WARNING:
There are gory and death graphic photos in this blog post.
1. We have long wanted to visit this Atomic Bomb Museum in Nagasaki to learn from the horrendous past history that shocked the world. We wanted to see how the shadows of the disaster was etched permanently onto the walls of a house as reported. Finally, we arrived at Nagasaki which is a pretty neat looking & tranquil city, rebuilt after Enola Gay wiped the entire place.
2. The whole vast areas of the Atomic Bomb's Museum covered several parks lined with several memorial plagues, rich lush landscapes and blooming flowers. It was like a pretty heavens on earth as I had never seen so much flowers on trees in my life. Nagasaki is beautiful.
3. This memorial piece writes "People At Peace". They have suffered enough and the painful memories lived on for many generations. We need peace to move on.
4. The citizens of this world should unite and foster the spirit to live in harmony and with caring hearts.
My heart was sad and heavy that morning as I remembered my best Japanese friend Kasumi Esaki who was a sophomore year student at Point Park College in Pennsylvania. I met him at the college and became instant buddies for just 3 months. He was very helpful indeed & was the first person to explain to me about this nuclear bomb in details that continued to affect the future generations. His mother survived the war but died later of advanced cancer as all the nuclear radiations were inside her body's cells. She sadly told her 2 sons that they would also die of cancer someday!
5. This is the spot where the Enola Gay plane dropped the Atomic Bomb which actually expoded fiercely before hitting the ground. All the lives came to a Zero.
..............
Kasumi shared this unbelievable story with me and 3 months later, he
called me from Pittsburgh Mercy Hospital. He was dying from the
deadly effects of the nuclear radiations which attacked his spine, lungs and
everywhere! I saw him at his hospital bed and he was all swollen from head to toes like a painful balloon. All the students at Point Park College folded Japanese paper cranes and raised enough funds to help Kasumi to be air-flown back to Japan with a doctor, 2 nurses and 2 technicians in tow. He was granted his last wishes to die in his homeland.
6. When you reach the bridge, just cross it. That's what the proverb says.
7. Nagasaki's Atomic Bomb Museum
8. They hang up many lines of colourful threads to symbolize PEACE. Look closer and they are actually folded paper cranes being strung together beautifully.
9. At 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945,
the explosion of an atomic bomb devastated
Nagasaki. Many household clocks died and stopped ticking as a result of the huge mega explosions!
10. The museum is very big and well spaced out neatly with English/Japanese explanations for visitors to understand.
11. A replica of the deadly A-Bomb that created history.
12. A close-up of what the A-Bomb contained inside that could wipe out the population and kill the future generations!
13. I took many photographs of the exhibits but I will only share a few so that you will make a visit to this museum someday. Here all the tall green bamboo trees were burnt and melted during the explosion.
14. The huge explosions fired and grilled many people alive.
15. This is the most talked about photo that showed a man who stood by his ladder when the Atomic explosions radiated across leaving the shadows of his body and the ladder being etched to the walls. This was really scary and gave me endless goose bumps!
16. The soldier who survived with deadly scars and his uniform that was razed by the radiations.
17. The sad and painful scenes after the devastating Atomic bomb blast.
18. Thousands of survivors were disfigured badly and painfully.
19. This section was special with Japanese language headlines and captions only, for the natives to read. That made me curious to look further at the sensitive photos which triggered some unfavourable comments in the foreign reviews about the museum.To me, this museum was built to share the history and create awareness. It is not a shrine or a place for public apology. Please visit this place with open mind and heart.
20. Pretty folded paper cranes were pieced together to make this colourful Art.
We should all live in PEACE and Say NO to NUCLEAR!
This was a truly sad and tragic event for mankind. Let us all pray that it will never happen again...ever.
ReplyDeleteThe war should not have started and the nuclear might not have been invented too. Peace to all mankind!
DeleteStop making this nuclear bom and start make more R&D on medical it's better than killing those who are innosant than find some solotioun on cure any sickness.
DeleteThis's so sad, I read history about it a lot, but hardly get to see any picture after that incident!!! =[
ReplyDeleteI also felt sad. So much senseless killings until today. When will the humans wake up?
DeleteYes...Going through the news everyday, look at the world is having war, natural disaster all and all...and the worst thing is the pollution is going on and on seriously!!! =[
DeleteThe Mother Nature & World is getting very sick now. All created by some brainless human beings.
DeleteHi TM!
ReplyDeleteHey, I visited the same place back in 2009! Not much changes I see, I remember the beautiful flowers just outside the museum. And those colorful paper cranes and threads were there as well, yes a symbol of peace.
Wow! You lucky lady! You went there in 2009!!!! Did you blog it?
DeleteI took photo with that replica bomb in your picture 11, I think that size attracts our attention!
ReplyDeleteMy heart ached to see that bomb that killed so many lives!!! It continued on to affect their next generations! Nuclear is a horrible thing ever invented.
DeleteOh, they allowed you to take pictures in the museum? Thanks for sharing the information.. don't think I will visit this place too, kind of sad when human lives are involved. When I was in Nanjing, we were taken to the place where many skeletons and skulls of humans were buried, and when I entered the dark gloomy place there, we were asked to be silent and I could feel the sadness and the gloominess of the place. That was all because of the world wars that left many perished and tortured. Terrifying wars...
ReplyDeleteYes we were allowed to take photographs! I saw the Nanjing's gory photos at Shirley's post and closed it. I had no guts to read on. That one was more terrible than in Nagasaki. Alamak tolong!
DeleteHahaha! Just stumbled upon this when I was going thru your posts. Looks like I've more guts than you, Tan. Heehee!
DeleteGood afternoon TM, the weather is good at the moment, it rains heavily last night...
ReplyDeleteSank my heart after reading about this post, so sad about it... Why must this happen?
DeleteI should also ask you why this is happening too? They should learn to live happily like you....everyday look at the weather, cook, cook and eat eat eat....
DeleteI'm here to say hi.. Just back from my Tribunal Acts briefing.. And now, it's time to fong-kung..
ReplyDeleteI'll come back here tomoro k?
Muax...
Hi, am back.. Good morning..
DeleteI took some time to read your post, not once, not twice, but thrice..
I was prepared before I read your post.. I saw your title yesterday but didn't comment as I was getting ready to go home..
My mind was calm, stabilized, neutral and peaceful reading your post, until you said Kasumi himself died from the nuclear effects.. And it was just 3 months after he storied you about the bomb, so soon.. But his last wish was granted, with the help from all the kind uni students..
I will remember your #9 - at 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945.. I know it happened in 1945, but I have forgotten the date, and I didn't know the time.. Now I know..
Your #12, was it the real thing? It was so huge! Frankly, I've never seen a bomb before (besides those in TV, the small one) and that certainly looks huge enuff to wipe off the entire township!
It's indeed heart-pain looking at the photos of the survivors.. To be honest, I am not sure if I'd wanted to live if I'd survived..
Thank you for reading 3 times!!! You will remember this forever and share with your sons to love the world and all mankind. Good mummy!
DeleteThe #12 bomb was just a small replica. The real one is very much bigger and carried by the US plane Enola Gay.
I have yet visited Nagasaki's museum but my family and I visited the Hiroshima Peace Park.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite sad to visit such places and see and read the tragedies that fell on these innocent people. War brings out the worse in men. :(
We also wish to make a visit to Hiroshima Peace Park someday like you all but no mention of the museum. Did you all visit the museum?
DeleteI have met very heartless and cold blooded friends who could be murderers but I could never understand their stand and thoughts. That's why people are at war always due to differences, anger & greed.
I've also blogges about the cranes and the story of a little girl who folded the cranes as it is believed that 1000 cranes can grant wishes but sadly she passed away. Yet her schoolmates continued it for her and years after, school children from all over the world did it and donated it.
ReplyDeleteFrom a sad story came a true unity from all over the world. Don't you think?
Oh let me go track down your crane stories in the other blog! It took me many years to understand why people folded paper cranes in Japan. Humans have short memories and would not always unite after many disasters & deaths. Biadap!
DeleteWe too have our own gory war time stories but of course we are spared from an atomic bomb.
ReplyDeleteThere were Malaysians who were studying in Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) during the bombing.
You were so updated to even know about Malaysian students in Japan during the bombings! The wars in this world have been raging since the days of the Dinosaurs and Pompeii, so the humans have not learned to stop and live with compassion. We had the greed of Hitler and now it's Thaksin & Putin!
DeleteAnay posted some lovely flowers at the start of his post as if to not bombard us with an onslaught of gory photos. Anay is so thoughful.
ReplyDeleteBut the photos after that... our heart can't help to ache, right?
Oh your heart ached too? So I should have posted the flowers last to pacify everyone.
Deletei think that this is my most favourite post of yours to date. because it was both beautiful & sad. i really wanted to cry when i visited the war museum in nanking, china. & reading this entry brought that back to me. it's really really sad when you see that the only true sufferers of war are civilians— innocents who have done absolutely no wrong. thank you, so much for writing this. for sharing. i really appreciate it.
ReplyDeletei also would very much like to visit holocaust survivor museums some day, as much as it will sadden me. i think the one fear i have is to be reborn as a jew during that time. i cannot imagine the extent of pain, fear & suffering jewish people endured. how sad, really. how sad.
thanks for the positivity you left on my page.
it really made me smile.
i'm very touched that you actually took the time to read my rant & left me some valuable advice. i think it's a harsh reality but yes, i will press on. simply because i like doing what i do now & if no one else does, then, so be it. haha! i'll be my only customer! just kidding.. i will most definitely reposition the brand & find my niche. fingers crossed(!)
it's interesting that your wife runs a university— which uni?
& yes, i guess you could say i do have a temper. haha! i'm born in the year of the snake & my mom has often told me that every fortune teller she sees tells her that i need to learn to control my temper. can't help it if i'm constantly provoked— i think anybody would explode! not just me.
Thanks for your compliments which will motivate me to bring my blog to greater heights. I am quite a lazy blogger myself though I love to read blogs.
DeleteSo you are always hissing like a snake but please don't bite or venoms! Just close one eye and take pity on those morons who can't think straight and smartly like ourselves.
I have no guts to even read the website of the Nanking Wars, let alone step into their museum. I would cry and shake in trance if I saw all the gory sad photos!
i don't think i'd ever bring myself to read the book or watch a(ny) movie(s) on Nanking. ))): it's really very very sad.. next to the holocaust, Nanking is the saddest, to me. i don't know why but since visiting the museum, it really affected me.
Deletetime for an update, i think Mr. Twilight Zone! hehe.
curious as to why you've left a comment saying i'd make a good actress. out of all three abilities— singing, dancing and acting, i believe my acting skill is the weakest!!
still, very nice of you to say so. thank you (:
THAT'S INCREDIBLE! i am an advertising graduate, too & i remember arguing with my father about going to New York to pursue my degree. unfortunately, he was dead against me going to the states. D: very very cool that we have the same education! i'm guessing you're probably working in one of the bigger agencies here? (:
Deletei'd love to do stage/broadway but i don't think it's a valid enough "career" in malaysia. unfortunately </3
#1.. agree!! we actually can learn a lot from visiting museums, and the Nagasaki Bombing is just one very important incident in mankind history, how could one missed out the opportunity to visit the Atomic Bomb Museum if you are travelling to Nagasaki right??
ReplyDelete#2.. i agree with you that the place is so beautiful and i LOVE this shot very much.. the sakura looks so divinely pure and the whole place gives me a very serene and peaceful feeling..
#3.. yes, only when one has suffered and experience the excruciating past would really appreciate peace.. my deepest sympathy to all who has lost their family members during the WWII..
#4.. you are so fortunate to make friends from all around the world, and then to learn from them their history and culture.. only one who has seen the world would think with an open mind.. and yes to world peace, we do not want any more war and bleeding and sad news.. bring back the girls, bring back peace, bring back love!!
1. Many people loathe and would skip any museums! I am a lover and die hard fan here.
Delete2. Mulut manis Thambee. You love it and so does Anay!
3. Humans never learn from disasters and pain. They repeat all over again.
4. I do count my blessings in many other ways too for knowing various friends from other continents and dimensions. They have enriched my life and taught me kindness and selfless attitude.
#5.. one must be very down when he or she is standing at that spot where the Enola Gay plane dropped the Atomic Bomb.. and may your good friend Mr Kasumi RIP and lead a happy and healthy afterlife..
ReplyDelete#6.. yes, cross the bridge and don't look back.. walk forward and look ahead.. that's a very beautiful scene BTW and also a beautiful lady to make the photo even more beautiful..
#7.. ah, very unique design of the museum.. futuristic on the left with that glass dome, and traditional on the right with that brick building.. a nice blend though..
#8.. oh, i love those chains of paper cranes!! so beautiful and i guess there are 1000 of them in every chain?? i mean it's rather a popular saying that 1000 paper cranes brings luck and mystery.. did you happen to get some of them??
5. Looking at TV footage of the Atomic explosion that formed the huge mushroom, I think it could burn anyone even a mile away! Yes I think my friend went to heavens because he had the heart of gold and stood out amongst the Japanese guys at the college. He was very kind and helpful to offer to be my friend.
Delete6. My honey would be glowing with pride if she read our Semut's sweet compliments. We should always walk ahead and not to regret what's in the past. The proverb actually taught us not to worry and think too much before the actual day of situation happens. So we are supposed to just cross the bridge without second thoughts!
7. Japan has many buildings with thoughtful and futuristic architectures! Where is Malaysia?
8. Oh yes, I almost forgot that I brought home a jar of cranes! You mahu?
#9.. stunning!!! the clocks stopped at that moment the atomic bomb struck the city.. it seems like the time has stopped and people were suffering forever.. there's no way back, and there's no way forward, just that moment of devastation!! how saddening..
ReplyDelete#10.. i am sure the authority is trying to make all the best way to let visitors enjoy their stay and to learn the most from history in there..
#11.. that is such a huge atomic bomb, and imagine how devastating it was!!
#12.. it was already that powerful back then, and i really think with the same size and scale of the atomic bomb today, one would be enough to destroy the entire world!!
9. It took me a while to understand that the massive and intense heat melted all the parts of the household clocks from ticking! So it was 11.02am
Delete10. They are smart to make the city look peaceful, friendly and nice to live.
11. I knew the atomic bomb blast was horribly a big bang since I was a kid watching TV. It was big enough to end the WW2 with a terrible price!
12. Look at what N Korea, Iran and India have also built today. They could blast our earth into evaporated powder!
#13 - #18.. indeed painstaking, indeed saddening to see all those photos.. we have heard a lot about the bombing but we could never imagine how bad it was..
ReplyDelete#19.. ah, would be good if one can understand Japanese and read what were displayed in this section.. and yes, just visit with an open heart, there is no one to be blamed and let bygones be bygones, we look forward for a better future and whatever sins you thought may have been done, i guess time has already got it slowly disappearing.. remember one thing, the more hatred we have, the more negativity we have in life, and in the end, we would be the one who suffer more.. learn to forgive and learn to forget, what we want is peace and love in the future..
#20.. SAY YES TO PEACE, SAY YES TO LOVE..
13-18. I stood there and stared at the photos as if it was alive. I could feel the pain and hear their cries.
Delete19. After reading your comments, I realised they did not wish to provoke anyone by using just Japanese captions yet there were bad reviews being written. Those writers need to change their mindsets and heart badly. It is best that we know and hear nothing. No news is Good News!
20. Yes Thambee & Anay welcome Love & Peace to All Mankind. Vanakum!
verry proud of this Japanes that they can build up their country verry fast aftyer the bom blast..and today they are leading in most of the electronic sector in the world..
DeleteNagasaki is beautiful with the Sakurai spring ! You went there at the right time, it seems !
ReplyDeleteYou bet! The best time to visit anywhere in Japan is spring when the Sakura turns the country into a heavenly land of flowers!
DeleteThe war has claim many lives of our ancestors , whichever race , be it. Let's hope the future and current generation will not repeat the same mistake.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we should learn from these horrendous mistakes of mankind. Sadly, many countries are still having verbal wars!
DeleteI'm sure this place reminds you of Nanking too. That's such a tragic. Not sure if I can make another trip to such places.........
ReplyDeleteI didn't make it to the Nanking Museum which looked more gory and sad inside! You were so brave!!!
DeleteNice place TM and you started your post with nice photos eh from the first place....
ReplyDeleteThanks for your compliments.
DeleteI never visit Nagasaki during my previous trip...
ReplyDeleteWell, you can visit again and make a trip there by fast trains!
DeleteDeeply feel sorrow about your friend's life...The nuclear radiation is very strong... Something I wanted to say is, those Japanese who suffered from this tragedy are already get prepared what will happened to their next generation. Kasumi has a very strong heart until his last breath. May he rest in peace...
ReplyDeleteI was surprised too that they were tough and bold to face the facts and fate. Now you make me think of his last words again.
DeletePast is a past, we learnt from mistake and help us to plan for the future.... Let us all united and it is still not too late to do so.
ReplyDeleteAlways keep an open heart and not simply hate and feel anger about people. Live in peace.
Is a great place, TM
Yes we should let bygones be bygones and move on BUT many people could not do so. I became a better person after walking out of that museum.
DeleteMy son recently told me he wants to live in Japan...hehehe
ReplyDeleteYour son looks like a handsome Japanese boy. I am sure his past life was from there! Hee hee... His mummy also looks like a Japanese doll.
DeleteWorld PEACE~~
ReplyDeleteWE SAY YES TO LOVE & PEACE...!
DeleteSAY NO TO WARS & BN...!!!
Good morning Anay.
ReplyDeleteFirst photo is like the calm before the storm
Smart & observant pussy cat. Next time I should slot in more flowers in between photos!
Delete2. i see so many trees and flowers there and there ate the shrine/memorial and things like that makes me feel tad sad. Sad for the things that happen in order for beauty to come forth
ReplyDeleteYes the whole area was like a open air morgue feeling! How did you sense that? I didn't know cats have 9 antennas to sense!!
Delete3. Hmmm,,,,they have closure but in other country, many still have yet to have any closure. Their existance and what had happened to them was not acknowledge. War are terrible
ReplyDeleteWars are senseless and not necessary at all from the start. Humanoids consist of greedy and brutal murderers! How to plug a stop to all this? The United Nations need to work harder.
Delete4. if only that we can live in harmony.Unfortunately there will always be some who wants more power and fame . Hence war. Many innocents life are affected by it. for what? for some people fame? Power?
ReplyDeleteSome people love to smoke and drink a lot of toxic substances. So many people's heart and mind also contain toxic and evil vibes that taught them to rob and kill for power.
Delete5. soory to heard this. Read/heard you talk about Kasumi before. I didnt know he had pass away
ReplyDeleteIt was a rare moment to meet a helpful and friendly Japanese student who helped me around the city when I just arrived.
Delete6. or maybe like michi...just enjoy the view
ReplyDeleteShe enjoyed wherever I went. Easy to please her.
Delete7....no comment
ReplyDeleteJust say.... Oh cantek!
Delete8 At first i thought what tali is that but when you say paper crane...well...amazing lo. Realy must wish for peace
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to find out the tali was birds being strung together! How clever and beautiful.
Delete9 it is surprising the clock is still intact.
ReplyDeleteAll their clocks shattered and melted inside the parts. That's why stopped ticking.
Delete10. Good that they also have english writing so that other visitors can understand too
ReplyDeleteThis country Japan is very tourist-friendly and you will never get lost! Ask Mak Glam!
Delete11. The good and the evil. Good is that it stopped the war. Evil that so many had to die
ReplyDeleteWhat a wise quote! You are such a well read cat!
DeleteThe war should not have started anyway, so that no one would think of Atomic Bomb!
12. looks so simple and yet so deadly
ReplyDeleteIt looked like a fat toy to me.
Delete13. left hand side bottle...picture of a factory is it? or skeletons???
ReplyDeleteIt was the Mitsubishi Arms Factory when wiped out by nuclear.
Delete14. gosh its horrible
ReplyDeleteThere were so many gruesome photos like that. I posted is one enough.
Delete15. It's like his soul being plaster there
ReplyDeleteHe stood there and got blasted to the wall with his ladder until the radiation settled down.
Delete16. one thing for sure...he is lucky to be alive and live to such old age
ReplyDeleteI am sure he has gone to heavens by now.
Delete17 & 18 is going to give me nightmares. Can you sleep that night after going to the museum? it's just so horrible leh
ReplyDeleteWhen I come back to read other comments now, I faster scroll down so that I can skip the disfigured pictures..
DeleteMy mind was reeling back to all those gory photos on my way back by train. I just left my thoughts behind in Nagasaki. It was a good lesson for me.
Delete19.each have own opinion of what the musuem should be.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me was those comments came from writers whose country was not at war with them. Some fools just love to hoot and crow.
Delete20. Hear ye hear ye...to all super powers out there . it is time to disarm
ReplyDeleteKim Jong Un - hear that??
Deletesigh....this post very hard to read la. going to have nightmare later. but i think it is harder for you to write. Am imagining you crying with tears and himggus coming out when writing this posts
ReplyDeleteI didn't cry but my heart bled instead trying to arrange the flow of the photos to make them a pleasure to read. I had to put aside the other 80 photos.
DeleteI read about about this museum before. I hope I can visit this place and also the Hashima Island.History is past and today we must view it with an open mind and heart like you said.Glad to see some of the photos you shared.
ReplyDeleteHope you will visit Japan someday with your beautiful daughters and darling HB!!
DeleteAnd that was old technology... yikes
ReplyDeleteSpot on. The way they built the nuclear and transported it was so primitive but it was still deadly alright.
DeleteOh! Almost did not want to read this post because of the warning of gory photos at the top!
ReplyDeleteHow dare you skip my post? Thank God you came! Muahahaha
DeleteThis is so tragic! Really feel sad for the victims. War is never good, and atomic bombs and nuclear bombs should never exist!
ReplyDeleteWars are created by wicked human hearts. Heavens is created by kind and happy hearts.
DeleteBut this museum is very interesting! I will surely visit it if I ever go Japan!
ReplyDeleteYou will love that place and blog it in 5 posts. I am sure!
Deletejapan learns...
ReplyDeleteThe world learns would be more precise.
DeleteHi! Thank you very much for visiting Nagasaki and Nagasaki's Atomic Bomb Museum. I also thanks many people who visited in this post.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will listen this music, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDlk7huMtGg. This song means that" My wife was killed by the atomic bomb,but Nagasaki's church would ring for ever. Thanks again.
Thank you very much Minoru-San for your kind compliments and the music link in YouTube. I listened to it and it was so beautiful but sad. The singer has powerful voice.
DeleteI will visit Hiroshima someday too.
Thanks for the pixz of 'Fatman' & the museum. Sad and pitiful.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome Mr Bananaz! How come you quit blogging?? This is sad too.
DeleteNot yet just cannot find time, traveling overseas pretty often
DeleteTime to start planning a trip to Hiroshima!
ReplyDeleteThe museum at Hiroshima contains many items that were owned by victims of the bomb. I rented the English audio guide and there were brief descriptions on each piece. Some of the stories were truly heart wrenching. Some were disturbing (due to the gore factor). It was a very moving experience and I think it will be great to visit both Hiroshima's and Nagasaki's museums.
I'm already looking at my calendar at potential dates to drop by Nagasaki :)
Yes you should visit Nagasaki and Hashima Island too. I will head over to Hiroshima on your recommendations! I believe that city has more attractions than Nagasaki.
DeleteHow come no new post for so long?
ReplyDeleteWhat a surprise to hear from you! Thanks for coming to hurry me. Ok, Ok I will post a new one soon.
DeleteYou know who I am?
DeleteI would love to to to this place! :)
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows about Hiroshima but Nagasaki is lesser known even though the atomic bomb that was dropped there was bigger than "Little Boy" from Hiroshima.
I love history and stuff like this, must go to this place when we head over to Japan! :)
I am glad you love historical places like me! I hope you will make a trip there soon while it is still cheap. Guaranteed to enjoy!
Deletei have a grandfather clock like that in my hometown. exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteOkay, those photos send shivers down my spine :/
ReplyDeleteDaily in our U.S. press and television, we are smothered by articles on the holocaust in Germany. However, Americans are not knowledgeable about Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Neither are they very aware of the Internment of innocent Japanese and Japanese Americans who lost their homes and businesses during WWII. This is so sad. There should be far more publicity of the horrors of nuclear war, especially the two cities in Japan whose people still suffer into the third generation with serious health problems.
ReplyDelete