Nagasaki Peace Park, Memorial park and sculpture garden in Nagasaki, Japan.
Nagasaki Peace Park is a memorial park and sculpture garden in Nagasaki, Japan, set on a hillside north of the hypocenter. At its center stands a bronze figure with one arm pointing to the sky and another extended horizontally.
The park opened in 1955 following a national law to develop Nagasaki as a city of culture, creating a space of remembrance a decade after the detonation. The bronze sculpture was unveiled that same year, while other nations later contributed additional monuments.
The park's name refers to the peace it promotes, and its zones are named for prayer, learning and sport. Every 9 August the Peace Memorial Ceremony is held before the statue, and the Mayor of Nagasaki delivers a Peace Declaration. The Peace Symbols Zone, set up in 1978, holds monuments donated by other countries, among them a bronze by Czech sculptor Jan Hána and a gift from sister city Porto.
The grounds sit about two miles (three kilometers) north of the main station and can be reached with a short tram ride. The gently sloping paths wind through green spaces and are accessible for wheelchairs and strollers.
The Fountain of Peace was completed in August 1969 as a prayer for bomb victims who died searching for water. A black stone plaque in front of it carries lines by Sachiko Yamaguchi, nine years old at the time of the bombing: she drank water with an oily surface because her thirst was unbearable.
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