Cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park - Hiroshima, Japan
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N 34° 23.572 E 132° 27.152
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Memorial Cenotaph for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in Hiroshima, Japan.
Waymark Code: WM18E58
Location: Hiroshima, Japan
Date Posted: 07/16/2023
Views: 2
This Fine Art America puzzle designed by an independent artist measures 18 X 24 inches and includes 500 pieces. It is made from premium 0.2 inch thick paper and includes a semi-gloss coating on the top surface. The image was provided by Panoramic Images.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack at the end of World War II, and to the memories of the direct and indirect victims of the bomb.
The Memorial Cenotaph for the Victims of the A-Bomb is located in the center of the park and is decorated with flowers. In the empty space in the center of the monument, we can see the Atomic Bomb Dome, also known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (our fifth photo). This building was the only structure that remained standing in the area around the Hiroshima atomic bombing.
From Wikipedia: "Memorial Cenotaph - Near the center of the park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The monument is aligned to frame the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome. The Memorial Cenotaph was one of the first memorial monuments built on open field on August 6, 1952. The arch shape represents a shelter for the souls of the victims.
The cenotaph bears an epitaph in Japanese which means "please rest in peace, for [we/they] shall not repeat the error." In Japanese, the sentence's subject is omitted, thus it could be interpreted as either "[we] shall not repeat the error" or as "[they] shall not repeat the error". This was intended to memorialize the victims of Hiroshima without politicizing the issue, taking advantage of the fact that polite Japanese speech typically demands lexical ambiguity in the first place. The epitaph was written by Tadayoshi Saika, Professor of English Literature at Hiroshima University. He also provided the English translation, "Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil." On November 3, 1983, an explanation plaque in English was added in order to convey Professor Saika's intent that "we" refers to "all humanity", not specifically the Japanese or Americans, and that the "error" is the "evil of war":
The inscription on the front panel offers a prayer for the peaceful repose of the victims and a pledge on behalf of all humanity never to repeat the evil of war. It expresses the spirit of Hiroshima — enduring grief, transcending hatred, pursuing harmony and prosperity for all, and yearning for genuine, lasting world peace." (
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