49. Ninoshima Island Monument
We did not ask where they came from.
They did not answer when asked their names.
In a small boat they barely arrived on the island.
Not leaving their last words,
They were the people chased by the hellfire.
Explanation
This monument was erected by the townspeople on Ninoshima Island; however, the enshrined were not the islanders, but the A-bombed victims who had been brought to this island and later died here.
During the war, there was a quarantine and some other military facilities on this island. Right after the A-bombing, thousands of wounded started to be brought here for treatment, but most of them soon died despite first-aid treatment. Some of their bodies were supposed to be buried temporarily on this island, but time passed.
In 1971, bones of an estimated 517 bodies and ashes of an estimated 100 bodies as well as their belongings were dug out in the training farm of Ninoshima Junior High School.
In 1992, about 300 shovelsful of human bones and ashes were found and excavated at the site of the former Army quarantine' s incinerator for horses.
In 2004, 85 bodies and 65 pieces of belongings were dug out.
Those excavated ashes were placed in the A-bomb Mound in the Peace Memorial Park and the belongings are kept in the Peace Memorial Museum.
Location : Ninoshima-cho, Minami-ku