Our trip around Japan has thus far been fascinating, as we experience the beauty of its landscape, the depth of its culture, and the friendliness of its people. Our afternoon visit to Hiroshima, however, was profoundly humbling and thought-provoking. Now a bustling metropolis of 1.2 million people sprawling across the broad delta of a river pouring into Japan’s inner sea, it was hard to visualize the day, just over 79 years ago in August 1945, when the Enola Gay dropped the world’s first nuclear weapon here – then a city of 350,000 souls. By the end of that year, 140,000 people had died. Please read on.
David Kotz 