Honkawa School Peace Museum

photo by Kiyokun · Pubblico dominio

Of about 400 children and 11 adults in the school, only one teacher and one child survived.

The school, 410 metres from the hypocentre according to the city's tourism website, is almost entirely destroyed on 6 August 1945: of the head teacher, 10 teachers and about 400 children present (those who had not been evacuated, plus the first- and second-year classes), only one teacher and one child survive, says the official page of the Peace Museum. The old building, now a museum, stands next to the rebuilt school, which is still in use; you get in by ringing the intercom at the gate.

The Honkawa School Peace Museum (formerly 本川国民学校) occupies the surviving building of Honkawa Elementary School, 410 metres from the hypocentre. On 6 August 1945 the school is almost entirely destroyed: of the head teacher, ten teachers and about 400 children present that day (the first- and second-year classes, plus those who had not been evacuated for family reasons), only one teacher and one child survive, according to the official page of the Peace Museum. The school returns to operation on the same site, and the old building now houses the museum, open to the public separately from the rest of the school complex.

ℹ️ Open 9:00–17:00, last entry at 16:40 (the municipality's official page, same hours as the Fukuromachi school). You get in by ringing the intercom at the gate of the school, which is still in use. Weekly closures and a special opening on 1–10 August appear only in search summaries, not on an official page read in full.

🚉 Honkawa-cho · 2 min walk

Sources: hpmmuseum.jp · city.hiroshima.lg.jp · city.hiroshima.lg.jp

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