Most foreigners know little about Nagasaki except its tragedy as the second – and fortunately the last – city to suffer from an atomic bomb. So visitors are drawn to the free Nagasaki Peace Park. After riding an escalator from Route 206 to the top of Nagasaki Peace Hill, they first see the Fountain of Peace. The open greenspace is then accented by statues and monuments encircling the foundation of a former prison decimated by the explosion. At the north end is this 32 foot Peace Statue by Seibo Kitamura. The raised hand represents the ongoing threat of nuclear war. The horizontal left hand symbolizes peace. The closed eyes indicate a prayer for Nagasaki’s victims.
