Conveying the Realities of the Atomic Bombing to Future Generations

(1) Subsidies for private A-bombed buildings and trees

In order to preserve and utilize A-bombed buildings and trees remaining in the city as precious reminders of the bombing, we grant subsidies to private sector preservation works for A-bombed buildings and revitalizing treatments for the trees.

As of September 1, 2021, there are 86 buildings, 6 bridge girders, and 160 trees registered as A-bombed buildings, bridges, and trees.

(2) A-bombed trees monitoring program

We work with a tree doctor who monitors the conditions of A-bombed trees, creates their medical charts, and provides revitalizing treatments for the trees.

(3) Touring A-bombed buildings and trees

We offer a guided tour of A-bombed buildings and trees with experts to provide visitors with an opportunity to learn about the realities of the atomic bombing.

(4) Exhibition of A-bomb remains found in former Nakajima District

As a means to pass on the realities of the atomic bombing to future generations, we are working to exhibit artifacts from the former Nakajima District which have been excavated from beneath Peace Memorial Park, in a way that will allow visitors to easily understand the instant devastation inflicted upon the everyday lives of the people who lived there.

In order to prevent the deterioration of the materials exhibited at the Main Building, A-bomb artifacts and original drawings of A-bomb survivors are replaced on a regular basis. Deterioration checks and necessary treatments are also implemented for photos, the conditions of which are the most serious concern among the materials stored at the Peace Memorial Museum, as well as for the A-bomb artifacts and survivors' drawings. The conditions of the museum's storage and exhibition rooms are being examined for improvement.

With the aim of enriching the exhibition contents of the Peace Memorial Museum, we conduct surveys on and collect A-bomb artifacts owned by survivors and bereaved families, photographs and other materials owned by museums and libraries overseas as well as documents and information related to the history of the museum. In conjunction with A-bomb exhibitions, we visit museums and other related facilities located in the area in order to discuss and coordinate future cooperation in carrying out reciprocal exhibitions and other joint initiatives.

We offer peace study workshops taught by lecturers to assist in peace education at elementary, junior high, and high schools among others.

We support the Youth Peace Volunteer Program that offers high school and university students in Hiroshima the opportunity to learn about the importance of peace and spread the Will of Hiroshima through giving explanation about the realities of the atomic bombing in English to international visitors in Peace Memorial Park.

6. Hiroshima Peace Volunteer Program＜外部リンク＞

We have a citizens' volunteer program to encourage residents to get involved in passing down the legacy of the atomic bomb. Volunteers, who have been recruited publicly, offer explanations about the exhibition at the Peace Memorial Museum and monuments in Peace Memorial Park.

We systematically provide integrated and continuous training to volunteers who are involved in programs offered at the Peace Memorial Museum in order to ensure that they convey correct information regarding the realities of the atomic bombing to visitors.

We arrange hibakusha testimonies via live video conferences to communicate the realities of the atomic bombing to those overseas and to raise international public support for nuclear weapons abolition.

In order to communicate the realities of the atomic bombing and to raise awareness of peace, we provide students visiting Hiroshima on school trips with an opportunity to listen to hibakusha testimonies and/or A-bomb Legacy Successor lectures and watch A-bomb documentary films.  

We offer lectures from A-bomb Legacy Successors＜外部リンク＞ in English and Japanese at the Peace Memorial Museum, free of charge and without any need to book. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we stopped the lectures at the museum in FY2020, and started online lectures in July 2020. We also dispatch A-bomb Legacy Successors to venues in the city without charge upon request from schools or other entities.

Because of the advanced age of our hibakusha, we have a program to train interested individuals as official successors who inherit and communicate the hibakusha’s experience and desire for peace. Currently, 149 people who have completed this program have been certified and act as A-bomb Legacy Successors. 

In cooperation with the Hiroshima Prefectural Government, the City of Hiroshima carries out supporting projects for the “Hiroshima for Global Peace” Plan＜外部リンク＞, which the prefectural government compiled to achieve lasting world peace.

To mark the 25th year since the registration of the Atomic Bomb Dome as a UNESCO's World Heritage site, we held a Noh performance called Torchlight Noh at the Atomic Bomb Dome in November 2021.

The Main Building of the Peace Memorial Museum＜外部リンク＞ opened on August 24, 1955. Construction for earthquake-resistance to the Main Building, which is designated as one of the National Important Cultural Assets of Japan, and other repair work ｗas carried out, and, at the same time, a total renewal of the exhibition and alterations to the visitor route were conducted in order to showcase the actual damage wrought by the atomic bombing and the inhumanity of nuclear weapons in a way that was easier to understand. After the East Building reopened in April 2017, the Main Building reopened on April 25, 2019.

In addition to the management and administration of the museum, our city collects, stores, and displays materials related to peace and the atomic bombing, and provides opportunities to contemplate peace through peace studies and sharing the A-bomb experiences, among others. We also conduct investigations and research, hold exhibitions, and strengthen our public relations via the Internet. 

*In FY2020, a total of 328,590 (88,830 school trip students, 12,192 non-Japanese) people visited the museum.