Why Hiroshima Was Celebrating Just 2 Years After the Bomb Dropped
Why Hiroshima Was Celebrating Just 2 Years After the Bomb Dropped
2 minute read
Caption from LIFE. Peace procession headed by gaily clad dancing girls streams through the city. Soon after solemn services Hiroshima was filled with a carnival atmosphere.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
One might have expected the people of Hiroshima, on the second anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb, to convene in mourning for a tragedy still painfully fresh. But on Aug. 6, 1947, the people of that city gathered to send a message of hope and resilience to the world: The epicenter of the bombing was now, they declared, the epicenter of world peace.
LIFE Magazine, having assigned Cary Mydans to photograph the festival, described how the tone of that day seemed incongruous to those who read about it in the press:
A startled world read that Hiroshima, proclaiming itself the new world mecca for peace, had held a carnival. The people planted a camphor tree, which is a symbol of long life, and they prayed, too. But then they paraded through the streets, listened to speeches and had fun. Hiroshima seemed to have risen from the dead. The people were putting their city back on the map. The spirit was that of a U.S. boom town in the late 1800s. Their motto was: look at us and forego war.
In the years since the U.S. had dropped the bomb, the city’s population had recovered—not fully, but still rapidly. Of the 60,000 houses that had been destroyed, 23,000 had been rebuilt. Much of this rebuilding was done in the style of American architecture, as Western influence gained a new hold on Japan.
As people paraded through town in costume, sang songs and waved ribbons of peace, one U.S. Army colonel stationed there had a hard time believing the celebratory nature of the festival. “All we know is that something’s happened to these people,” he told LIFE. “They want peace, and they want to play a part in that peace.”
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Caption from LIFE. In peace square, the Governor of Hiroshima tamps the earth around a ceremonial camphor tree.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Peace procession headed by gaily clad dancing girls streams through the city. Soon after solemn services Hiroshima was filled with a carnival atmosphere.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBoys carry a tree float in the parade at the Peace Festival in Hiroshima on the two-year anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesResidents of Hiroshima participate in a parade during the city's 1947 Peace Festival.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGirls in flower hats watch the parade during the Peace Festival in Hiroshima, 1947.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChildren march in the Peace Festival parade, Hiroshima, 1947.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesHigh school students sing a song for peace at the Hiroshima Peace Festival, 1947.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPeace Festival crowds watch and listen as speeches are delivered.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. At the peace treaty ceremony Japanese weep for dead friends and relatives while a memorial bell tolls at the exact hour of the blast. A moment later they dry their eyes and watch a parade.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA program for the Peace Ceremony hangs on a wall on the two-year anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGirls sell peace ribbons during the anniversary of the bomb dropping in Hiroshima.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGirls sell peace ribbons during the anniversary of the bomb dropping in Hiroshima.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Today Industrial Promotion Building is still a shell, but rubble has been cleared and many new houses have sprung up around it. Most are as flimsy as their predecessors.Carl Mydans—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
