It’s hard to describe, but it was sobering. It was the first time I can remember wanting to leave a museum before I had to.
I’d also researched the bombing before going to get a better understanding of the situation.
After much thought I think I know how to summarize it. As you learn the details they reinforce an understanding that the bombing was necessary, while simultaneously you’re deeply experiencing the horrors of it. Emotionally it’s impossible to reconcile the two.
And then you learn that there were many genuine humanitarian considerations that were followed (e.g. inhumane military torture methods were believed to be developed there; many of the children had already left the city for safety), which is good, but you’re immediately faced again with the facts of how horrifying the bombing was for those in the city, and you still can’t reconcile it.
Furthermore the area and nearby Miyajima is beautiful, while imagining the bombing just seems so awful!
Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.