Atomic Bombing 50th Anniversary Commemorative Projects Monuments

When considering the present prosperity and peace of Japan and the development of Nagasaki,we must never forget the fact that about 70% of the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bomb,which exploded over this city at 11:02 a.m.,August 9,1945,were children,women and senior citizens.
Created by Nagasaki-born sculptor Naoki Tominaga,this monument expresses the horror of the atomic bombing,prays for the repose of the souls of the victims from whose noble sacrifice the buds of peace grew,and-through the form of a stricken child sleeping in her mother's warm embrace-reaches with great motherly compassion and pleas for eternal peace toward a prosperous Japan of the 21st century.
Embodied in the monument is the sculptor's reminder that the child is like Japan on the day of the atomic bombing,while the mother represents the support provided by the countries of the world in Japan's efforts to build the peaceful nation that it has become today.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing,the hypocenter area was refurbished and designated as a "prayer zone" a place to pray for the repose of the atomic bomb victims,to inform the world about the forror of the atomic bombing and to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons and for the realization of lasting world peace.
This monument was erected here as the "Atomic Bombing 50th Anniversary Commemorative Projects Monuments" to enhance and strengthen the hypocenter area's role as a "prayer zone" and a hab for world peace.