Asia • Japan • Hiroshima Peace memorial
1人気で歩き出す 静かに道軽い足自分 を見失ったと思い でもその胸に光がある。 りすぎれば目をつけ けれど力には気づかずに 優しさで心を隠し 本当の居 それ 胸の奥で嵐がなる。 逃げたいけど休めない。
Hiroshima – a City of Warning and Hope
When I visited Hiroshima, I felt that I was entering a place full of life and hope. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., the first atomic bomb exploded here, 580 meters above the ground. It is hard to believe that one day the city hosted swimming competitions, trams carried people to work, children sat in school – and the next day nothing remained, only a plain of devastation, rubble, ash, and shadows.
As I walked through the Peace Museum, it was a powerful experience to see the photographs and read the stories of people who lived here and the suffering they endured after the explosion. I was moved by the story of two-year-old Sadako, who survived the bombing, was healthy until the age of eleven, and then fell ill. She believed in an old legend: if she folded 1,000 origami cranes, her wish would come true. She managed to fold 1,300 … To this day, the origami crane remains a strong symbol not only for the Japanese. I stood before the A-Bomb Dome, the only building that remained standing at the epicenter, a reinforced concrete structure designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel – and today his work serves as a silent witness and a warning to all humanity.
In the castle garden, I saw a tree that survived the blast. It still grows today, a living proof of nature’s resilience. The Japanese call such trees hibaku jumoku – trees that survived the bomb.
A profound impression was left on me when the Peace Bell rang in the park. With a strike of the heavy wooden mallet, I set the bell resounding. A deep tone filled the air like a message – a call never to forget and to protect peace.
Today Hiroshima is completely different. It has undergone extensive reconstruction; old trams still run through the streets, surrounded by modern architecture, parks full of greenery, and flowers. And yet, beneath it all, the city’s story is still felt – a story of pain, but also of strength and hope.
#bohemiaris #plzenskykraj #japan