Coming to Nagasaki is something we have both wanted to do. Japan has the tragic distinction of being the only country in the world to have been attacked with nuclear bombs…both in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For us, coming from a different part of the world, we want to learn what the people of Nagasaki experienced, bear witness to these tragic events and thus honour the horrors suffered that day and its long lasting impact.
The water feature below is located very close to the hypocentre of the blast. It presents as a serene, thoughtful place.
This water feature is a memorial to victims of the atomic bomb. The water represents the unbearable thirst victims experienced…water they needed but couldn’t get. At night 70,000 lights illuminate the water meant to represent the victims.
Spending time in Nagasaki, one cannot escape the horrors of that fateful day, nor a sense of the overriding despair and unimaginable suffering experienced by all who were in Nagasaki that day. Yet, after visiting the museum and spending time at monuments throughout the city, the overriding message we have gotten is not one of vengeance , but one of urgency to honour the victims, share what we learned and help to ensure this never happens again. A large focus of the museum is the sharing personal stories, thereby humanizing the horror. Barry and I learned of individual stories which will stay with us. A mother and her infant, both badly burned by the blast, the mother clinging to life, semi clothed trying to feed her child….a young boy with a badly burned back who spent years in excruciating pain on his stomach enduring painful treatments..begging to be put out of his misery. I watched him recount his story and learned that he was determined to be part of a solution which would see a world free of nuclear bombs. He spends much of his time visiting schools and sharing his story.
This statue outside the bomb museum is dedicated to the teachers and students killed in the bombing with hopes for better times in the symbol of peace, the dove.
An eerie and tangible reminder of that day at 11:02 am when the bomb exploded and the clock which was mangled by the atomic blast, stopped….frozen in time.
Urakami Cathedral, located 1/2 km from the Hypocentre of the blast, sustained significant damage. This reconstructed portion of the Cathedral is part of the exhibit and was of interest to us, as we will later visit the church.
Urakami Cathedral, completed in 1914, was the largest Cathedral in east Asia. Portuguese Explorers brought Christianity to Japan in the 17th century and since Christianity was banned until the 19th century, Japanese Christians lived very secret lives and were known as “hidden Christians”. Once the ban was lifted, Urakami Church (predecessor of the Cathedral) was built.
US bomber Bockscar deployed this nuclear bomb called Fatman.
The bomb was dropped by the US bomber Bockscar, 9,600 metres above Nagasaki. The bomb exploded 500 m above the northern part of the city. Surface temperature at the Hypocentre reached 3-4000 centigrade, with a blast wind maxing out at 400 metres/sec. We learned how arbitrary it was that this city was bombed. The original target was a different city, but due to weather Nagasaki was chosen. Nagasaki nearly escaped the bombing due to weather as well, but at the last moment the skies cleared and the bomb was dropped. Ideal conditions were not essential as the thought was that it would be a good experiment of how the bomb could perform. The significant factor we learned was that the decision to drop the nuclear with no notice given to residents was a deliberate choice in what would become a civilian disaster on an epic scale not seen before. Within a 1 km radius, almost all of the humans and animals in this area were killed instantly by the immense explosion, pressure and heat waves. Houses and buildings were reduced to ruin engulfed in fire. Unlike Hiroshima where 7,000 - 20,000 soldiers were killed, in Nagasaki, 150 soldiers were killed.
Such carnage…all is reduced to ash and rubble. The survivors were in shock and had no concept of the mortality rate nor the sustained health problems they would endure lifelong.
There is a phenomenal resource at the museum of survivors telling their stories, verbally on video and in pictures. This man suffered terrible burns and radiation damage which plagued him throughout his life. It was heartbreaking to hear his story and the persecution he suffered later in life for some of the deformities he suffered.
This image haunts us of the young boy, the sole survivor of his family, carrying his deceased infant brother on his back. He stands patiently waiting someone to take his brother for burial. Such dignity in the face of unimaginable horror.
Dr. Nagai, a Catholic radiologist in Nagasaki returned home to find his wife’s rosary, his wife had perished. He spent much of his life writing, supporting others and in prayer. This earned him the affectionate title of the Saint of Urakami. During the blast he suffered a serious brain injury but he continued caring for the sick and dying until his death of leukemia.
The woman on the screen below is a nurse and she found herself to be the sole medically trained survivor in her area. Hard to imagine the reality she dealt with on her own.
This young Japanese boy sat beside me for some time absorbing these moving testimonies of survivors. The details of the day were hard to hear, but each had a surprisingly stoic and positive message. Share my story…never forget…and never let this happen again.
Colourful hanging garlands of paper cranes. Each year, well wishers from across Japan and around the world send 1000’s of these folded origami cranes to Nagasaki as prayers for peace. It is stunning to see the sheer volume of these visible outpourings of support on display throughout the grounds and the museum.
It makes you wonder…if world leaders listened to the young, wouldn’t the world be a better place? Love the positive energy these girls put into the origami cranes they donated.
As you can imagine, once we emerged outside from the museum, we needed to clear our heads. This called for food and a long walk. We will visit the Peace Park tomorrow before we leave.
Wandering the back streets of Nagasaki we came upon a great Ramen place. These small, unassuming cafes offer the best food….and so reasonable.
Good to the last drop. Behind us are some hungry young lads who have come in after school for some food before heading home. They were very entertaining in trying to solve puzzles that the restaurant provided.
I failed miserably. All three pieces must be separated. One fellow behind me did it very quickly, whereas his friends struggled as I did. I guess it is not just my age that is the problem.
Shipping items in Japan is fast and cheap. Japanese people often travel without luggage and ship it on to their next stop. In some of the more difficult areas, we have fantasized that perhaps our trikes would fit inside this cube truck.
Our walk took us to a mall down the street. It is a pretty cold and windy day which makes the Ferris wheel pretty quiet. We find wandering through Japanese stores a lot of fun and very enlightening about life in Japan.
