The man who left us the legacy of Hiroshima - the hidden story behind the Peace Memorial Museum -
2:00-2:55 p.m. Wednesday, August 6, 2014
(Re-run 2:00-2:55 a.m. Thursday, August 7)
The Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima City is known both domestically and abroad as an institution that relays the truth about the atomic bombing of HIROSHIMA. It is a “negative legacy” rarely seen in the world that attracts 1.4 million visitors each year. What is little known now, is that this museum was created by the perseverance of one scholar.
1945. Mr. Shogo Nagaoka was teaching geology and mineral science at Hiroshima Bunrika University (now Hiroshima University). He entered Hiroshima City the day after the atomic bomb was dropped. He was shocked at the countless “thorns” that had developed on the surface of the stone lantern at Hiroshima Gokoku Shrine that he had sat down on. Being a stone expert, he immediately realized that this was a special kind of bomb. From then on, he commuted into Hiroshima, now in ruins, tirelessly collecting stones, roof tiles, bottles, and other burned objects.
After the War ended, Mr. Nagaoka was selected as one of the five geology specialists in an atomic bomb investigation team set up by the national government. In addition to Hiroshima, he also surveyed Nagasaki and in no time, his personal stone and roof tile collection had increased significantly.
In 1949, the city of Hiroshima opened an Atomic Bomb Reference Materials Display Room in the central community center and started displaying Mr. Nagaoka’s collection. However, at the time, when rubble still remained in the burnt aftermath, the collected “A-bomb material” was not something that interested the people. Still, Mr. Nagaoka persisted, appealing to those who visited, “exactly what happened in that instant.” Finally, in August 1955, the A-Bomb Museum was opened. Mr. Nagaoka was appointed first director. As director, he worked to encourage school excursions from across Japan to visit and made a special effort to convey the horror of the atomic bomb to many people. Nevertheless, the world had entered the nuclear age… At the A-Bomb Museum, an “Atoms for Peace Exhibit” was held, while the materials were transferred to a small community center. Today, there is not much information left about the first Director Mr. Shogo Nagaoka.
In this program, while relying on the few clues available, we visit people in Japan and abroad who had some knowledge of the day and follow the path of the man who made the A-Bomb Museum. What was it that he put his life on the line to convey?
[Director　Norio Maeda]
Not a day goes by that I don’t see tourists from other countries carrying backpacks, in Hiroshima. Today, more than 1.5 million foreigners come from far away to this land, mainly to see the A-Bomb Museum. If it weren’t for one man, who walked around picking up burnt stones and roof tiles after the atomic bomb was dropped, I believe Hiroshima City would look completely different today. Unfortunately, however, practically no record of that man, Shogo Nagaoka remains here in Hiroshima. Through this program, I hope that you are able to feel Mr. Nagaoka’s motives that, even today, continue to move the hearts of people from all over the world.
Hiroshima Peace Program
TSS ARCHIVE PROJECT
www.tss-tv.co.jp/web/archive_p...
Contributions to the City of Hiroshima
www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/www/c...