Memorials

Many people died because of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Monuments were built in memory of the victims, and they remind people of the dangers of nuclear weapons. Click on the pictures to see larger images.

The Children’s Monument is located in the Peace Memorial Park. It was built in 1958 in memory of Sadako Sasaki and other children killed by the atomic bomb. Sadako’s friends established Hiroshima Children’s Association for Peace, and had numerous fund raisers. The money was used to build the Children’s Peace Monument. Cranes are said to live a thousand years, so the young Sadako decided that if she were to make a thousand cranes, she would live for a very long time too. People remember this statement, and string paper cranes together and lay them near the monuments in her memory. The inscription on the monument reads: "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world."

The Memorial Mound is also located in the Peace Memorial Park. Thousands of boxes of ashes lie beneath the mound. Most of these ashes are unidentified. Even today, people are claiming the old ashes. Every summer the names of the people’s ashes stored in the mound are released to the public. People who cannot find their loved ones are invited to pray for the souls of other homeless dead on August 6 of each year.

The Cenotaph is another monument made in memory of the people who died due to the atomic bomb. It is a replica of an ancient clay house. Beneath the Cenotaph lies a registry of those who died from the bomb. People go there to lay flowers or to light incense and pray for the dead. The plaque on the registry reads: "Rest in peace. The mistake will not be repeated." 217,137 names have been recorded on the registry as of August 6, 2000. The peace memorial ceremony is held in front of the Cenotaph. This is also the spot where people stage sit-ins to protest the use of nuclear war weapons.

Hiroshima is an important city that teaches people about peace and the tragedy of an atomic bomb and other nuclear war weapons. These buildings honor the dead and remind people to work for world peace.

For more information about peace memorials, go to this web site. You will be leaving our site so use the back button to return.

To read more about memorials on our site, click the cranes.