Note to self: BS1 August 10, 10:00 PM.

Okay, let me explain. BS1 is Broadcast Satellite channel one, which is going to show a week of documentaries about World War II. The first night, they are going to show the results of a project to preserve the memories of those who lived in Hiroshima during the war. Drawing from their memories, along with film and photographic archives, NHK has tried to re-create pre-bomb Hiroshima in CGI, in extreme detail. Even some homes' interiors and gardens were digitally re-created. When some of the survivors viewed the finished project, they were moved to tears.

Modern Hiroshima, of course, bears little resemblance to Hiroshima before the war. The area where the peace park is now used to be a very crowded residential area. Most of the homes were built of wood; thus, they were completely destroyed. The few buildings that were left standing were of brick and stone construction.

When we were at the Peace Museum, a guide mentioned two of these buildings specifically; Honkawa Elementary School, less than 500 meters away from the hypocenter, and a small textiles factory, less than 100 meters away from the hypocenter. Each of these sites had a "miracle survivor," someone who was lucky enough to be in the basement when the bomb exploded. At Honkawa, a young girl who had arrived late to school that day was in the basement where the shoe lockers were, changing into her inside shoes. In the textiles factory, a man was checking inventory in the basement storeroom. He later drew a sketch of what he saw when he got out of the building; the waters of the Motoyasu River, turned to vapor by the shockwave and heat flash, leaping skyward.

There is still an elementary school at Honkawa, but what was left of the original building was razed and a new school was built. The textiles factory was repaired and turned into a "rest house"/information center for visitors to the peace park. (We had actually stopped there without realizing...)

And yes, it has taken me until now to be able to put more of my thoughts on Hiroshima in writing.

R.