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Memorial Cenotaph

Near the center of the park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The monument is aligned to frame the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome. The Memorial Cenotaph was one of the first memorial monuments built on open field on August 6, 1952. The arch shape represents a shelter for the souls of the victims.[3][16]

The cenotaph carries the epitaph "安らかに眠って下さい過ちは繰返しませぬから", which means "please rest in peace, for [we/they] shall not repeat the error." In Japanese, the sentence's subject is omitted, thus it could be interpreted as either "[we] shall not repeat the error" or as "[they] shall not repeat the error". This was intended to memorialize the victims of Hiroshima without politicizing the issue, taking advantage of the fact that polite Japanese speech typically demands lexical ambiguity in the first place.[17] The epitaph was written by Tadayoshi Saika, Professor of English Literature at Hiroshima University.[18] He also provided the English translation, "Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the evil." On November 3, 1983, an explanation plaque in English was added in order to convey Professor Saika's intent that "we" refers to "all humanity", not specifically the Japanese or Americans, and that the "error" is the "evil of war":

"The inscription on the front panel offers a prayer for the peaceful repose of the victims and a pledge on behalf of all humanity never to repeat the evil of war. It expresses the spirit of Hiroshima — enduring grief, transcending hatred, pursuing harmony and prosperity for all, and yearning for genuine, lasting world peace."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ambiguity of the phrase has the potential to offend; some right-wing circles in Japan have interpreted the words as an admission of guilt—implicitly reading it as "we (the Japanese people) shall not repeat the error"—and they criticize the epitaph as a self-accusation by the Japanese empire. In July 2005, the cenotaph was vandalized by a 27-year-old Japanese affiliated with the Japanese right.

[Post edited by KCHoo at 05/27/2016 12:23PM]

(In response to this post by HokieDan95)

Posted: 05/27/2016 at 12:21PM

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Current Thread:

"We shall not repeat the evil"...let the debate begin -- HokieDan95 05/27/2016 12:09PM

As an aside -- HoosGuy 05/27/2016 1:53PM

Also our fire bombing campaign dwarfed the casualties of the 2 a bombs -- HokieDan95 05/27/2016 3:02PM

My Dad walked around Nagasaki and Tokyo a few weeks after the War ended. He -- Tuckahokie 05/27/2016 3:05PM

The one thing the Soviets always wrote about a nuclear war was ... -- HowieT3 05/27/2016 5:01PM

We didn't really want them to surrender just yet -- Beerman 05/27/2016 2:26PM

"Daggummit, there he goes again, apologizing again for our awesomeness. -- Hoocinogenic 05/27/2016 1:36PM

It was absolutely necessary to nuke Japan -- dxt037 06/01/2016 7:51PM

Sorry to disappoint but I have no strong opinion on this -- HokieDan95 05/27/2016 2:11PM

Yea, his post did make you look pretty stupid. -- Hoocinogenic 05/27/2016 3:07PM

Yeah as Operator said, terrific speach. Although I am sure the -- 111Balz 05/28/2016 06:53AM

Lol identify the place where I expressed outrage ** -- HokieDan95 05/28/2016 1:49PM

Are you like 10 years old or something? ** -- HokieDan95 05/27/2016 3:46PM

An excellent riposte my hokie friend. -- Hoocinogenic 05/27/2016 5:07PM

And it doesn't appear he actually said it. ** -- KCHoo 05/27/2016 2:13PM

But he might have thought it so that is essentially says he said it ** -- FfxStationHokie 05/27/2016 2:22PM

Sound advice for you to follow. ** -- Hoos Operator 05/27/2016 4:21PM

He needs to pick up the pace on apologizing to all of those wronged by -- Tuckahokie 05/27/2016 1:58PM

Surely you're referring to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney? ** -- Hoocinogenic 05/27/2016 3:18PM

Source per wiki -- KCHoo 05/27/2016 12:21PM

And this is the text of his actual speech -- KCHoo 05/27/2016 1:33PM

As you know, I am not an Obama fan, but that is one helluva speech. ** -- Hoos Operator 05/27/2016 4:28PM

It was. HokieDan appears to be the only person who thinks that in "debate" ** -- VAGentleman05 05/28/2016 07:45AM

I thought it was good also. Always woinder how much input the president has ** -- KCHoo 05/27/2016 4:50PM