Hiroshima - the place for praying

In the middle of June 2017, Kyoho Grapes were rapidly growing.
Every year, I feel happy and comfortable to see them grow.
Various tones of green....
So beautiful.

Flowers and egg plants in my own garden were also at their best in this term.

About 2 weeks prior to the flower and plant season, I visited Hiroshima to participate in a medical meeting.
The day before opening of the meeting, my colleagues and I went to a Okonomiyaki shop. It looked old and even rusty for me, but the traditional Hiroshima-styled Okonomiyaki was so good!
(Okonomiyaki means "savoury pancake containing meat or seafood, vegetables, and noodles". See below.)

The photo below demonstrates a completed Okonomiyaki with brown sauce.
It goes well with Beer, of course!

It is quite natural to think about War and Peace when we come to Hiroshima.

This city is well known for its tragedy caused by Atomic Bombing in 1945.

In the morning on June 9, 2017, I walked along Oota River to approach the Atomic Bomb Dome (A-Bomb Dome), imagining similar blue sky in the calm morning of August 6, 1945.

On the way to the Dome, you can see many pavement reliefs indicating "Promenade of Peace" under your feet. (↓)

The Dome....
I was standing quietly, hearing birds singing and dead people talking.
Talking in their daily lives 72 years ago.

Near the Dome, you can see "Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound".
The ashes of victims excavated around the city were placed under the round-shaped mound.

The next point to visit is "Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum". (↓)The horse shoe-like shaped monument has list of names of over 290,000 victims under the ground.
Most of the dead people suffered from burn and radiation injury, and they tried to escape from high temperature and severe thirsty, diving into rivers. Therefore, the monument is surrounded by ponds filled with clear water, so that the water can relieve thirsty of the victims.
A-Bomb Dome, the monument for the victims (↑), and the Peace Museum stand in a straight line.
Entering the museum (east building), you can find a picture of clock indicating 8:15 (am). It is the time of explosion.
Not the moment of war ending, but the start of relevant agonies and deaths and the start of Cold War.
If you stood in front of large pictures on the walls, you would feel catastrophic collapse of your soul and body.
Incidentally, I noticed that a young woman dressed with red shirt (↓) was crying near the photos on the walls.
I realize that sympathy and mutual understanding for the tragedy can go beyond country borders and religions.

It must have happened in an ordinary morning....



For tourists, several cruising plans are available.
From inside of the cruisers in the river, you can gaze up the Dome. (↓)



In the end of this issue, I will remind the peaceful sentences carved on the monument stone.
"Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat the evil"
Yes, "we" should be interrupted as "all human beings"....
See you！