Fuchimachi, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture 852-8012, Japan

Telephone: 95 861 7742

Admission Fee: Free Admission

Opening Hours: 9:00 to 22:00 Daily

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