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Complete Renovation of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
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The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum marks its 58th anniversary in 2013.
With the Main Building showing signs of aging, renovations are required.
Today, the majority of the population in Japan has never experienced war, so to more clearly and accurately communicate the reality of the damage caused by a atomic bomb, the museum's exhibits will also be fully reviewed together with the building renovations.
With input from Hiroshima city residents, numerous studies were conducted by the Exploratory Committee made up of members with experience in academic positions, A-bomb survivors and others.
We will be going ahead with the renovations in line with the Basic Plan for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum's Displays developed in July 2010.
Viewing route will change
Currently, visitors enter the museum from the 1st floor of the East Building, and after first viewing the exhibits there, move via the connecting corridor to the Main Building, where they view the exhibits and then leave via the Main Building.
The results of a survey of visitors to the museum showed that on average, it takes around 45 minutes to view the exhibits.
Of that time, 19 minutes is spent viewing the exhibits in the Main Building.
These results indicate that inadequate time is being spent on viewing the exhibits in the Main Building, which form the core of the museum and convey the actual damage from the atomic bombing.
To resolve this issue, after the renovations the viewing route will be different.
Visitors will enter the museum from the 1st floor of the East Building, take the new elevator up to the 3rd floor, view the introductory exhibits and then move immediately to the Main Building via the connecting corridor, so that they can view the Main Building exhibits first.
Visitors will then return to the East Building via the connecting corridor, viewing the East Building exhibits as they move down the floors, and exit from the 1st floor of the East Building.
Exhibits based on four themes
The permanent exhibition will be divided into four themes: "Introduction" (3rd floor, East Building),
"Truth of the Bombing" (Main Building),
"Danger of Nuclear Weapons" (3rd floor, East Building) and
"Hiroshima's Progress" (2nd floor, East Building),
and the content of the exhibits, including the composition and materials, will change significantly.
In particular, the "Truth of the Bombing" section in the Main Building is positioned as the central exhibit theme, functioning to achieve the mission of the museum.
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"Introduction" panorama model
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Greater focus on human damage
The museum's "Truth of the Bombing" section will convey more powerfully the inhumanity of atomic bombs, the enormous extent and devastation of the damage, as well as the suffering and sorrow of A-bomb survivors and families.
This section is divided into two main zones: "Hiroshima on August 6" and "A-bomb Survivors".
The "Hiroshima on August 6" zone will show how the heat waves, blast and radiation from the atomic bomb combined in a complex way to bring about such great damage to the city and its people.
To show how many lives were lost in the city that was destroyed in an instant, the zone will include large-scale A-bomb artifacts such as broken brick walls, the clothes that the deceased were wearing, photos taken of corpses and people suffering from burns, and more.
Many artifacts will be combined in this aggregate exhibit to convey an image of the devastating situation at the time.
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Aggregate exhibit "Hiroshima on August 6" in the Main Building
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In the "A-bomb Survivors" zone, the focus is on people.
The belongings of the deceased are exhibited together with photographs of the deceased and detailed descriptions of the situation when the bomb was dropped.
The exhibit also shows the thoughts of those who donated the articles on display, communicating each individual life and the sorrow of the bereaved families.
This section also uses the accounts of the survivors to communicate the reality of the A-bomb damage, including the physical and mental health problems that continue up to the present day.
Large-scale information search device
Upon returning to the East Building from the Main Building, visitors will view the "Danger of Nuclear Weapons" exhibit on the 3rd floor and the "Hiroshima's Progress" exhibit on the 2nd floor.
Here will be installed a new Media Table, which is a large-scale information search device allowing visitors to investigate topics they are interested in, in greater depth.
The Media Table is equipped with touch panel screens, and visitors may obtain information on various topics that they would like to know about.
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Mwdia Table
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Grand opening in 2018
The renovation work on the East Building will commence in 2013 and continue until 2015, while the work on the Main Building is planned for 2016 and 2017.
Either one of the buildings will be open for visitors during the renovation period.
The grand opening for viewing of both the East Building and the Main Building is planned for 2018.
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| (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Curatorial Division) |
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