Mission at Hiroshima's dome: Saving blasted bits of history

[yuiyoshida]

Kimie Mihara
In this July 3, 2015 photo, Kimie Mihara, a survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing, looks at the Atomic Bomb Dome, as it is known today in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, southern Japan. Built in 1915, the dome building was a rare example of Western architecture in Hiroshima at the time. Czech architect Jan Letzel designed it to be a city landmark and an exhibition hall for industrial and cultural promotion. Mihara was a worker at a government office in the dome building in 1945. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

HIROSHIMA, Japan —

The crumbling brick and concrete walls of the Atomic Bomb Dome, as it is known today, rise above the Motoyasu River. The bomb so devastated Hiroshima that there are few other reminders of the city that was here seven decades ago.

“I didn’t want to see this place for a long time,” said Kimie Mihara, a fragile but straight-backed 89-year-old. She walked slowly around the fenced-off ruin, now roofless save for the dome’s skeleton.

On the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, this building was her office. She was running late to work. That’s the only reason she’s still alive.

“When this was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site, I thought of coming here. But I still didn’t want to see this place,” she said.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/mission-at-hiroshimas-dome-saving-blasted-bits-of-history

[CBGLuthier]

1. I saw a report on NHK the other day that 70% of Japanese do not know the exact dates

of the bombs being dropped. Kind of depressing that such a terrible thing has already begun to fade in memory. It did say that the residents of Nagasaki and Hiroshima showed better results but you would expect them to.

The other day they aired a show that talked about Japanese war movies including one called Black Rain that had the misfortune to come out the same year as Ridley Scott's film of the same name. Looked like a good movie even though I imagine it will be depressing.

[davidpdx]

2. I read this one earlier

I hope to get to Hiroshima sometime in my life. This year was not in the cards and 2020 will be a mess because the Summer Olympics will be occurring during the 75th anniversary.

[Godhumor]

3. Been there twice, including once on the anniversary of the bombing

Really interesting combination of what you'd expect (museum, paper cranes, memorials, warped trees) and a city that has moved on.

Visiting on the anniversary was the only time ever I felt uncomfortable as an American in Japan.