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The Getty Conservation Institute Field Trip Report By F. LeBlanc, Head, Field Projects HIROSHIMA – UNITAR TRAINING WORKSHOP Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites March, 2004 The GCI was asked to participate to the international workshop organized by UNITAR. I was designated as the GCI’s representative and participated as a resource person to this one-week workshop held in Hiroshima. Following is a summary account of the workshop.

View of downtown Hiroshima. To the left of the Motoyasu-gawa River is the Peace Memorial Park with buildings designed by world famous architect Kenzo Tange. The A-Bomb Dome, a World Heritage Site, is in the center of the image and UNITAR’s offices are located in the dark building immediately behind.

UUNNIITTAARR ((UUnniitteedd NNaattiioonnss IInnssttiittuuttee ffoorr TTrraaiinniinngg aanndd RReesseeaarrcchh))

What is UNITAR? The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) was established in 1965 as an autonomous body within the United Nations with the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the Organization through appropriate training and research. UNITAR is governed by a Board of Trustees and is headed by an Executive Director. The Institute is supported by voluntary contributions from governments, intergovernmental organizations, foundations, and other non-governmental sources.

Map of Japan

Japanese flag

UNITAR Offices in Hiroshima in proximity of the A-Bomb Dome building

UNITAR offices interior

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UNITAR has the following functions: • To conduct training programs in multilateral diplomacy and

international cooperation for diplomats accredited to the United Nations and national officials involved in work related to United Nations activities.

• To carry out a wide range of training programs in the field of social and economic development.

• To carry out result-oriented research, in particular, research on and for training and to develop pedagogical materials including distance learning training packages, work books, as well as software and video training packs.

• To establish and strengthen cooperation with other inter-governmental organizations, faculties and academic institutions, in particular for the development of research on and for training.

WWoorrkksshhoopp EExxeeccuuttiivvee SSuummmmaarryy The UNITAR Training Workshop on the Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites was organized in Hiroshima, Japan, from 8 to 12 March 2004. The 37 participants consisted of resource persons and observers from 20 countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The participants came from Government organizations such as Ministries of Culture, Environment and Tourism; from academia and research institutes; and from United Nations agencies. The workshop was the first in a three-year cycle (2004-2006), organized by HOAP with the support of UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS, the Getty Conservation Institute and other selected partners, aiming at a better use of the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) through national policy making and planning.

The 2004 workshop mainly focused on the nomination process for World Heritage Sites as well as their social impact. Some of the topics discussed were: for instance: • concept of heritage and the value of natural and cultural

resources viewed from cultural, philosophical and religious aspects;

• procedures for World Heritage nomination and designation; • economic and social impact of the World Heritage designation; • benefit (and burden) sharing; • policy planning for a better use of the World Heritage Convention; • international cooperation. Three main training methods were employed in the workshop: • Plenary lectures followed by questions and answers and

discussions; • Working group exercises to create a nomination document for the

inclusion of a given site in the World Heritage list (the nomination

UNITAR Workshop participants in boardroom

UNITAR Workshop participants in boardroom

Nassrine Azimi, Director UNITAR Hiroshima

Hiroko Nakayama, UNITAR Geneva

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required the detailed description and evaluation of a site as well as institutional/physical management planning); and

• Study tours to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and A-Bomb Dome and to Miyajima Itsukushima Shinto Shrine and debriefings thereof.

PPlleennaarryy LLeeccttuurreess aanndd ootthheerr PPrreesseennttaattiioonnss

Mr. Richard Engelhardt (UNESCO), in his keynote lecture (morning, 8 March), observed the trends in World Heritage. In the past heritage belonged predominately to princes/priests/politicians but since the early 1990's the movement is expanding the concept of heritage as belonging also to the public and the local community, thus activating a real grassroots movement for World Heritage nomination. New types of heritages have also emerged including vernacular, domestic, industrial and commercial heritages.

Before continuing on to a complex discussion on details, participants were given a brief description of the 1972 Convention regime (afternoon, 8 March). Mr. Richard Engelhardt and Mr. Han Qunli (UNESCO) explained the basics of the Convention while Mr. Duncan Marshall (ICOMOS/ICCROM) presented the role of statutory (supporting) organizations of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. In his presentation "What is Heritage" (morning, 9 March), Mr. François LeBlanc (Getty Conservation Institute, based in Los Angeles) defined heritage as "what ever you want to preserve…for future generations" and presented a scheme of heritage with relation to its ‘ownership’ and its type. To demonstrate the intricate relation between different values given to the same asset by different parties, he presented four case studies then assigned participants to each analyze the situation and ask questions as to how one can or needs to manage values.

Mr. Han Qunli (UNESCO) presented some of the recent developments in natural heritage management in Southeast Asia (morning, 9 March). The natural heritage protection in the region is based upon the premise that the value of the heritage depends on the inspiration of the people and therefore the protection implies the protection of indigenous people's way of life and livelihood. Mr. Han presented five cases in the region from which he extracted guidance and tendencies: necessity of strong political will; need for effective governance; application of principles within appropriate and sustainable capacity and good understanding of heritage values.

Japanese and Hiroshima heritage conservation was presented by Mr. Yushi Utaka (morning, 9 March). Mr. Utaka (Hiroshima University) explained the structure of Japanese heritage conservation at the government, prefecture and municipal levels in light of current social

Richard Engelhardt, UNESCO Bangkok Regional Office for Education

Qunli Han, UNESCO Jakarta

Duncan Marshall, Australia ICOMOS

Francois LeBlanc, Head, Field Projects, Getty Conservation Institute

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trends such as an aging society, depopulation, natural disasters and economic downturn. Hiroshima heritage sites and specificities of management policies/methods were explained in the context of the social situation as well as contradicting value evaluations by different parties.

Mr. Duncan Marshall (ICOMOS) provided guidance on national policy and institutional planning with respect to different administrative structures and systems in different countries (morning, 10 March). He emphasized that policy planning should consider many aspects, namely legal planning, contractual planning and traditions. In addition, management and planning need to take into account people, skills, resources and funding. To highlight the necessity of tailoring policy to meet the values and the existing framework (where possible) he then presented three case studies. Different available options were then introduced.

Additionally a series of case studies of the Asia-Pacific region was presented by the site managers. These included: Yakushima Environmental Culture Foundation (Mr. Hirohide Wada, morning, 10 March), Underwater Archaeological Heritage in Sri Lanka (Mr. Mohan Abeyratne, morning, 11 March), Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site (Mr. Hung Ngo Van and Ms. Hien Thi Thu Bui, morning, 11 March) and Onomichi -- a candidate for a tentative list (Ms. Takako Ogaki, morning, 11 March).

WWoorrkkiinngg GGrroouupp EExxeerrcciissee Based on the pre-workshop questionnaire, four working groups were established. Each group worked on creating a nomination dossier of a selected site for the inclusion in the World Heritage list. Following two half-day group discussions, each group presented their nomination document to a panel composed of the workshop resource persons.

Group 1 Mullar Mountain Range (case data provided by Enny Sudarmonowati, Indonesia)

Kamal Kunwar, Nepal; Vinod B. Mathur, India; Viengkeo Rouksavatdy, Laos; Enny Sudarmonowati, Indonesia Resource person: Mohan Abeyratne

Group 2 Indus Dolphin (case data provided by Abdul Aleem Chaudhry, Pakistan)

Hien Thi Thu Bui, Vietnam; Abdul Aleem Chaudhry, Pakistan; Ruzan Davtyan, Armenia; Hung Ngo Van, Vietnam Resource person: Han Qunli

Mohan Abeyratne, Central Cultural Fund, Sri Lanka

Hirohide Wada, Deputy Director, Yakushima Enviromental Culture Foundation

Group 1 Mullar Mountain Range, Indonesia

Abdul Aleem Chaudhry, IUCN Islamabad, Pakistan

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Group 3 Old Mumbai (case data provided by Abha Narain, India)

Mohammed Yosof Al-Aidaroos, Saudi Arabia; Nagtsho Dorji, Bhutan; Melva Java, Philippines; Abha Narain, India; Vang Rattanavong, Laos; Tissa Sooriyagoda, Sri Lanka Resource person: François LeBlanc

Group 4 Dmasi Hominid Archaeological Park (case data provided by Kakha Trapaidze, Georgia)

Sovath Bong, Cambodia; Leyla Huseynova, Azerbaijan; Natsagbadam Myatraaz, Mongolia; Ramesh Thapaliya, Nepal; Kakha Trapaidze, Georgia Resource person: Duncan Marshall

SSttuuddyy TToouurrss Two study tours were organized, and each included an introduction by the local site manager. Each tour concluded with a debriefing session. Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Peace Memorial Museum, Park and A-Bomb Dome), 9 March In the debriefing session, the participants discussed some key aspects regarding the site. Participants recognized the spiritual, historical, cultural and long-term educational aspects of the site. They discussed the specific management tools that were employed in Hiroshima, namely personal testimonies and oral tools; the policy decision with regard to the A-Bomb and its legacy, compared to Nagasaki; educational efforts; the universality of the message delivered by the site; as well as practical aspects such as zoning and the overall integrity of the context, namely the original Kenzo Tange Plan. Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine, 11 March During the debriefing session, collectivelythe participants acknowledged the high level of conservation and maintenance and the precision of the craftsmanship. However in terms of interpretation of the heritage value, the zoning and the policy planning applicable to the site, different views were expressed. They pointed out the shift in the emphasis on the value of the site from a religious to a predominantly tourist one. The buffer zone was deemed too porous to protect the core area and the planning of the surrounding landscape on the mainland (opposite bank) was considered insufficient and of poor taste as it did not take into account the aesthetics and 'spirit' of the shrine. Commercialization of the areas surrounding the shrine was noted by the participants, as well as the poor choice of souvenir shops and products for a sacred place.

Group 3 Old Mumbai, India

Group 4 Dmasi Hominid Archaeological Park

The A-Bomb building declared World Heritage Site in 1996.

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WWoorrkksshhoopp OOvveerrvviieeww Participants were welcome by Nassrine Azimi, Director of the UNITAR Hiroshima office and by R. Engelhardt from UNESCO’s Bangkok regional Office for Education. The Workshop partner organizations were introduced, including the GCI. Then, all participants introduced themselves and were given the opportunity to share their expectations for the Workshop. Richard Engelhardt, from UNESCO’s Bangkok Office for Education spoke on the world heritage Global Strategy. He said that the international community really started to come together to address global heritage issues when the Egyptians took the decision to build the Assouan dam on the Nile River in the 1960s. This project was going to send the Abu Simbel temple under water. There was an international reaction and expression of solidarity to save the temple that was considered to be not only the heritage of the Egyptians but of all humankind. Of all the international conventions currently in force in the world, UNESCO’s 1972 World Heritage Convention is now the third most ratified. He reminded participants that once the government of a country signs the World Heritage Convention, it automatically and immediately becomes law in that country. One of the first steps a country must make after signing the Convention is to prepare an “indicative list” of the sites it intends to present. There are some 3,000 sites that have been identified on the tentative lists of countries in Asia. At the beginning, countries wanted to inscribe the “Cadillac” sites, the best of the best. The World Heritage List was almost seen as a beauty queen contest. Since then, it has evolved and it strives to represent all cultures of all periods, not only the major cultures. Its aim is to conserve our common heritage. There are untold stories on the World Heritage List. Stories such as forced migration, survival in the ice age, engineered transformations of natural landscapes, religious education, trade and war that have created new cultures etc. We have a long way to go to meet the intent of this very successful convention. As much as we can’t afford to loose a single gene in our body, we can’t afford to loose any of the world’s cultures. Some of the challenges facing us include: infrastructure development, lack of respect of world heritage sites, risk to wildlife, increase in illegal practices, destruction of vegetation, crisis management and becoming advisors to community-based management.

Enny Sudarmonowati, Indonesia Institute of Sciences

Mohammad Yosof Al-Aidaroos, Architect, Supreme Commission for Tourism, Saudi Arabia

Hiroshima Castle (reconstruction)

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Community-based management is the main management tool that will be used in the near future to safeguard and care for our cultural and natural heritage sites. There are simply not enough government resources to do the job. And we, as professional managers, are going to have to learn how to become advisors to these communities, talk to them, work with them, learn with them. Working behind our desks, in boardrooms, or on our PCs developing policies and regulations is not the answer. Richard Engelhardt discussed the LEAP program aimed at community development and shared its 10-point approach. He also presented several mainstream models of best practices and suggested that action plans should be developed for:

- maintenance - installation of indicators - professional standards of restoration and interpretation - measure of economic success and - to empower the local community to interpret the heritage

He also discussed the social impact of heritage and suggested that periodic monitoring for long-term protection include risk evaluation, establishing carrying capacity and measuring change. Finally, concerning building professional capacity in the Asia region, he suggested:

- that there is a need to improve the quality of expertise in the region, especially in management

- that efforts should be undertaken to link regional resources - that best practice be documented and shared - that the region support the recently created Asian Academy

created with the support of UNESCO and that currently networks with 43 institutions in the region.

The Asian Academy networks on the basis of the following principles:

- network with professors who teach at post-graduate level - cross registration of students - exchange of faculty members - research, teamwork and co-publication - common licensing - shared information databases - in service training

The Academy is made up of core members, affiliates, associates and observers. More information on the work of UNESCO in the Asia region is available at: www.unescobkk.org/culture Qunli Han from UNESCO’s Jakarta’s office spoke on the recent developments of natural World Heritage in Southeast Asia. He suggested that the region had made a great deal of progress during the past decade. Gaps for natural sites on the World Heritage List

Hien Thi Thu Bui, IUCN Vietnam

Hung Ngo Van , Director, Ha Long Bay Management Dept., Vietnam

Nagtsho Dorji, Bhutan

Kamal Jung Kunwar, Nepal

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have been assessed (tropical forest, marine and Karst ecosystems, etc.). Lists of potential sites and new partnerships have been identified. The objective of protecting bio-diversity has not been met yet. Seventy percent of the world’s bio-diversity is in tropical forests. One hundred and fifty sites representative of bio-diversity have been identified and thirty of them are in Asia. Concerning marine sites, there are only 9 sites out of the 754 on the World Heritage List. There are no nominations from Southeast Asia who hosts the most marine bio-diversity in the world. Benefits of nominations of sites on the World Heritage List are still a challenge in the region. Among the positive impacts for natural sites of the World Heritage Convention, Qunli reported that 15 of the world’s most important mining companies have declared a “no go” for mining on listed world heritage sites. Poor site interpretation, tourism pressure, and poor management were sited as some of the most important challenges facing our colleagues in nature conservation. Yushi Utaka from the department of Architecture of Hiroshima University outlined the Japanese system for conservation. He explained that in his country, the overall objective for heritage conservation is education. He went on to describe the history behind the nomination of the A-Bomb building as a World Heritage Site and the conservation work that took place over the years. Peace Memorial Museum and the A-Bomb Dome Participants visited the Peace Memorial Museum designed by world famous architect Kenzo Tange and the A-Bomb Dome World Heritage Site. The museum Director and other museum staff made presentations.

The Commercial Exhibition Hall and downtown Hiroshima on August 6, 1945

The Hiroshima Peace memorial (Genbaku Dome) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb

Melva Java, College of Architecture and Fine arts, University of San Carlos, Philippines

The Commercial Exhibition Hall built in 1915 (before A-Bomb)

The A-Bomb Dome today

The A-Bomb Dome today

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exploded in 6 August 1945. Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, it has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing. Not only is it a stark and powerful symbol of the most destructive force ever created by humankind, it also expresses the hope for world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons.

The Peace Memorial Museum designed by KenzoTange

The Peace Memorial Museum located near the A-Bomb Dome offers a very moving experience for the visitor on the events surrounding the drop of the first atomic bomb in human history. The people of Nagasaki where the second atomic bomb was dropped decided not to commemorate the event and simply move on with their lives. The people of Hiroshima decided that what happened to them should not be forgotten and should be shared with the whole world in an effort to promote world peace and to eliminate atomic bombs altogether by showing to the world the human tragedy that accompanies such an event.

Hiroshima before blast After A-Bomb explosion Location of explosion

Following the visit, the participants exchanged their impressions in groups of three and reported in plenary some of the lessons they learned; among those were: - Interpretation at the Peace Memorial Museum is extremely well

done; even though everything is written in Japanese, the message still gets across and it is a very emotional and strong message.

- Events at Nagasaki should also be discussed in the museum and they are not at present.

- The Peace Memorial Museum and Park designed by world famous architect Kenzo Tange should be part of the World Heritage site designation but it is not presently.

Participants visiting the A-Bomb Dome

A-Bomb survivor being treated

Ruzan Davtyan, Ministry of Nature Protection, Armenia

Vinod Mathur, India

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The peace message that Hiroshima proclaims is far from having been heard by the world; the Japanese people should continue to work on educating the world on the suffering generated by nuclear arms. Duncan Marshall, Architect representing Australia ICOMOS spoke on the subject of National Policy and Institutional Planning. He stated Article 5 of the World Heritage Convention encourages every State Party to: - Adopt a general policy for heritage protection - Set up national heritage services - Develop studies - Take legal measures and - Foster training Nominations to the World Heritage List must now meet the test of management. Successful nominations will have a national policy, planning tools, effective management and be part of a broad national program. He said that monitoring at World Heritage sites should focus on the protection and conservation of values. He went on to share three case studies with the group, South Africa, Brazil and Australia. Duncan also introduced the three advisor bodies to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, IUCN (for natural heritage nominations), ICOMOS (for cultural heritage nominations) and ICCROM (for training and technical issues). Francois LeBlanc made a presentation on the notion of heritage and the value case histories done by the GCI during the past two years. What is heritage? The concept of heritage is the basis for all the discussions during this Workshop. This concept is used in many different ways in contemporary society to designate a broad spectrum of subjects. As managers of heritage sites, it is important that everyone develops his own personal definition of what the concept of heritage encompasses and be able to share it with a broad spectrum of people. Following is my own definition of “heritage”. Put in simple terms, heritage is: what ever each one of us individually or collectively wishes to preserve and pass on to the next generation. If we want to preserve something, then it is our heritage. This of course varies quite a bit, depending on the person or the group of persons expressing their interest. Values-based management As heritage managers, we manage three things: assets (buildings, ruins, roads, vehicles, collections etc.) people (who work for us or who

Natsagbadam Myatraaz, Manager, Cultural Heritage Center, Mongolia

Hiroshima Castle (reconstruction)

Hiroshima Castle detail

Hiroshima covered shopping street

Tissa Sooriyagoda, Sri Lanka Tourist Board

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visit our sites) and values (that is what differentiates us from managers of airports or hospitals for instance). Values are at the core of all conservation strategies. That is why we do what we do. Since 1987, the Getty Conservation Institute has been involved with values-based site management planning through research efforts, professional training courses, symposia, and field projects. As an extension of this commitment, and associated with related research and publication efforts on values and heritage conservation, the Institute has led an effort to produce a series of case studies that demonstrate how values-driven site management has been interpreted, employed, and evaluated by four key organizations. In this project, the GCI has collaborated with the Australian Heritage Commission, English Heritage, Parks Canada, and U.S. National Park Service. Each case study in this series focuses on values and their protection by examining these agencies’ roles in management. By looking at one site and the management context in which it exists, they provide detailed descriptions and analyses of the processes that connect theoretical management guidelines with management planning and its practical application. Hirohide Wada from the Yakushima Environmental Culture Foundation in Japan presented the World Heritage site of Yakushima. This was the first site inscribed by Japan in 1993. Located in the interior of Yaku Island, at the meeting-point of the palaeartic and oriental biotic regions, Yakushima exhibits a rich flora, with some 1,900 species and subspecies, including ancient specimens of the sugi (Japanese cedar). It also contains a remnant of a warm-temperate ancient forest that is unique in this region.

Yakushima Island – Japan’s First World Heritage Site

Kakha Trapaidze, Ministry of Culture, Georgia

Abha Narain Lambah, Urban Design Research Institute, Mumbai, India

Yakushima oanges

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The Kagoshima Prefectural Government and the local people are promoting a Concept to form Yakushima Island Environmental and Cultural Village. This concept aims at re-creating the island so that human beings can coexist with nature by cherishing the natural setting of Yakushima Island. To illustrate this point, Hirohide described the time when the monkeys discovered that the local orange production had been increased and that there was now plenty of food available for them. They began to destroy the groves. Instead of harming or killing the monkeys, the local population began to isolate the orange groves with nets and fences and spray painted several monkeys with bright colors so that when they would go back, they would scare the other monkeys from coming back to eat the oranges by fear of having their fur change of color. Mohan Abeyratne of the Central Cultural Fund in Sri Lanka presented a case study for underwater archaeological heritage in his country. The site of Galle is on the World Heritage List. Recent discoveries of ancient shipwrecks lead the Sri Lanka government to ask for an extention of the boundaries of the site to include the shipwrecks. He shared with the group the challenges that face managers of such sites and briefly discussed the new UNESCO Convention for the protection of underwater archaeological heritage. Other Case Studies included Ha Long Bay in Vietnam and a presentation of the historic town of Onomichi that the local authorities plan to nominate to the World Heritage List. Miyajima-Itsukushima Shinto Shrine The island of Itsukushima, in the Seto inland sea, has been a holy place of Shintoism since the earliest times. The first shrine buildings are estimated to have been erected in the 6th century. The present shrine dates from the 13th century and the harmoniously arranged buildings reveal great artistic and technical skill. The shrine plays on the contrasts in color and form between mountains and sea and illustrates the Japanese concept of scenic beauty, which combines nature and human creativity.

Itsukushima Gate Shrine building Commercial shops

Some of the participants commented the following after the visit:

Yakushima forests

Mohan Abeyratne, Sri Lanka

Underwater archaeology at Galle, World Heritage Site

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- The visitor is left with a wonderful feeling of beauty and calmness after the visit.

- The maintenance of the buildings and grounds is very well kept even though there is only a very small crew of carpenters and maintenance people to do the work; actually, these people are under contract and not full time employees.

- In contrast to the Peace Memorial museum, the interpretation at this site was quite lacking.

- The buffer zone is too close to the shrine; cheap souvenir shops abound in the immediate vicinity of the shrine.

PPuubblliicc RReellaattiioonnss The resource persons and workshop participants met with Japanese authorities and press representatives during and after the workshop. News about the workshop was published in several regional and national papers.

CCoonncclluussiioonnss At the course conclusion, participants were asked to share with the group one important lesson that they had learned during the course or comments they felt were important. Everyone said that the course had definitely improved their knowledge of what the World Heritage Convention was all about, how to prepare a successful nomination and the importance of good management and community participation. The lessons learned applied not only to world heritage sites but also to all types of heritage within their countries. The field trips to the two Japanese World Heritage sites were considered to be essential to the success of the course and the practical exercise of preparing in small groups a nomination of a “real” site was deemed to be the most useful of all exercises and the one that pulled together all the information shared during the week.

Kamal Jung Kunwar, Assistant Conservation Officer, Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Vang Rattanavong, Vice-Chairman, Lao National Tourism Authority

Viengkeo Souksavatdy, Professor, Indonesia Institute of Sciences

Ramesh Thapaliya, Architect, Dept. of Archaeology, Nepal

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The participants identified other areas of knowledge that they suggested would be of use to them in the Asia region. Among those were:

- Issues related to heritage tourism - Sustainable development - Practical use UNESCO conventions - Preparation of management and conservation plans - Integrated management - Project and site management - Development of monitoring and evaluation plans - Appropriate income generating activities - Conservation of materials and restoration techniques (best

practices). - Conflict resolution and consensus building - Community education and participation

UNITAR 2004 Workshop Participants in front of the A-Bomb Dome building World Heritage Site

UNITAR 2004 Workshop Participants at Miyajima-Itsukushima Shrine World Heritage Site

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JJaappaann

Population 126 580 000 (August 1999 est) Ninth largest population in the world Population density 335 per km2 1981 Capital Tokyo Geography Japan is an archipelago situated off the north-east coast of mainland Asia. There are four main

islands: Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku and Hokkaido, all linked by road or rail. There are a number of smaller islands, including the Ryukyu group to the south, centered on Okinawa. The land is mountainous. The highest mountains are in the Japan Alps in Honshu. The land suitable for cultivation (less than one fifth of the total area) is mostly concentrated in a number of coastal plains. Japan has several active and inactive volcanoes, including Mt Fuji, a dormant volcano and Japan's highest peak. The land is crisscrossed with fault lines, and experiences frequent small earth tremors and the occasional big earthquake.

HHIIRROOSSHHIIMMAA Hiroshima city (1990 pop. 1,085,705), capital of Hiroshima prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan, on Hiroshima Bay. It is an important commercial and industrial center manufacturing trucks, ships, automobiles, steel, rubber, furniture, and canned foods. The city is also a market for agricultural and marine products. Founded c.1594 as a castle city on the Ota River delta, Hiroshima is divided by the river's seven mouths into six islands. After 1868, Hiroshima's port, Ujina, was enlarged, and rail lines were built to link it with Kobe and Shimonoseki. Hiroshima was the target (Aug. 6, 1945) of the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a populated area; almost 130,000 people were killed, injured, or missing, and 90% of the city was leveled. Much of the city has been reconstructed, but a gutted section has been set aside as a “Peace City” to illustrate the effects of an atomic bomb. The Peace Memorial Museum is there.

Contemporary Tokyo architecture

Contemporary Tokyo Shinjuku Mitsui Building

Asakusa Kannon Temple, the oldest and most popular Buddhist temple in Tokyo

Cherry Blossom

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Since 1955 an annual world conference against nuclear weapons has met in Hiroshima. Hiroshima prefecture (1990 pop. 2,861,699), 3,258 sq mi (8,438 sq km), is generally mountainous, with fertile valleys. Rice and oranges are grown extensively, cattle are raised, textiles are manufactured, and shipyards are plentiful. Hiroshima, Kure, and Onomichi are among the important cities of Japan. The descriptions one can read from the survivors of this horrendous event are all very gruesome and moving. I had not read any before going to Hiroshima but had the opportunity to read several since then. I thought that sharing one would be enough to give you an idea of what happened.

Peace Memorial Site designed by Architect Kenzo Tange

Futaba Kitayama, then 33 years of age, was 1.7 kilometers from the center of the explosion. Here are her memories: "Someone shouted, "A parachute is coming down." I responded by turning in the direction she pointed. Just at that moment the sky I was facing flashed. I do not know how to describe that light. I wondered if a fire had been set in my eyes. I don’t remember which came first - the flash of light or the sound of an explosion that roared down to my belly. Anyhow, the next moment I was knocked down flat on the ground. Immediately things started falling down around my head and shoulders. I couldn’t see anything; it seemed pitch dark. I managed to crawl out of the debris. Soon I noticed that the air smelled terrible. Then I was shocked by the feeling that the skin of my face had come off. Then, the hands and arms too. Starting from the elbow to my fingertips, all the skin of my right hand came off and hung down grotesquely. The skin of my left hand, all my five fingers, also came off. What happened to the sky that had been such a clear blue one only a moment ago ? It was now

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Cenotaph

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Bell

A reconstruction of "Little Boy" at the Imperial War Museum in London

Nagasaki-type Atomic Bomb "Fatman" The Nagasaki atomic bomb was nicknamed "Fatman" because of its shape. The TNT implodes on the core of plutonium, causing nuclear fission

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dark, like dusk. I ran like mad toward to bridge, jumping over the piles of debris. What I saw under the bridge was shocking. Hundreds of people were squirming in the stream. I could not tell if they were men or women. They looked all alike. Their faces were swollen and grey, their hair was standing up. Holding their hands high, groaning people were rushing to the river. I felt the same urge because the pain was all over my body which had been exposed to a heat ray strong enough to burn my pants to pieces. I was about to jump into the river only to remember that I could not swim. I went back up to the bridge. There, school girls, like sleep walkers, were wandering around in confusion. Upon crossing it, I looked back and found the Takeyacho-Hatchobori area suddenly had burst into flame. I had thought that the bomb had hit only the area where I was. When crossing the bridge, which I did not recognise, I found all its parapets of solid ferro-concrete had gone. The bridge looked terribly unsafe. Under the bridge were floating, like dead cats and dogs, many corpses barely covered by tattered clothes. In the shallow water near the bank, a women was lying face upward, her breasts torn away and blood spurting. A horrifying scene. How in the world could such a cruel thing happen ? I wondered if the Hell my grandmother had told me so much about in my childhood had fallen upon the Earth. I found myself squatting on the centre of a parade ground. I must not have taken my more than two hours to get to the parade ground. The darkness of the sky lessened somewhat. Still the sun, as it was covered with a heavy cloud, was dim and gloomy. My burns starting paining me. It was a kind of pain different form an ordinary burn which might be unbearable. Mine was a dull pain that was coming somewhere far apart from my body. A yellow secretion came form my hands. I imagined that my face also must be in a dreadful shape. By my side many high school students were squirming in agony. They were crying insanely "mother, mother". They were so severely burned and blood-stained that one could scarcely dare to look at them. I could do nothing for them but watch them die one by one, seeking their mothers in vain. As far as I could see with my declining eyesight was all in flames. Steadily, my face became stiffer. I put my hands carefully on my cheeks and felt my face. It seemed to have swollen to twice its size. Now I could see less and less. Soon I would not be able to see at all. I kept walking. I saw on the street many victims being carried away by stretcher. Carts and trucks heavily loaded with corpses and wounded who looked like beasts, came and passed me. On both sides of the street, many people were wandering about like sleepwalkers."

Hiroshima A-Bomb Dome building

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Shadow left on stone where a person was standing when the A-Bomb exploded on 6 August, 1945 at 8:15 AM