HISTORY REIMAGINED

Amid the use of new innovations to tackle challenges in the city’s industrial and agricultural sectors, Hiroshima is also seeing inventive use of technology in a more cultural setting. Tokyo-based design firm teamLab has in the past developed numerous artistic exhibitions around Asia, and throughout February and March (and up until April 7) the company gave the city’s historic Hiroshima Castle a vibrant facelift as part of its “Digitised Hiroshima Castle” installation. The surrounding park was adorned with inflatable eggs ranging from a foot high to over two metres tall, each glowing with an array of ever-changing colours accompanied by soothing music. Meanwhile, up on the hill and overlooking the luminescent display below, the castle itself was bathed in light that transitioned from majestic blue and calming turquoise to eerie green and even slightly menacing red. The whole effect serves to turn a simple visit through the historic castle grounds into a tranquil, almost meditative experience.

Hiroshima is steeped in heritage both ancient and modern, with the skeletal remains of the Genbaku Dome (Atomic Bomb Dome), one of the few buildings left standing after the detonation of the atomic bomb in August 1945, among the most emblematic in the city. The potential for technology to breathe new life into these historic sites is not lost on BeRise’s Stephen Boura, who cites the use of augmented reality to make London’s Big Ben appear as though it were in the heart of a giant snow globe. “Being here in Hiroshima, our tourism is normally a little depressing because of the content, but it would be cool to do something of similar respect and take Genbaku Dome and wrap it back in its original form,” he says. “That could bring back a bit of a positive image while also having fun with the technology.”