The Eternal Flame, the Persimmon of the A-Bombed Tree, and the Origami Crane Experience Room—Who Will Bear the Cost of Maintaining the “Vessels of Memory”?

Hiroshima has many “vessels” that physically preserve the past. The “Eternal Flame” at Daisho-in on Miyajima, which has reportedly been burning for over 1,200 years. A newly established exhibition space for children at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The persimmons from the second generation of A-bombed trees that bear fruit along Peace Boulevard. All of these share the same purpose of “passing memory to the next generation,” yet the mechanisms supporting them are entirely different. When we line up these three vessels—crowdfunding, public budgets, and natural renewal—the contours of the question of who will take on the “infrastructure of memory” begin to emerge.

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Rebuilding the Eternal Flame Hall—A Structure Where Citizens “Bear a Portion”

In May 2023, the Eternal Flame Hall at Daisho-in on Miyajima was completely destroyed by fire. This was the place where the goma fire, lit by Kobo Daishi during his training, had been kept burning for over 1,200 years, and it is also known as one of the embers of the “Flame of Peace” in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The loss of the Eternal Flame Hall was not only a loss of a physical structure but also a blow to the continuity of time that represented the “keeping the flame alive.”

Daisho-in chose to raise funds for reconstruction through crowdfunding. The target amount is 120 million yen. While this is not a small sum for temple reconstruction, it is not designated as an important cultural property by the national government, making it less likely to qualify for public subsidies. In other words, it is a structure where the “vessel of memory” that has fallen outside the framework of public budgets is picked up by the hands of citizens.

Crowdfunding has a unique dynamic. Donors connect with the project through returns—such as goshuin (temple stamps), commemorative items, and engraved names. Regardless of the amount donated, there remains a sense of involvement: “I was part of this.” However, this system also has its fragility. The success of fundraising depends on the effectiveness of public relations, and if interest wanes, donations will slow. How to continue to cover the maintenance costs after reconstruction—such as roof repairs, fire safety equipment updates, and daily fire management—is a problem that lies beyond the reach of crowdfunding.

Nonetheless, what is noteworthy is that this method visualizes “who takes on the memory.” The number and amount of donors serve as a thermometer for societal interest in the Eternal Flame Hall. The total amount raised directly reflects the number of people who wish to preserve this memory.

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Children’s Exhibition Space at the A-Bomb Museum—”Stability” Guaranteed by Public Budgets and Its Conditions

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum has decided to establish a new exhibition space for children, with models set to be unveiled in 2024. The Hiroshima City government is the project’s main body, investing public funds to advance the development. The design of the exhibition incorporates insights from education and psychology, carefully crafting pathways for young visitors to engage with the realities of the atomic bombing.

The greatest advantage of development through public budgets is that funding does not rely on individual goodwill. Once approved by the city council, the budget is highly likely to be executed as planned. The general budget of Hiroshima City is approximately 680 billion yen (for the fiscal year 2024), with a portion allocated for peace-related projects. The annual number of visitors to the museum reached about 1.76 million in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and entrance fee revenues provide a stable foundation.

However, public budgets come with their own constraints. Budgets compete with other projects during annual planning and are influenced by population decline and fluctuations in tax revenue. The cost of “creating” an exhibition space and the cost of “maintaining” it are two different matters, with the latter often being less glamorous and thus lower in priority for budget requests. How to continually secure funding for ongoing expenses such as updating exhibition panels, maintaining audiovisual equipment, and staffing guides becomes the true challenge for a public “vessel of memory.”

Another point that cannot be overlooked is that operating with public funds means that the content is a product of public consensus. What to exhibit and how to phrase it requires a balance between educational consideration and historical accuracy, and the process of forming consensus itself incurs costs. Maintaining memory as a “public” entity also means taking on such burdens.

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The Persimmons from A-Bombed Trees—Memories Renewed by Nature “On Its Own”

Along Peace Boulevard in the Naka Ward of Hiroshima City, there is a persimmon tree that is a second-generation descendant of an A-bombed tree. The parent tree survived the bombing approximately 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, and second-generation trees grown from its seeds and seedlings have been planted throughout the city. As of 2024, there are about 160 A-bombed trees managed by Hiroshima City. Including second and third generations, trees that carry memory have roots spread even wider.

The persimmons bear fruit. In this fact, there is no intervention from a “system” designed by humans. Photosynthesis, water, and soil microorganisms cycle through the same process every year. The maintenance costs are limited to tree management tasks such as pruning and pest control, which are on a completely different scale from the reconstruction costs of the Eternal Flame Hall or the exhibition development costs of the museum. The mechanism of natural renewal can be said to be the most sustainable and cost-effective “infrastructure of memory.”

However, natural renewal comes with variables that humans cannot control. Typhoons, diseases, climate change. The aging of A-bombed trees is serious, and there are many individuals whose vitality has diminished. Hiroshima City conducts regular diagnoses by tree doctors and promotes the cultivation of successor trees, but no one can guarantee “how long they will live.” To entrust it to nature also means taking on the risk of loss.

Still—before the sight of persimmons heavily swaying on the branches, people receive something beyond logic. The feeling that “it is still continuing.” What the A-bombed trees convey is not information, but the very thickness of time.

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What Becomes Clear When We Line Up the Three Vessels

When we line up the three “vessels of memory,” the contours of each mechanism become clearer.

It is interesting to note that the three mechanisms complement each other’s weaknesses. Crowdfunding is strong in visualizing interest but weak in sustainability. Public budgets are strong in stability but lack flexibility. Natural renewal has low costs but is uncontrollable. It is difficult to support the “infrastructure of memory” with just one of these; rather, the transmission of memory gains redundancy through the overlap of multiple mechanisms.

This redundancy may actually be the most important structure. Even if one vessel breaks, another can continue to preserve memory. Even if the Eternal Flame Hall burns down, the Flame of Peace continues to burn in the park. Even if the museum’s exhibitions are updated, the A-bombed trees continue to flourish in the same place. Preserving memory is not about betting on a single means but about running different mechanisms in parallel.

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The Question Beyond “Who Will Pay”

“Who will bear the cost of maintaining the vessels of memory?”—the answer to this question, at this point, is “everyone, little by little, in different ways.” Citizens donate a portion, the government allocates a budget, and nature quietly bears fruit. Each mechanism operates at its own pace and logic.

However, a more fundamental question lies before the question of “who will pay.” It is the question of “who decided to preserve this memory?” It was Daisho-in and the donating citizens who decided to rebuild the Eternal Flame Hall. It is Hiroshima City that decided to establish the new exhibition space, backed by its citizens. It is also humans who decided to preserve the A-bombed trees. Nature grows on its own, but the meaning of “protecting this tree as an A-bombed tree” cannot arise without human intention.

Ultimately, the issue of cost boils down to the issue of will. As long as there are people who wish to preserve it, systems will be created—even if they are imperfect. Conversely, the fact that these systems continue to operate is proof that there are still people who wish to preserve it.

In the city of Hiroshima, fires burn, exhibitions are organized, and persimmons bear fruit. Behind the scenes, someone writes budget documents, someone designs donation pages, and someone holds pruning shears. What supports the vessels of memory is not the memory itself but the movements of people who seek to pass on that memory.