Nagasaki Peace Park
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
located in Nagasaki, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, commemorating the atomic bombing
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
of the city on August 9, 1945 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
Established in 1955, and near to the hypocentre of the explosion, remnants of a concrete wall of Urakami CathedralUrakami Cathedral
St. Mary's Cathedral, often known as Urakami Cathedral after its location Urakami, is a Roman Catholic church located in Motoomachi, Nagasaki, Japan.- History :...
can still be seen. Urakami Cathedral was the grandest church in east Asia at the time. At the park's north end is the 10-meter-tall Peace Statue created by sculptor Seibou Kitamura of Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...
. The statue's right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons while the extended left hand symbolizes eternal peace. The mild face symbolizes divine grace and the gently closed eyes offer a prayer for the repose of the bomb victims' souls. The folded right leg and extended left leg signify both meditation and the initiative to stand up and rescue the people of the world. Installed in front of the statue is a black marble vault containing the names of the atomic bomb victims and survivors who died in subsequent years.
Plaque
A plaque at the nearby hypocentre gives the following account and statistics of the damage caused that day.| 1. Leveled Area: | 6.7 million square meters (2.59 square miles) |
| 2. Damaged Houses: | |
| Completely burned: | 11,574 |
| Completely destroyed: | 1,326 |
| Badly damaged: | 5,509 |
| Total structures damaged: | 18,409 |
|---|---|
| 3. Casualties: | |
| Killed: | 73,884 |
| Injured: | 74,909 |
| Total: | 148,793 |
(Large numbers of people have died in the following years from the effects of radioactive poisoning)
Peace Memorial Ceremony
Every year, on 9 August, the anniversary of the atomic bombing, a Peace Memorial Ceremony is held in front of the statue and the MayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Nagasaki delivers a Peace Declaration to the World.
At the south end of the park is a "Fountain of Peace". This was constructed in August, 1969, as a prayer for the repose of the souls of the many atomic bomb victims who died searching for water, and as a dedication to world peace. Lines from a poem by a girl named Sachiko Yamaguchi, who was nine at the time of the bombing, are carved on a black stone plaque in front of the fountain. It reads: "I was thirsty beyond endurance. There was something oily on the surface of the water, but I wanted water so badly that I drank it just as it was."
Peace Symbols Zone
In 1978 the city of Nagasaki established a "Peace Symbols Zone" on both sides of the park and invited donations of monuments from countries round the world. The following monuments can be seen in the park:- "Relief of Friendship" from PortoPortoPorto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, Portugal (Nagasaki's sister city), 1978 - "Joy of Life" from CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, (donated to Nagasaki in 1980). The bronze statue 260 cm in height was made by Czech sculptor Jan Hána (1927–1994) in 1975. - "A Call" from BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, 1980 - "Monument of People's Friendship" from the former German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, 1981 - "Protection of Our Future" from the city of MiddelburgMiddelburgMiddelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
, The Netherlands (Nagasaki's sister city), 1983 - "Statue of Peace" from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 1985
- "Maiden of Peace" from the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, 1985 - "Flower of Love and Peace" from PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, 1986 - "Hymn to Life" from the City of PistoiaPistoiaPistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...
,Italy, 1987 - "Sun Crane of Peace" from the Republic of CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, 1988 - "Monument of Peace" from SantosSantos (São Paulo)-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
, Brazil (Nagasaki's sister city), 1988 - "Infinity" from AnkaraAnkaraAnkara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Republic of Turkey, 1991 - "Constellation Earth" from St. Paul, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, USA (Nagasaki's sister city), 1992 - "Triumph of Peace over War" from the City of San IsidroSan IsidroIsidro and Ysidro are Spanish forms of the personal name Isidore. San Isidro or San Ysidro may refer to:-People:* Agot Isidro , Filipina actress...
, Argentina, 1996 - "Te Korowai RangimarieKingsley BairdKingsley Baird is a Wellington-based artist and designer whose commissions include the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the National War Memorial of New Zealand and Te Korowai Rangimarie - Cloak of Peace - at Nagasaki Peace Park....
- Cloak of Peace" from New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, 2006.