Atomic Bomb Memorial Burial Mound, Hiroshima

The Atomic Bomb Memorial Burial Mound preserves the memory of those whose names and personal stories may never be known, ensuring that they are not forgotten. This grass-covered mound serves as the resting place for the cremated remains of approximately 70,000 unidentified victims, whose bodies could not be identified or whose remains were never claimed.

In the days following the bombing, this area was covered with bodies, including those recovered from the nearby rivers. Because of the summer heat and the scale of the disaster, the dead had to be cremated quickly, often in mass cremations carried out close to where they were found. In 1946, donations from local residents funded the construction of a temporary memorial mound, burial vault, and chapel. Hiroshima City later rebuilt the vault in 1955 and transferred to it unclaimed ashes that had been stored at various locations throughout the city.

Beneath the mound, the remains are arranged in rows of small containers. Some belong to people whose names were recorded but whose families could not be located, while many others remain completely unidentified. Lists of known names have periodically been published in the hope that surviving relatives might recognize and claim the remains of their loved ones.

The bombing left countless victims suffering from severe burns and unbearable thirst. In their final moments, many desperately called for water. In remembrance of this suffering, visitors and mourners sometimes leave glasses or bottles of water near the memorial as a symbolic gesture of compassion and respect.