Nagasaki Peace Park
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Nagasaki Peace Park was established in 1955 near the hypocentre of the Atomic Bomb explosion. Part of the concrete wall of the Nagasaki prison, which was located here prior to the bombing, can still be seen.
At the park's north end is the 10-metre-tall Peace Statue created by sculptor Seiboi Kitamura of Nagasaki Prefecture. The statue's right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons while the extended left hand symbolises eternal peace. The mild face symbolises divine grace and the gently closed eyes offer a prayer for the repose of the bomb victims' souls. The folded right leg and extended left leg signify both meditation and the initiative to stand up and rescue the people of the world. Installed in front of the statute is a black marble vault containing the names of the atomic bomb victims and survivors who died in subsequent years. A plaque gives the following statistics:
Dead: 73,884
Injured: 74,909
Sufferers: 120,820
Houses burned down:11,574
Houses half-ruined, 5,509
Houses partly damaged 50,000
Every year, on 9 August, the anniversary of the atomic bombing, a Peace Memorial Ceremony is held in front of the statue and the Mayor of Nagasaki delivers a Peace Declaration to the World.
At the south end of the park is a "Fountain of Peace". This was constructed in August 1969 as a prayer for the repose of the souls of the many atomic bomb victims who died searching for water, and as a dedication to world peace. Lines from a poem by a girl named Sachiko Yamaguchi, who was nine at the time of the bombing, are carved on a black stone plaque in front of the fountain. It reads: "I was thirsty beyond endurance. There was something oily on the surface of the water, but I wanted water so badly that I drank it just as it was."
In 1978 the city of Nagasaki established a "Peace Symbols Zone" on both sides of the Park and invited donations of monuments from countries round the world. The most recent of these - the Cloak of Peace - was donated by New Zealand.
