AFTER "TORA TORA TORA" CAME "LITTLE BOY" AND "FAT MAN" DROPPING ON JAPAN

On 6 Aug 1945 at 8.15 am, Hiroshima heard a shattering explosion never before heard in the World, followed afterward by a huge mushroom cloud that broke out on the skyline. The American B-29 Bomber named "Enola Gay" had executed its mission to drop the bomb and try to bring an end in the Japanese-waged war in Asia and the Pacific. Almost immediately, 66k people died from the effects of the blast and 69k were badly maimed and injured, with many more to die afterwards from burns, radiation and various types of cancer. The bomb was developed under the Manhattan Project with many scientists involved, including Albert Einstein. The scientists were against the use of nuclear energy for war purposes but politicians prevailed and the World was introduced to the first atom bomb in warfare. The bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy", was packed with a power of 15-20  kilotons of TNT, while the one dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later was even more potent. The bombs came after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour effectively drawing America, which had maintained a non-aligned stance hitherto. into the war.

 

Genbaku is the name of the dome which has been left intact for 75 years as a poignant testimony to the destructive force of nuclear energy. It was the dome for the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Genbaku is a part of the Memorial Peace Park dedicated to those who died in the explosion.

A board with details of the fateful day. 

A memorial where locals come and place their offerings to the victims of the bomb.

At a restaurant which serves Okonomiyaki, which is a sort of pancake with veggy and oysters, a dish endemic to Hiroshima.

And the chef was on his way to work.

Although this is not Okonomiyaki, they were starters before the main dish came. All unique to Hiroshima indeed! Chase down with Asahi Dry, one of my favourite Japanese beers.

This bicycle retrieved from the rubble is on display at the museum in the Memorial Park.

Items of children's clothing. On certain days, talks will be given by those who were victims of the war or their descendants on their experiences of the bomb.

Downtown Hiroshima. According to scientists, both cities which were bombed would take about 50 years to be re-developed but Japan got them going within 25. According to writer and academic Kenichi Ohmae, in his book "The Mind of a Strategist", it was possible bec the Japanese government created a venture capital fund of sorts from those who still had valuables left from the war. But, there is another theory that the re-development efforts were greatly abetted by gold and other treasures the Emperor "looted" from Asia during the war and sent to Japan by vessels disguised as hospital ships, some of which were bombed by American aircraft and sunk in Tokyo Bay. Whatever was the source of funding, it was a remarkable job.

The morning commute in Hiroshima. Shot taken from a coffee shop where we had breakfast.

School children behaving well as they wait to cross a road after their visit to the Children's Memorial in the Peace Park.

This is the Children's Memorial in the park

The memorial where President Obama laid a wreath a couple of years back when he visited Hiroshima.

This building is what was the Hiroshima branch of the Bank of Japan. It was affected by the blast and one of the doors of three vaults in the basement was mangled. The staff who worked in the bank died from the effects of the blast. It now serves as a museum and drawings and the writings of people affected by the bomb are displayed in the vaults. I felt kind of eerie walking thru the empty floors.