The Gates of Peace

Peace Gate (Heiwa no Mon) is located on the south side of Peace Memorial Park across Peace Boulevard. It is a public art installation composed of 10 gates, each about 9 m high, 2.64 m wide, and 1.6 m deep. From JR Hiroshima Station, you can take Hiroshima Bus Route 24 bound for Yoshijima Eigyosho and get off at the "Peace Memorial Park" bus stop, which is right in front of the gates. The Peace Gate was installed in 2005, marking the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing. The creators are architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and graphic artist Clara Halter. As part of the "Wall for Peace" project, they also worked on the "Wall for Peace" in Paris’s Champ de Mars and the "Tower of Peace" in Saint Petersburg. The glass-covered gates are engraved with the word "peace" in 18 characters and 49 languages. At night, the gates are illuminated and the engraved words appear to glow. The number of gates—10—reflects an idea inspired by Dante’s "Divine Comedy": the 9 circles of hell plus Hiroshima’s atomic bombing as an added “hell,” while the artwork ultimately expresses a hopeful future in which humanity moves toward peace beyond the past. The Peace Gate is aligned parallel to the 10 columns of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.