#atomic bombing

Mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.

Not directly Tokusatsu related but something that should never be forgotten when talking about Japan.  Going to be silent for the rest of the day here in respect for lives lost.

It was a sunny morning and people went about their business as normal when a single airplane flew over their city.  Then at 8:15am (Local Time) the Gates of Hell opened over them, instantly killing 80,000 mostly civilian people.  A further 60,000 would perish later from severe burns or exposure to radiation. The city was Hiroshima and this was 76 years ago today.  This was the first use of a nuclear weapon in war and it would be followed days later by the second and so far last use of the same during wartime.  Since that day, tens of thousands of nuclear weapons have been built, weapons hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs codenamed Fat Man and Little Boy.  The world has had an Atomic Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads ever since.  We need to work towards a world where these weapons are not only never used again but are disposed of entirely.  It might be impossible to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle but we can make moves to make these evil weapons no longer a threat to humanity. A reminder.  This was NOT necessary.  Japan was willing to surrender but the US wanted UNCONDITIONAL Surrender.  With the Soviets having won on their Western Front against the Nazis, they were turning their attention towards Japan, which the Japanese were terrified of.  Bombing two civilian population centers with weapons of mass destruction such as the world had NEVER seen before was more of a way to posture to the Soviets that America was in charge and you better not mess with us that it was a way to end the war more quickly.  It was an atrocity committed as the first blow in the Cold War.

Inside the ”boxes” you can find millions of tiny paper cranes and drawings made by children, who on the photo also can be seen singing for the statue on top.

Source United States National Archives

Today, I rave about 6 different nonfiction books about WWII-era and post-war Japan. Get ready for hell on earth, a defense of Duck & Cover, wacky casts of real-life characters, and long theological discussions!

Extremely touching to actually BE there and realise how much damage it made, both to the city and its people. I’d recommend everyone to pay this place a visit atleast once in their lifetime.