{Around the outer edge of the plaque:}
The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by atomic bombs in August 1945.
{A sketch of a dove carrying an olive branch is placed between the beginning and end of this sentence.}
{In the main part of the plaque:}
These cherry trees commemorate those who suffered and died there.
平
和
People must unite to rid the world of nuclear weapons for ever.
The ideograms are Japanese Kanji characters forming the word Heiwa which is one way of expressing 'peace' in Japanese.
Site: Hiroshima and Nagasaki - N19 (1 memorial)
N19, Hornsey Rise, Elthorne Park Noel-Baker Peace Garden
There are two cherry trees which is the right number to commemorate the two devastated cities. However, their position is asymmetrical which rather suggests that originally there were 3, or even 5.
We noticed that one of the gates into the peace garden was formed of bold, unusual shapes which may be another Japanese ideogram. If someone who can read Japanese would visit and examine all the gates and report back we'd appreciate it.
This garden was named in commemoration of the peace campaigner Philip Noel-Baker. The 24 July 1984 Opening Day Programme describes the garden, its symbolism and how the planting was intended to mature. In 2023, almost 50 years later, this makes interesting, if rather sorry, reading. And here we learn that there were originally 5 Autumn Cherries (Prunus subhertella ‘Automnalis’).
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