On the south side of JR Nishinomiya Station, in the middle of the bus rotary, there is a monument called “Symphony of Peace.”
Here it is ↓↓↓
Some of you may have thought, “I see it every day, but what is it?” or “Wait, has that always been there?”
This monument, created as a prayer for peace, was built here in Heisei 8 as a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The artist is Yasuhiro Shimizu.
According to Nishinomiya City’s official website, the basic image is of “hands joined in prayer and hands held together” as a wish for peace. It also represents the mountains and sea (waves) that nurture Nishinomiya’s abundant nature, while the dove flying into the open sky and the water gushing from both sides and flowing down as one are also images of peace.
Nishinomiya City declared itself a “Peace and Nuclear-Free City” in Showa 58, and monuments and memorials like this have been installed in various places around the city.
