The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as the Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome, or A-Bomb Dome, is part of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan. It was originally called the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. In 1996, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This building is an important structure that remained standing after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. This event happened three days before the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and nine days before Japan surrendered, ending World War II. The ruin is a memorial to the more than 140,000 people who died in the bombing. It is kept in its ruined state to remind people of the harm caused by nuclear weapons.

Original building

The Product Exhibition Hall building was designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel. The design included a special dome on top of the building. It was finished in April 1915 and was called the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition (HMI). It officially opened to the public in August 1915. In 1921, the name changed to the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall. In 1933, it became known as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall (広島県産業奨励館 Hiroshima-ken Sangyo Shourei-kan). The building was located in a large business area near the Aioi Bridge and was mainly used for art and educational exhibitions.

Atomic bombing

During the Second World War, on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., the first atomic bomb ever used in war was dropped on Hiroshima. The bomb had a force as strong as 15,000 tons of TNT and completely destroyed the city. Hiroshima was chosen as a target because it was an important port on southern Honshu, the headquarters of the Japanese Second General Army, which had 40,000 military personnel in the city, and it was the only large city not known to have a POW camp. The bomb was intended to hit the Aioi Bridge but missed its target by 240 meters (790 feet) and exploded over Shima Hospital, which was near the Genbaku Dome. The center of the blast was 150 meters (490 feet) away horizontally and 600 meters (2,000 feet) away vertically from the Dome. Everyone inside the building was instantly killed.

Since the explosion was almost directly above the building, it remained standing. Its vertical columns helped resist the blast’s force, and parts of the concrete and brick outer walls stayed intact. The building’s strength is also due to its earthquake-resistant design; it has survived earthquakes both before and after the bombing.

Preservation

The building, made of stone and steel, was the only structure left standing near the bomb's center. Because of its exposed metal dome at the top, it became known as the Genbaku ("A-Bomb") Dome. At first, plans were made to remove the building with other ruins, but most of it remained intact, which delayed the plans. People had different opinions about the Dome: some wanted it removed, while others believed it should be saved as a reminder of the bombing and a symbol of peace. When Hiroshima began rebuilding, the Dome's remaining structure was kept as a memorial.

From 1950 to 1964, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was created around the Dome. In 1966, the Hiroshima City Council decided to preserve the Dome forever, officially naming it the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome). The Dome remains the most important landmark in the park.

Over time, the Dome suffered damage from weather and aging. In 1966, the city council announced its plan to preserve the Dome indefinitely. Shinzo Hamai, Hiroshima's first elected mayor, worked to raise money for its preservation both in Japan and abroad. During one visit to Tokyo, Hamai collected funds directly from people on the streets. Preservation work on the Dome ended in 1967. It has had two small repairs to keep it stable, most recently between October 1989 and March 1990.

The Dome looks nearly the same as it did after the bombing on August 6, 1945. Small changes have been made to keep it standing, such as adding a metal frame inside to support the structure.

As a political venue

Barack Obama was the first current U.S. president to visit the Memorial on May 27, 2016. As a gesture of mutual respect, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu the same year. The leaders of the 49th G7 summit visited the Memorial on May 19, 2023.

In Japan, the memorial is often used for protests against war, nuclear weapons, and nuclear power. The city of Hiroshima holds an annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony at the Memorial.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In December 1996, the Genbaku Dome was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List under the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It was included because it survived a powerful destruction, was the site of the first use of nuclear weapons on a human population, and represents peace.

Delegates from China and the United States expressed concerns about making the memorial a World Heritage Site. China worried that the monument might make less noticeable the suffering of other countries that were harmed by Japan’s actions during the war. The United States stated that a memorial to a war site did not include important historical details. The United States did not support the decision.

Gallery

• Products Exhibition Hall as it was originally built (around 1921–1933)
• Hall viewed from Motoyasu Bridge (around 1921–1933)
• Nighttime photograph, 1921
• Photograph taken in March 1929
• Citizens walking by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on their way to a memorial ceremony on August 6, 2004
• The Dome, photographed from the southwest side
• Distant view of the Dome, photographed from Aioi Bridge
• Side view of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
• Close-up image of the dome
• Dome with plaque
• Peace Dome, past and present
• Genbaku Dome in 2007
• Genbaku Dome at night
• Genbaku Dome at night
• Origami cranes
• Hiroshima Dome viewed from the memorial park
• Overcast in the spring (May 2017)
• Origami cranes at Hiroshima Peace Memorial
• Genbaku Dome in moonlight (November 2018)
• Atomic Bomb Dome photographed in 2020, 75 years after the bombing
• Genbaku Dome seen from Orizuru Tower in 2019
• High noon sun shining on the Genbaku Dome's silhouette on February 13, 2017.