Ashita Kira Kira, Shining Hope for Tomorrow

Cherry blossoms floating in the moats of
Hiroshima Castle, the Military Headquarters;
Hiroshima Castle, the Imperial Headquarters.
Onto the monument for officers and schoolgirls
Cherry blossoms are falling,
As if they are words of comfort

There used to be many military facilities in and around Hiroshima Castle, such as the Chugoku Military District Headquarters. Here, in the semi-basement, there were the strategy headquarters and the correspondence office, where many military and civilian personnel and mobilized school girls were working.

At the A-bombing, most of the correspondence facilities were destroyed in the city. Using the barely working military telephone here, a mobilized girl from Hijiyama Middle School transmitted the first report from A-bombed Hiroshima.