Hiroshima Peace Museum. It's hard to put into words how I felt today as we moved slowly & silently shoulder to shoulder along the route that took us past first a large wall showing Hiroshima before 1945…and then after Aug 6, 1945. The pictures were gruesome and horrifying. The photographers who took them told how their tears made it hard to focus their cameras but felt the world needed to see this. The extreme pain & fear in the eyes of the victims bore a hole in me and the words of the survivors tore at my heart. Why keep looking, I kept asking myself. But it seemed so disrespectful, so unfair to the victims for me to walk away. Also, most of the crowd around me were Japanese. How would they feel if I just walked away? Like I didn't care? The museum honored the victims by not only displaying photos & film and plaques with explanations…but also clothing, personal items, parts of buildings & bridges found in the rubble. The stories of the survivors were raw with pain. One section traced the life of Sadako. I had read that story to my students many times. I knew it well. But seeing pictures of her when she was 2…at the time of the explosion and then several before she died of leukemia at 12…made it so much more real. Many of the tiny cranes she had folded were also there. She had so hoped that the folklore that said a person who folds 1000 cranes would be granted a wish was true. We have seen so many strings of folded cranes in windows, shrines, temples & in displays. Her spirit is so alive still. The numbers of others who died on Aug 6 and later as a result, is staggering. It's important to note the Japanese did not portray the US in a negative light. In fact, they stated that "their country initiated hostilities against the US and other countries." The final area of the museum was dedicated to the need to reduce the number of nuclear bombs and in hope to eliminate them totally. It was a strong cry for peace.
As we excited the museum, it was raining. Really the first rain we've had in Japan. It seemed so appropriate & symbolic like walking through the tears that have fallen in this city.
The next day, the sun came out so we headed for Peace Park filled with memorials: the cenotaph with the names of known victims, eternal flame, praying family, Children's Peace statue of Sadako, Peace Bell, a pillar ( which was the only remains of their school) with the names of the 650+ students & teachers who were killed there were etched, several trees that survived and fountains representing the thirst of those burned. Looming in the background is the skeleton of the A-Bomb Dome. As I approached the center of cenotaph for the victims, about 40 very young Japanese students stood in front of it singing a sweet song. Though I'll never know the lyrics of the song, I'll never forget the moment.
From there we went down into the National Peace Memorial Hall where pictures of the victims & stories of the hibakusha (explosion-affected person) were stored. One huge, round room had a 360 picture of the destroyed city with a waterfall in the center as the cry for water was heard throughout the city on Aug 6. Sobering…and yet we had been approached twice today by excited students wanting to practice their English by interviewing us. They laughed & were having a great time & then let us take their pictures before giving us origami gifts with thank you neatly printed on them. They gave me a generous dose of hope for the future. As you look around Hiroshima, it's quite astonishing to see how they've rebuilt this city which now looks like so many other modern cities. They also rebuilt the castle originally built in 1590 & the Shukkeien gardens. Visiting them was soothing. Lots of blooming cherry & plum trees greeted us there. Here also, hope bloomed in my heart!!
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Monday, March 3, 2025
Update #15
We took the train from Nara to Himeji. When we came to one of the stops on the way to Himeji, everyone got off which clued us in that we should get off. We noticed most crossed to the other side of the platform, so we did too & after questioning someone, found out that the train we were on would be going back to Nara. This happened one more time before we finally arrived in Himeji. We dropped our bags off at our hotel & then headed to the Himeji History Museum…but one the way, we found ourselves in the middle of a crowd where we saw all these people dressed up in elaborate costumes! We started snapping pictures which they seemed to encourage. Imagine seeing kids dressed in outrageous, darling, clever, silly, scary, remarkable and darn right funny costumes. We did not recognize most of the characters they were dressed like but it was sure entertaining!! (Later I looked it up & they were a cosplay mix of a popular anime movies). There was a two stage shows with performers singing & dancing. And a parking lot full of cars also "dressed" up! Just a unique spot to just happen to run into. To top it off, they sold those most delicious waffles mothered in whip cream & chocolate! The History Museum was not nearly as exciting but we did learn more about this area especially the 1995 earthquake. Next morning we headed out to see why we came to Himeji, the castle. Who doesn't want to see the castle known as the White Heron Castle?? It 's perched on the top of the highest point around & surrounded by a moat. After being asked to take our shoes off, in our stocking feet, we climbed up seven narrow & steep staircases with each floor empty but it you sure got the feel of the vastness of each floor. From the top you got a bird's eye view of the city and the castle garden, which is where we headed next. Known as the Koko-en, it was designed with lots of benches where you could rest and take in the beauty…which after climbing up & down 7 stories, we thoroughly enjoyed. the garden was just ready to fully pop with just the daffodils & camellia bushes blooming. The many stone pathways led you by manicured trees & bushes and over & around a fast moving stream which dumped into a large pond where colorful carp were swimming. Lovely hardly describes it. In the exit building, we were treated to several blossoming cherry & plum bonsai trees!! So we did all that we came to Himeji for…and more…so tomorrow we're taking the bullet train to Hiroshima.
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Update 14
You might be getting this twice?!
Nara was the first capital of Japan in 700 AD so it is filled with ancient buildings most of which have been or are being reconstructed. Original audience hall, shrines & temples galore to see. All humongous, decorative with traditional curved roofs. Unfortunately the palace & 5 story pagoda were tented & being worked on so we didn't get to see them. We stayed 3 days so we visited most of the rest of them. The Todaiji Temple was the most impressive with its 17' tall bronze Buddha flanked by two bodhisttua (soon to be Buddhas). The temple is the largest wooden structure in the world. In 728 AD, the emperor decreed that everyone was to help build it so over 1/2 the population at the time (2 1/2 million) worked on it! Long ago someone gifted deers to the emperor so today hundreds of them roam freely over the large grounds. Somehow they keep the poop cleaned up. While we were there, a group of elementary school kids with their clipboards interviewed us and we in turn, interviewed them. Great way to practice English! Close by was the lovely Isuien Gardens. Peaceful, well groomed green space with a frolicking stream running through it which has stone bridges you could cross on. Our next stop was to admire a display of darling porcelain face dolls dressed in traditional clothing. Some serving tea and others playing instruments. The cultural center was our next stop which was home to several statues & articles found during the excavation around this area. Yakushiji Temple was another temple in the area which has been around for just 1300 yrs. It was flanked by two 3 story pagodas. I love seeing pagodas! That temple also had a huge Buddha and had recently been restored. The building next to it was set up for monks to copy sutras (sacred Buddha teachings) which they sell and use the money to pay for restoration. It was time for another view of the area so we just walked around a small town just outside the temple. It appeared to have lots of nice single family homes with just a few unkept apartment buildings. There were several large gardens which seemed to be for the community surrounding it. The gardens had onions & lettuce growing and lots of space for more spring planting. Also we saw several rice paddies with cement sides not in use. Maybe later?? We had one more shrine to see, Kasugataisha Shrine famous for the thousands of bronze & golden lanterns that adorn it. Walking up the hill to it you pass hundreds of cement pillars with lanterns on top that are covered in moss and have plants growing out of them. The whole temple is surrounded by a dense forest. Here too deer roam freely as they are believed to be messengers of deities. Each year in December since 1136 AD there is a huge festival with dancers, monks & horses. That's one long time tradition!
Just a quick side note: our Airbnb is like living in a RV! Just a little space on the side of the bed, TV trays to set up next to bed, and the smallest, shortest frig I've ever seen. The bathroom sink faucet can be turned to fill the half size tub & turn on the shower. You can brush your teeth sitting on the heated toilet seat! It's close to the bus stops & train station so it's been a fun little, truly little place to be!
Nara was the first capital of Japan in 700 AD so it is filled with ancient buildings most of which have been or are being reconstructed. Original audience hall, shrines & temples galore to see. All humongous, decorative with traditional curved roofs. Unfortunately the palace & 5 story pagoda were tented & being worked on so we didn't get to see them. We stayed 3 days so we visited most of the rest of them. The Todaiji Temple was the most impressive with its 17' tall bronze Buddha flanked by two bodhisttua (soon to be Buddhas). The temple is the largest wooden structure in the world. In 728 AD, the emperor decreed that everyone was to help build it so over 1/2 the population at the time (2 1/2 million) worked on it! Long ago someone gifted deers to the emperor so today hundreds of them roam freely over the large grounds. Somehow they keep the poop cleaned up. While we were there, a group of elementary school kids with their clipboards interviewed us and we in turn, interviewed them. Great way to practice English! Close by was the lovely Isuien Gardens. Peaceful, well groomed green space with a frolicking stream running through it which has stone bridges you could cross on. Our next stop was to admire a display of darling porcelain face dolls dressed in traditional clothing. Some serving tea and others playing instruments. The cultural center was our next stop which was home to several statues & articles found during the excavation around this area. Yakushiji Temple was another temple in the area which has been around for just 1300 yrs. It was flanked by two 3 story pagodas. I love seeing pagodas! That temple also had a huge Buddha and had recently been restored. The building next to it was set up for monks to copy sutras (sacred Buddha teachings) which they sell and use the money to pay for restoration. It was time for another view of the area so we just walked around a small town just outside the temple. It appeared to have lots of nice single family homes with just a few unkept apartment buildings. There were several large gardens which seemed to be for the community surrounding it. The gardens had onions & lettuce growing and lots of space for more spring planting. Also we saw several rice paddies with cement sides not in use. Maybe later?? We had one more shrine to see, Kasugataisha Shrine famous for the thousands of bronze & golden lanterns that adorn it. Walking up the hill to it you pass hundreds of cement pillars with lanterns on top that are covered in moss and have plants growing out of them. The whole temple is surrounded by a dense forest. Here too deer roam freely as they are believed to be messengers of deities. Each year in December since 1136 AD there is a huge festival with dancers, monks & horses. That's one long time tradition!
Just a quick side note: our Airbnb is like living in a RV! Just a little space on the side of the bed, TV trays to set up next to bed, and the smallest, shortest frig I've ever seen. The bathroom sink faucet can be turned to fill the half size tub & turn on the shower. You can brush your teeth sitting on the heated toilet seat! It's close to the bus stops & train station so it's been a fun little, truly little place to be!
Update #14
Nara was the first capital of Japan in 700 AD so it is filled with ancient buildings most of which have been or are being reconstructed. Original audience hall, shrines & temples galore to see. All humongous, decorative with traditional curved roofs. Unfortunately the palace & 5 story pagoda were tented & being worked on so we didn't get to see them. We stayed 3 days so we visited most of the rest of them. The Todaiji Temple was the most impressive with its 17' tall bronze Buddha flanked by two bodhisttua (soon to be Buddhas). The temple is the largest wooden structure in the world. In 728 AD, the emperor decreed that everyone was to help build it so over 1/2 the population at the time (2 1/2 million) worked on it! Long ago someone gifted deers to the emperor so today hundreds of them roam freely over the large grounds. Somehow they keep the poop cleaned up. While we were there, a group of elementary school kids with their clipboards interviewed us and we in turn, interviewed them. Great way to practice English! Close by was the lovely Isuien Gardens. Peaceful, well groomed green space with a frolicking stream running through it which has stone bridges you could cross on. Our next stop was to admire a display of darling porcelain face dolls dressed in traditional clothing. Some serving tea and others playing instruments. The cultural center was our next stop which was home to several statues & articles found during the excavation around this area. Yakushiji Temple was another temple in the area which has been around for just 1300 yrs. It was flanked by two 3 story pagodas. I love seeing pagodas! That temple also had a huge Buddha and had recently been restored. The building next to it was set up for monks to copy sutras (sacred Buddha teachings) which they sell and use the money to pay for restoration. It was time for another view of the area so we just walked around a small town just outside the temple. It appeared to have lots of nice single family homes with just a few unkept apartment buildings. There were several large gardens which seemed to be for the community surrounding it. The gardens had onions & lettuce growing and lots of space for more spring planting. Also we saw several rice paddies with cement sides not in use. Maybe later?? We had one more shrine to see, Kasugataisha Shrine famous for the thousands of bronze & golden lanterns that adorn it. Walking up the hill to it you pass hundreds of cement pillars with lanterns on top that are covered in moss and have plants growing out of them. The whole temple is surrounded by a dense forest. Here too deer roam freely as they are believed to be messengers of deities. Each year in December since 1136 AD there is a huge festival with dancers, monks & horses. That's one long time tradition!
Just a quick side note: our Airbnb is like living in a RV! Just a little space on the side of the bed, TV trays to set up next to bed, and the smallest, shortest frig I've ever seen. The bathroom sink faucet can be turned to fill the half size tub & turn on the shower. You can brush your teeth sitting on the heated toilet seat! It's close to the bus stops & train station so it's been a fun little, truly little place to be!
Just a quick side note: our Airbnb is like living in a RV! Just a little space on the side of the bed, TV trays to set up next to bed, and the smallest, shortest frig I've ever seen. The bathroom sink faucet can be turned to fill the half size tub & turn on the shower. You can brush your teeth sitting on the heated toilet seat! It's close to the bus stops & train station so it's been a fun little, truly little place to be!
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