A-bomb Dome more than just a historic site

Embracing World Heritage By Yosuke Sakurai

On the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by a single bomb known as Little Boy.

Three meters long and weighing four tons, the atomic bomb exploded 600 meters above Hiroshima.

As of December that year, the bomb had killed between 130,000 and 150,000 people, and devastated an area of the city extending one kilometer from the hypocenter.

Sunao Tsuboi, 80, chairman of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organization, was about a kilometer away from the hypocenter when Little Boy exploded.

"I was on my way to class, when there was this huge explosion," said Tsuboi, who was a 20-year-old university student at the time. "The blast threw me about 10 meters, knocking me unconscious. When I came to, I realized my face and arms were severely burned and swollen."

On July 25, the United States decided on four cities--Hiroshima; Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture; Niigata, and Nagasaki--as possible targets for the world's first atomic bomb attack. U.S. President Harry Truman on Aug. 2 chose Hiroshima as the primary target. One reason Hiroshima was chosen as the first target was because it was the only city believed to have no prisoner-of-war camps.

Three B-29 bombers took off on the morning of Aug. 6. The Enola Gay carried the atomic bomb. A second bomber carried scientific equipment and the third had photographic equipment. Receiving the report that the skies over Hiroshima were clear, the Enola Gay headed straight for the city.

The target was the Aioi Bridge in the city center. At 8:15 a.m., the bomber released its load from an altitude of 9,600 meters. The bomb detonating about 300 meters southeast of the bridge.

Now known as the A-bomb Dome, the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was built in April 1915 along the banks of the Motoyasugawa river. Its name was changed in 1921 to the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall and to the Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Hall in 1933.

Standing 160 meters northwest of the hypocenter, the heat rays instantly ignited the building's ceiling and left the building heavily damaged. No one in the structure survived.

Yet because the center of the blast came from almost directly above, some parts of the A-bomb Dome were left standing.

The A-bomb Dome was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1996 under the name Hiroshima Peace Memorial (GENBAKU Dome).

Through the efforts of many people, it has been preserved in the state in which it was found immediately following the bombing.

Now 60 years after the blast, the A-bomb Dome is in dire need of restoration work, despite repairs made in 1967, 1990 and 2003.

The Hiroshima city government has established a committee to discuss how best to preserve the building. "The committee is discussing the best way to preserve the dome," said Katsuhiko Sasaki, deputy section chief of the urban development planning section of the city. "One idea is to construct a building to house the dome."

"Some people are indifferent about preserving the A-bomb Dome because they believe it holds bad memories for A-bomb survivors. But I think the building should be preserved as a symbol of peace and we must express our hopes of peace not only for Japan, but for the rest of the whole world," Tsuboi said.