With the class reading Kazuo Ishiguro's A Pale View of Hills I thought it was appropriate to discuss the current and long occurring thanotourism of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing sites. As I was looking for images for the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, I came across an ad for expedia.com which advertized the tourism of Hiroshima. I found it interesting that the wording of this specific ad was so glorifying and somewhat disturbing. For example the first paragraph starts by saying: "Gaze at memorials around the first city ever to be hit by a nuclear bomb or enjoy the art galleries, gardens and cuisine of the rebuilt, ultra-modern metropolis." I find that these word choices illustrate an image of a tourist must-see spectacle in which one should come gaze at and visit the many memorials of the first nuclear bomb site. Also it is fascinating to me to see that the current most famous picture of Hiroshima, is the remnants of the almost-destroyed trade promotion hall, but now referred to as "The A-Bomb Dome." Why do you think these pictures are a very popular device to illustrate tourist sites in Japan? And why do you think tourists make it "a must see" when in Hiroshima?
In regards to my research about tourism in Nagasaki, the Nagasaki Peace Park contains many different statues that have been donated from different countries such as the People's Republic of China, USSR (Russia), Bulgaria, Cuba, Poland, Turkey and man more. The statue above was created by a Japanese sculpture who wanted to convey the Japanese people's wish for hope. I found that bit of information particularly interesting due to the alliances in WWII.
If you would like to read more about the history of Hiroshima, here's an article that Christine assigned in her Nuclear Pacific class: http://www.japanfocus.org/-elin_o_HAra-slavick/3196 I found it incredibly eye opening and relevant to the depiction of Hiroshima.
Wow. That article on Hiroshima is really disturbing. The idea that someone would travel to another country out of a morbid curiosity is something I have a hard time wrapping my head around, and yet that article suggests its a common occurrence. In fact, the language almost suggests that the bomb was a positive thing, that it gave way to the "bustling city of more than a million people" with "skyscrapers" and "flashing lights".
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