MELTED HIROSHIMA SAKE BOTTLE A telling relic from the August 6, 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, a saki bottle showing clear evidence of the intense heat it was exposed to at the time of the explosion. The saki bottle, 5 3/4" tall, remains intact and bears shiny gray glazed surface on its bottom...every other part of the bottle shows the effects of the blast. Much like the "shadows" left on stairways from those incinerated by the bomb, this flask shows a dark side and a lighter side with a clear demarcation between the two, the dark side having faced away from the blast. There is also a 1/4" dimple on the lighter side where the bottle puckered from the effects of the heat. All glazing exposed (except the bottom) has bubbled, giving the bottle the appearance of having been burned. The bottle, recovered near the center of the city, is contained within a simple wooden box whose lid bears the description (in Japanese): "Showa 21 [1946] July, memorial piece recovered from the rubble and dust of destroyed houses where also human remains were found. This is put in the temple as memory of the loss of life". Chilling.