We all felt that it was important to visit Hiroshima. We first went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. We decided to buy the audio guide, and we were so glad that we did. It made the stories come to life, and have that much more impact. I hadn’t ever studied the bombing of Hiroshima, so all this information and imagery was very emotional and tough to swallow. The images of affected people didn’t hold back, and gave the viewer the true feeling of devastation and pain; not even an ounce of what they were feeling. We learned more about specific individuals and families that were hit and their stories. How family members were sometimes never found, or if they were, they were unrecognizable. That families would watch each other die, and sometimes feel so much pain and loss that they would take their own lives to escape the horror. Or that children would be left orphaned and lose their appetite when they saw a family together. There were clothing items that showed the effect of the bomb, some of which were said to be seared to the individual’s skin and had to be cut off. Other items such as watches, wallets and coins were the only things left of a person that was never found or identified. We spent about three hours in the museum, there was so much to see and read about, and I’m glad I have a larger perspective and educated mind on the event.
We walked around the surrounding area after visiting the museum and saw the one building that is still standing from the bomb. It was quite eerie. I read that there was much debate over keeping the building or not, while it preserves the history of the event, did it bring back too many horrifying memories for those who survived? We also got to see the Children’s Peace Memorial inspired by Sadako and her paper cranes. I’m glad I read the book, as it made me feel more emotionally aware of the story behind the statue and its overall meaning. There were huge containers surrounding the memorial, all filled with paper cranes. I’m glad we travelled to Hiroshima to learn more about its history.