Porcelain sake cup, atomic blast Hiroshima: Sister Gwenneth Ayre, AANS

Small white porcelain Sake cup with blue Japanese characters. The bottom has green glass fused to it.

This sake cup was collected by NFX141361 Sister Gwenneth Ayre at Hiroshima during the Allied Occupation of Japan.
The damage to this cup was caused by the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945. The temperature of the blast, which reached up to 6,000 degrees Celsius, melted some glass, fusng it to the glaze on the cup.

In the Allied occupation which followed the Second World War, Australians served as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) from February 1946 until the treaty in 1951 to assist with the demilitarisation and democratisation of Japan. Australian forces worked within the Hiroshima prefecture and day trips to the site were a common occurrence. With no understanding of the dangers of radiation in the area, Australians collected or purchased damaged items from the site as souvenirs to take home.

Ayre served as a nurse at the 130th Australian General Hospital at Eta Jima, south of Hiroshima.