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    Survivors: The A-bombed Trees of Hiroshima: Japanese History, #1
    Survivors: The A-bombed Trees of Hiroshima: Japanese History, #1
    Survivors: The A-bombed Trees of Hiroshima: Japanese History, #1
    Ebook408 pages1 hour

    Survivors: The A-bombed Trees of Hiroshima: Japanese History, #1

    By David Petersen and Mandy Conti

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    About this ebook

    Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, built at what was once the hypocenter of an atomic blast, is the most visible sign of the city's renaissance as a force for peace in 21st century politics. But it is not the only reminder of the spirit of Hiroshima. Less well-known are the scores of "survivors" dotting the metropolitan landscape. These treasured trees, shrubs, and groves date from before the bombing on August 6th 1945. They were spared from annihilation, and are now carefully tended by the schools, homes, temples, and shrines entrusted by fate with their care.
    Based on a three-year stay in the city by the authors, this pictorial journey into the heart of Hiroshima documents more than 50 sites and 75 trees. There are maps, bilingual place names and addresses, snapshots of local culture, and overviews of each species of plant. Never-before published translations of essays by the a-bomb survivor Tamiki Hara are also included as meditations on the meaning of peace in difficult times.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDavid Petersen
    Release dateFeb 26, 2022
    ISBN9798201111922
    Survivors: The A-bombed Trees of Hiroshima: Japanese History, #1

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      Book preview

      Survivors - David Petersen

      I. Senda Municipal Elementary School

      Original Site: Hiroshima University Hospital

      2,800 Meters from the Hypocenter

      A-bombed Fern Palms

      Address:

      Current Site (CS on the map): Senda Municipal Elementary School (Municipal Senda Elementary School in Hiroshima) / 広島市立千田小学校

      2-1-34 Higashi-senda-machi, Naka-ku / 中区東千田町2-1-34

      Original Site (arrow on the map): Hiroshima University Hospital / 広島大学病院

      1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku / 南区霞1-2-3

      Plant: Fern palms / ソテツ

      Fern palm grouping near west entrance, Senda Elementary School

      Location

      Senda Municipal Elementary is situated a few kilometers south of the downtown core, not far from Miyuki’bashi, the bridge immortalized in the famous photograph showing survivors fleeing the firestorm towards the sea. The school (marked CS for current site) can be reached by taking the municipal streetcar to Hiroden’honsha’mae stop and walking northeast, or getting off at Hiroshima’daigaku’mae stop and walking southeast.

      Opened in 1926 as Senda Municipal Ordinary Elementary/High School (広島市立千田尋常高等小学校), the institution boasted an initial enrolment of over 700 students across twelve grades. The buildings on the grounds were obliterated in August 1945 by the atomic blast, which claimed the lives of at least three teachers and 41 children onsite. The only surviving structure was the steel frame of the auditorium, which was eventually recycled to become an aviary. Remarkably, classes resumed in September of 1945 and have continued ever since.

      Palm fronds at Senda Elementary (detail)

      The impressive cluster of Fern palms dominates the greenery just inside the west entrance to the school grounds. According to research by the children at Senda, these plants were originally situated on the grounds of Military Armories #1 and #11, at 2.80 km and 2.75 km respectively from the hypocenter. This area, now home to the Hiroshima University Hospital complex, was converted into prefectural office space shortly after the war, at which time the Ferns were moved to this school.

      Senda Fern (detail)

      In the section on the Fern palms in an information packet prepared by the school, the children draw attention to the arbitrary way in which some trees (and people) managed to escape annihilation while others did not - a fitting reminder of the cruelty of war.

      II. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

      Original Site: Minami-danbara-cho

      2,200 Meters from the Hypocenter

      A-bombed Crinums

      Address:

      Current Site (marked CS on the map): Peace Memorial Park /

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