Fri, Jul 20: Itsukushima Shrine and Hiroshima

It rained all day.

We took an early boat ride to Itsukushima Shrine on Itsukushima (Miyajima)  island and the "floating" Torii gate.

Because the northeasterly direction is considered to be the demon's gate in Feng Shui, The painted sun is said to block this demon's gate. The great Torii is the boundary between the spirit and the human worlds.

Then back to Hiroshima and the Peace Memorial Park.

The cenotaph, Flame of Peace (hard to see in the pictures but it is in the center of the long flat structure in the pool - below), 

and A-Bomb dome all are aligned. 

The Cenotaph box (under the arch) holds the names of all the A-bomb victims.

The Flame of peace will burn until all nuclear weapons are destroyed.

The A-bomb dome is the only remaining building that was destroyed by the bomb, as a reminder (it was originally an exhibition hall/convention center)
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Most poignant and moving monument is the Children's Peace Memorial, inspired by leukemia victim Sadako.  She was 2 when the bomb went off, developed leukemia at 10, died at 12.  She folded 1000 cranes, since that was an old belief that then your wish would come true.  Classmates and many others around Japan folded cranes, a practice which continues to this day.  Thousands of paper cranes are sent annually to the memorial.  They are kept in displays around the memorial.  On the monument, she is holding a crane.