Overview
Kenzō Tange won the 1949 competition with a plan that puts the museum, the cenotaph and the dome on a single axis, so that the arch of the cenotaph frames the ruin and the flame between them. The flame has burned since 1964 and is to be extinguished when the last nuclear weapon on earth is dismantled. The museum’s east wing gives the historical account and the main building holds the objects and testimony; it is not an easy visit and is not meant to be.
Highlights
Go through the museum first and walk out to the cenotaph and the dome afterwards, which is the order the plan intends. Allow two hours for the museum alone. The Children’s Peace Monument, hung with paper cranes sent from schools worldwide, commemorates Sadako Sasaki, who died of leukaemia at twelve.