Hiroshima: A-Bombing 65th Anniversary

Above, the mushroom cloud rises above Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

It was on Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, that the bomb, dubbed "Little Boy" was carried to its final destination by the B-29, Enola Gay. The bomb exploded several hundred feet above the city, causing widespread damage.

The blast initially killed an estimated 80,000 people. The after-effects, injury and radiation poisoning brought the casualty toll to 90,000-140,000.

Several days later, a second a-bomb was dropped on the city of Nakasaki on the island of Kyushu. Japan surrendered soon after, thus ending World War II.

I visited Hiroshima in August 2004, almost to the day of the 59th anniversary with G-TOUR (comprised of 60 Godzilla fans).

Above, the Atomic Dome in August 2004. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today, there is little evidence of the bombing with the only physical reminder is the Atomic Dome, pictured above. The Hiroshima Peace Museum at Peace Memorial Park contains exhibits of the bombing.

The atomic bombings were a major influence of the Godzilla character.

The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan contains travel information Hiroshima and Nakasaki.

G-TOUR: Miyajima Island and Hiroshima

Above, Miyajima Island's Torii Gate.

Almost 59 years to the day that the crew of the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945, G-TOUR visited Hiroshima's Peace Park and Museum. We took a bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima.

Before touring Peace Park, the tour was first taken to a ferry station for an excursion to Miyajima Island.

Miyajima is a beautiful island in the Seto Inland Sea. While there, the tourists were greeted by dozens of tame, and hungry, deer. The deer wander around the town on Miyajima and beg for food. And, they also have a tendancy to grab any items sticking out of one's pocket and start chewing on it.

The town has many food and gift shops and they have miniature Torii Gate nick-nacks for purchase.

The tour also visited the Itsukushima Shrine.

After visiting Miyajima Island, we returned by ferry to the mainland to be bused to the Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum. The park consists of the Atomic Bomb Dome, which was the Industrial Promotion Hall before the war, and it is kept preserved in its state of near destruction.

Above, the Atomic Bomb Dome.

The park has a flame that will be extinguished when all nuclear weapons are banned. There is also a cenotaph memorial to the people killed in the bomb blast. The museum has many displays of artifacts from the bomb damage along with films, models, dioramas and replicas of the bomb. Survivors participate in seminars at the museum.

We returned to Kyoto via bullet train and when we arrived, we wandered inside of the New Kyoto Station, which was featured in Gamera 3.

Next day: Osaka Castle and Toei Studios.

North Korea and A Tale of Two Cities

North Korea and A Tale of Two Cities

Text and photos by Armand Vaquer

Breitbart.com is reporting that North Korea is threatening to weaponize plutonium which brought an angry protest from Hiroshima, Japan's mayor:

The mayor of Hiroshima -- one of the two Japanese cities obliterated by US atom bombs during World War II -- on Sunday denounced North Korea for threatening to build more nuclear weapons, a report said.

"I am furious, with them (North Korea) for defying strong protests from the international community, including Hiroshima, the city attacked in an atomic bombing," mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said in a statement, as reported by Jiji Press.

Mayor Akiba's protest is very understandable and the Japanese are sensitive to the nuclear issue.

Five years ago this coming August, G-TOUR visited Hiroshima. While there, the G-tourists visited the Peace Memorial Park and Museum. At the museum, we saw artifacts of the destruction of the city by a U.S. atomic bomb in August 1945. The two atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki hastened the end of World War II.

In April 2007, I visited Nagasaki, the second Japanese city to be destroyed by an atomic bomb. Nagasaki also has a museum as well as a peace park. Additionally, Nagasaki has a park built at the hypocenter of the bomb blast.

This video, called "Tale of Two Cities" documents the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:




Here, is a stark reminder of the power of the atomic bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima. This is the Atomic Dome, which is now part of Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park.



Below, these dioramas from Hiroshima's Peace Museum shows the effects of the atom bomb on Hiroshima. They depict Hiroshima before and after the bombing.



Today, Nagasaki is a thriving city with virtually no evidence that it was obliterated by an atomic bomb in August 1945. The photo below was from my trip in April 2007.



Below, Hypocenter Park marks the point where the atomic bomb was detonated over Nagasaki.



The protest came after North Korea announced that it was going to build more nuclear bombs and to start enriching uranium for a new nuclear weapons program. This came after the UN Security Council called for tougher sanctions over North Korea's nuclear test.

Godzilla Article At Japan Focus

I came across an article at Japan Focus on Godzilla by Yuki Tanaka, a research professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute. It is called, Godzilla and the Bravo Shot: Who Created and Killed the Monster? It was posted March 20.*

In his article, Tanaka describes the origins of the Godzilla character and his connections to the hydrogen bomb.

He also discusses the making of the Japanese original, the Americanization (with Raymond Burr) and the 1998 American production.

Some of Tanaka's points I have to take issue with. There are two glaring ones that immediately pop right out.

The first, Tanaka wrote:

Unlike The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, the original film Godzilla does not demonstrate the victory of science over nature.

Apparently, Tanaka must've stepped away from the screen whenever scenes of the oxygen destroyer (invented by Dr. Serizawa) from the 1954 Godzilla were shown. Obviously, the invention of the oxygen destroyer and its use against Godzilla was a victory of science over nature (or, rather, a gigantic mutated bit of nature).

The other glaring item was this reference to the 1998 American Godzilla:

Unlike the Japanese Godzilla, the American Godzilla is simply a giant dinosaur that eats huge quantities of fish and lays many eggs while its babies attack and cannibalize human beings.

A giant dinosaur? This is funny as Tanaka leads the paragraph just previous to the above with:

The second American Godzilla film, simply entitled Godzilla and produced in 1998, is the story of an iguana that was irradiated by a French nuclear test at Muraroa Atoll and somehow appears in New York as Godzilla.

Which is it? A "giant dinosaur" or an "iguana"?

There are many more statements in the Tanaka article that fans "in the know" would take issue with. I invite them to comment here once they read the full article. I detected no comment feature at the article.

To read Tanaka's full article, go here.

*This is a 1995 article, but reposted March 20 per Google.