This small, rusted tricycle belonged to a 3-year-old boy named Shinichi Tetsutani, who lived in Hiroshima, Japan.
On the morning of August 6, 1945, Shinichi was riding this tricycle in his yard when the atomic bomb was dropped over the city. He was just 1,500 meters from the blast’s center. The explosion destroyed almost everything around him in an instant. His mother found him near his tricycle, suffering from severe burns and other injuries. He died that night.
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| The tricycle ridden by Shinichi Tetsutani when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, is seen exhibited at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. |
Shinichi’s two sisters – Michiko (7) and Yoko (1) – had been trapped under their house and burned to death, so his parents could not face cremating him and decided to bury him with his tricycle in their garden, so he could ride it even after his death.
40 years later his father decided to move his son’s remains to the family gravesite and donated the tricycle to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where it has been on display since 1991.
Treasured by the citizens of Hiroshima, Shinichi’s tricycle leaves a lasting impression on visitors from around the world and serves as a symbol of hope and resilience.
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| Michiko and Shinichi Tetsutani |
“This should never happen to children. Please work to create a peaceful world where children can play to their heart’s content.” – Nobuo Tetsutani, Shinichi’s father
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