46 Monument Dedicated to Construction Workers and Artisans

Date of completion

August 5, 1988

Established by

National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions and Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union

Shape

The monument design is an adaptation of the nagare-zukuri roof style seen on traditional Japanese Shinto shrines. The two large Chinese characters, meaning "consolation for spirits" are deeply engraved on the front and back of the monument. Under the two characters are engraved the names of the organizations that erected the monument— the National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions and Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union.

Motive for the erection

This monument, whose purpose is to console the spirits of the construction workers and their families who died as a result of the atomic bombing, was erected in the firm pledge that no more human lives should be sacrificed because of nuclear weapons.

Epigraph

Front: "Consolation for Spirits" "Monument Dedicated to Construction Workers and Artisans"
Back: "By consensus of all 430,000 members of the National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions, we erected this monument to console the spirits of the construction workers and their families who died as a result of the atomic bombing. It is our hope that nuclear weapons will be completely eliminated from the earth and that a peaceful and prosperous society will be built.
National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions and Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union, August 5, 1988"

Noteworthy characteristics

  1. Numbers of Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Union members and A-bomb survivor health book holders

    2. When this monument was erected in 1988, the members of the Hiroshima Prefectural Construction Workers' Unions numbered about 12,500 (about 32,000 including family members), of which about 1,500 survivors were A-bomb survivor health book holders.
    The total number of A-bomb survivors is still unconfirmed, and the exact number of A-bomb victims in the construction industry is also unknown.

  2. Monuments erected in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

    3. By consensus of all 430,000 members of the National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions, another monument was erected in Nagasaki City on August 8, 1988.