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Thursday, 30th July 2015
In General Japan News,
Volunteer Hiroshima tour guide uses models to teach lessons from history
A volunteer tour guide at the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima has made two intricate models to help visitors understand the impact the atomic bomb had on the site.
Okihiro Terao had lived in a house just 300 metres from the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, which was the only structure to survive the blast, but his family moved away before the bomb was dropped, reports The Japan Times.
His interest in the topic has remained, however, and he has been offering guided tours of the remains of the hall to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two this year.
Terao has created two models out of stained glass; the first showing the dome before it was bombed on August 6th 1945 and the other depicting the damage afterwords.
He took up stained glass model making after he retired and soon found that he had a particular talent for it.
It took Terao five months to make a representation of the bombed-out dome, but a much lengthier two years to create a miniature version of it when it was still the promotion hall.
When asked about his motivation for telling stories about the bomb and offering visitors the visual aids of his models, Terao said he wanted people to learn from history.
He told the news provider: "I've seen many people suffering from the war and nuclear bombing. We can never repeat that tragedy."
As the only structure to remain standing after the bomb, the dome soon became a symbol of hope and remembrance.
It is officially called the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and in 1996 was inscribed on the United Nationals Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage List.
The dome is surrounded by a memorial park and is visited by people from all over the world who wish not to forget what happened on the site.
Related news stories:
Hiroshima increasingly popular with tourists (11th June 2014)
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