Approaching Nagasaki
Nagasaki Peace Park
Nagasaki Peace Park is a park commemorating the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945 during World War II. At the park's north end is the 10-meter-tall Peace Statue created by sculptor Seibo Kitamura of Nagasaki Prefecture. The statue's right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons while the extended left hand symbolizes eternal peace. The mild face symbolizes 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. The statue represents a mixture of western and eastern art, religion, and ideology. Installed in front of the statue is a black marble vault containing the names of the atomic bomb victims and survivors who died in subsequent years.
The Fountain of Peace
When the atomic bomb exploded on August 9, 1945 thousands of people suffered terrible burns and died begging for water. Nagasaki City and the National Council for World Peace and the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons constructed this fountain with donations from all over Japan and dedicated it as an offering of water to the victims of the atomic bombard and a prayer for the repose of their souls.
The fountain sends up a sparkling spray of water in the shape of a pair of wings, evoking the dove of peace and the crane after which Nagasaki Harbor has been named because of its similarity to the shape of the harbor.
Urakami Cathedral
In 1865, the French priest Bernard Petitjean discovered that almost all the Urakami villagers were Christian. Even then Christianity was forbidden still for the locals, those rediscovered Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) were persecuted by the then central governments respecitively. Between 1869 and 1873, over 3,600 villagers were banished to exile by the newly installed government. During their exile, 650 died. The persecuted came back to their home village after 7 years exile in 1873, and decided to construct their own church.
Construction of the original Urakami Cathedral began in 1895, after a long-standing ban on Christianity was lifted. They purchased the land of the village chief where the humiliating interrogations had taken place for two centuries. The annual "fumi-e" interrogations required those present to tread upon an icon of the Virgin Mary or Jesus. They thought the place was appropriate considering their memory of the long persecution. Construction of the building was started by Father Francine and was completed under the direction of Father Regani. The frontal twin spires stood 64 meters high were constructed in 1875. When completed in 1925 until its destruction in 1945, it was the largest Christian structure in the Asia-Pacific region.
The atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, detonated in Urakami only 500m from the cathedral, completely destroying it. As the Feast of the Assumption of Mary (August 15) was near, Mass was held on the day and was well attended. The resultant collapse and heat-wave cindered and buried all those present in the cathedral. The destruction of the cathedral hit the religious community of Nagasaki the hardest, as they viewed it as a loss of spirituality. It had such an impact, that noted playwright Tanaka Chikao wrote his most successful play, Head of Mary, about the efforts of Christians in Nagasaki to reconstitute their faith by rebuilding the Virgin Mary.
Views from the Mount Insayama Observatory
The Japanese enjoy decorating their manhole covers!
