This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, and over the summer I visited the Peace Museum of Saitama in Higashi-Matsuyama, Saitama Prefecture, to take a fresh look at the history of this tragic conflict and contemplate the preciousness of peace.
A mural depicting a huge map of the world -- measuring 8.5 meters tall and 18 meters wide -- greets visitors at the entrance. Along with the map, the kanji characters for "peace" and "creation" have been painted on the same wall. The elegant lettering was done by the Matsuyama Girls' High School calligraphy club, which serves as the city's tourism ambassador. Taken together, it's a sight to behold.
In the room housing the permanent collection, visitors learn about the history of the war and other information through exhibits donated by people from the prefecture. In the center are two globes, one depicting the prewar world in 1929 and the other illustrating the situation in 1943, when the conflict was raging. It is easy to see how drastically the world had changed by looking at the color-coded images of the colonies and territories held by various countries.
Hanging from the ceiling is a model of a balloon bomb that was launched in an attempt to strike the U.S. mainland. The exhibit is made from Japanese paper produced in the town of Ogawa in the prefecture.
Visitors also have the chance to experience life during the war. In a replica of a classroom from the time, the blackboard has been replaced with a monitor. A video is playing a simulation of the day's moral education lesson. An ethical question is posed: "Do you want to become a soldier to defend Japan in a just war?" Such propaganda spurred children to participate in the war effort.
As I was watching the video, an air raid siren sounded. Everyone moved from the classroom to an air raid shelter that also had been re-created. The sounds of fighter jets and machine gun fire echoed throughout the refuge. As I took cover, I was overwhelmed by the realization that so many people died in the fighting. The horrors of war were laid bare.
In Kumagaya, on the night of Aug. 14, 1945 -- the day before the war ended -- 74% of the city was destroyed by fire in the Kumagaya Air Raid, and 266 people died. I am a native of Saitama Prefecture and just happened to visit on Aug. 14. Seeing photos of the devastated city and incendiary bombs dropped during that air raid reminded me of how grateful I am to live in an era of relative peace.
It was summer vacation, and many parents and children were at the museum. A fourth-grade elementary school student said: "War is something that should never happen. I want to tell my family and friends about what I saw and felt here."
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