| Chugoku Shimbun Peace News | |
| Mourning and inheriting memories of A-bomb Memorial Hall opens | '02/8/3 |
On August 1st, the national government opened the National Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims in Peace Memorial Park in Naka-ku, Hiroshima City. The Memorial Hall collects and displays photos of the A-bomb victims and accounts written by survivors and provides spaces to mourn the dead and communicate the A-bomb tragedy to coming generations. On opening day, about 1,900 bereaved family members and other guests visited the hall to recall the days their loved ones were alive and renew their hopes for peace.
In front of the large 12-panel monitor on one wall of Victims' Information Corner, people gathered to gaze at the changing display of people's names and photos. They also crowded around the six computers in the hall programmed to search for photos of relatives and acquaintances. Some people placed their hands together in a prayerful gesture as they looked at the photos. Haruno Horimoto (72) of Umaki, Higashi-ku, who had just discovered the photo of her mother she had donated to Memorial Hall, said with satisfaction, "Having a picture of my mother's face preserved indefinitely like this gives me a sense of peace." Including those received from 13 persons on opening day, the hall currently has 4,804 photos. Of this total, 1,655 photos were collected by the Chugoku Shimbun for its special report "Record of Hiroshima- Photos of the deceased speak," for which it solicited photos from October 1998 to June 2000. The Chugoku Shimbun asked the donators for permission to pass on the photos to Memorial Hall and received permission for a total of 3,742. Visitors also gravitated to the Hall of Remembrance, encircled by a panoramic wall mural of the ruined city after the bombing, and to the Library, where they read A-bomb testimonials. The Hall's opening special exhibition entitled "Memories that must not be shut away-Mobilized students seen through A-bomb testimonials" was in place. The national government built the Memorial Hall based on the A-bomb Survivors Assistance Law. The hall will continue to collect photos of the victims, A-bomb testimonials, and other items. The hall is also trying to make contact with A-bomb survivors living in other countries and regions. In September, information about the hall will be sent to survivor groups and organizations of persons of Japanese ancestry in certain countries and regions, asking for names and photos of A-bomb victims and A-bomb testimonials. (Caption)Family members of an A-bomb victim place their hands together in front of a photo of the deceased family member that was found through a computer search.
    
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