Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation

November 2021

PEACE
CULTURE

vol.1 No.86 (semiannual)try.
Mayor Matsui also called on the Japanese government toimmediately sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibitionof Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), in accordance with the willof the hibakusha . He also asked that the government participates in the first Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW
as an observer, constructively fulfilling the role of mediator
between nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states and creating an environment that restores trust among nations andhelps to set a path toward security that is not dependent
on nuclear weapons. Mayor Matsui also said that as theaverage age of the hibakusha is now nearly 84, he calledstrongly for more generous assistance for them and themany others who suffer in their daily lives from the harmful physical and emotional effects of radiation, in addition
to immediate aid for the people suffering from exposure to“black rain”.

Peace Memorial Ceremony
76 Years Since the Atomic Bombing“No one else should ever suffer as we have.”
These words express the will of survivors
who, having known horrors too painful torecall, were condemned to fear, frustration,
and agony by the likely future of their children and their own irradiated bodies.
On August 6, 76 years since the dropping of the atomic
bomb, the City of Hiroshima held its Peace Memorial Ceremony in Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima City. Approximately 750 people attended, including A-bomb survivors,
bereaved families, and guests. They prayed for the reposeof the souls of atomic bomb victims, and for perpetualworld peace. In the same way as last year, participants inthis year’s ceremony were limited in a more compact ceremony, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The ceremony started at 8:00 a.m. Hiroshima Mayor
Matsui and two representatives of the bereaved families
dedicated two volumes of the Register of the Names of the
Fallen Atomic Bomb Victims to the shrine in the Memorial Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims. Over the past
year, 4,800 people’s deaths had been confirmed and theirnames were recorded in the Register. This brings the total
number of names recorded in the Register to 328,929 people, in 121 volumes.
This was followed by an address by Mr. Yamada, chairperson of Hiroshima City Council, and a dedication of
flowers by various representatives. At 8:15 a.m., the timethat the bomb was dropped, Mr. Hidemi Murata, the representative of the bereaved families, and Miss. Nagisa Ishida, the children’s representative, rang the Peace Bell, andall participants observed a minute of silent prayer.
Mayor Matsui then read out the Peace Declaration. In the
Declaration, the Mayor made a strong demand to world
leaders, to move away from a stance of self-defense using
nuclear weapons to threaten each other, to security basedon trust coming from dialogue. He said that leaders need tounderstand that experience has taught humanity that rather
that threats, treating each other with empathy and building
long-tasting friendships will lead to benefits for each coun-

Mayor Matsui reading out the Peace Declaration

In attendance at the ceremony were representatives of
bereaved families from 24 prefectures, in addition to representatives and ambassadors from the European Union
and 83 nations, including the nuclear weapon states of theUnited States, the United Kingdom, France and Russia.
The full texts of the Peace Declaration and the “Commitment to Peace” that were read out at the ceremony areavailable on the City of Hiroshima website. The Peace
Declaration is available in Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
(General Affairs Division)
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This is because such acts all lead to the creation of peace.
In this way, promoting a culture of peace constitutes
peace activities that can be conducted by anyone in any
city, regardless of race, gender or age. This is why thisnew vision paves the way for a new horizon for peace.
Mayors for Peace was started on June 24, 1982, at theUnited Nations General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament when the then-Hiroshima Mayor Araki called on thecities of the world to work in solidarity with each otheracross borders, and forge a path together for the abolitionof nuclear weapons. This came to fruition in 1985 withthe holding of the 1st World Conference of Mayors for
Peace through Inter-City Solidarity. In 2022, Mayors for
Peace will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Taking this opportunity, Mayors for Peace will loudly proclaim the target of “Promote a culture of peace”, aiming for a peacefulworld free of nuclear weapons.
(August, 2021)

A New Horizon for Peace:
Promote a culture of peace

Takashi Koizumi
Secretary General of Mayors for Peace

On July 7, 2021, the “Vision for Peaceful Transformation
to a Sustainable World (PX Vision)” was adopted at the
Executive Conference of Mayors for Peace, held online.
It replaces the former 2020 Vision. This was the very day
four years ago that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted.
In this new Vision, a new target was set: to “promote a
culture of peace”. In the Peace Declaration made by Hiroshima Mayor Matsui (President of Mayors for Peace)on August 6 this year, the mayor spoke about the needto promote a worldwide “culture of peace” and create anenvironment to encourage a policy shift among world
leaders. He stated that if the determination to live inpeace sweeps through civil society, who elect our leaders,and people renounce nuclear weapons, which symbolize human violence, we will take a definite step towards
achieving a nuclear weapon-free world. This is a succinct
summary of the significance of the new Vision, including“Promote a culture of peace”, which is a more fundamental objective for civil society.
A key pillar in the vision up until now was “Realize aworld without nuclear weapons”. This is a task that needs
to be undertaken by all humankind. The second pillar of
the vision was “Realize safe and resilient cities”, which
focused on initiatives taken by each region to address avariety of different issues. Compared with these, the newpillar of “Promote a culture of peace” includes the meaning of peace on a global scale while at the same time emphasizing the importance of efforts by each individual citizen in their daily lives. In that light, “Promote a cultureof peace” contains various meanings; anyone can possess
their unique “culture of peace” within themselves. To“promote” this does not mean doing anything in particular that is different from what has been done up until now.
For example, “Promote a culture of peace” could refer toa hibakusha who has been speaking about his/her A-bomb
experience based on the wish that “No one else should
ever suffer as we have.” As a more familiar example,
people who pursue their own happiness, or pursue theirfamily’s peace and happiness could also be said to be implementing a wonderful promotion of a culture of peace.

Mayors for Peace adopts
its new Vision and Action Plan
12 th Executive Conference of Mayors
for Peace
To date, Mayors for Peace has conducted various initiatives for the abolition of nuclear weapons, based on
the 2020 Vision and with the hope of achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons while hibakusha are still
alive. As the 2020 Vision ended at the end of the previous year, on July 7, 2021, the 12th Mayors for Peace Executive Conference was held online, with 18 Executive
Cities participating, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Conference unanimously adopted the new Visionand the Action Plan up to 2025.

Attendants at the Executive Conference

PX Vision
The title of the new Vision is “Vision for PeacefulTransformation to a Sustainable World (PX Vision):
Peacebuilding by Cities for Disarmament and Common
Security”. As the title indicates, our goal is to achieve aworld in which all people can perpetually benefit frompeace by realizing the total elimination of nuclear weap2

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Specifically, to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, which the hibakusha have appealed for over manylong years, Mayors for Peace will work on expanding thenumber of countries to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibitionof Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), in order to maximize theinfluence of this treaty, which entered into force in January 2021. To do this, we will urge nuclear-armed states
and their allies to first participate in the Meetings of States
Parties as observers, and then to join discussions for effective implementation of the treaty and good faith engagement to achieve universal nuclear disarmament regime.
We will also take various opportunities, including international conferences on nuclear disarmament such as theNPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) Review Conference and the Meetings of States Parties to the TPNW, to make appeals on the importance ofmoving away from nuclear deterrence, full implementation of the NPT nuclear disarmament obligations, andvisiting the atomic bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To address these, we will urge the United Nations
and national governments to establish a common security
framework that is based on mutual cooperation, to makesubstantial progress on nuclear disarmament toward thetotal abolition of nuclear weapons, based on the earnest
wishes of the hibakusha .
In addition, we will continue our signature petition calling for all states to join the TPNW as soon as possible, as away to call on a wide range of citizens to encourage theirgovernments to change their policies.

ons and by attaining and maintaining peaceful coexistence between the whole of humanity. Based on the PX
Vision, Mayors for Peace will build cities where citizens
act with a strong sense of solidarity for the ultimate goalof realizing lasting world peace. To accomplish this, following three objects are set forth in the PX Vision: torealize a world without nuclear weapons, to realize safeand resilient cities, and to promote a culture of peace.

Objective A: Realize a world without nuclear
weapons
With cities and the citizens who live in them being
their targets, and catastrophic consequences on a global
scale to be inflicted by their use, nuclear weapons are thegreatest threat to the safety and security of citizens’ lives.
We will urge global leaders to effect peace-oriented
policy change by calling on the UN and national governments, especially the nuclear-armed states and their
allies, to take concrete action for the total elimination of
nuclear weapons.
Objective B: Realize safe and resilient cities
In pursuit of ensuring citizens’ safety and security, we
will strive to address and solve a diverse range of issues
distinctive to each member’s region that are threatening
the coexistence of the human race such as starvation,
poverty, the plight of refugees, human rights abuses, andenvironmental degradation.
Objective C: Promote a culture of peace
We will seek both to create an environment that urges
policymakers to demonstrate decisive leadership to effect peace-oriented policy changes that facilitate the abolition of nuclear weapons, and to establish a civil society in which citizens act with a strong sense of solidarity
for the realization of peaceful coexistence between thewhole of humanity. To that end, we will cultivate peace
consciousness and cause a culture of peace―a culture inwhich the everyday actions of each member of the public are grounded in thinking about peace―to take root in
civil society as the foundation of lasting world peace.

2. Contribute to a sustainable Earth and society
In Objective B: Realize safe and resilient cities, we will
promote initiatives in each region of the world to solve
a diverse range of issues and challenges such as terrorism, the plight of refugees, environmental degradation,
acceptance of diversity and promotion of inclusion. The
aim is to contribute to a sustainable Earth and society bypromoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
set forth by the United Nations. The 24 Lead Cities incountries around the world will take the initiative in implementing activities that match the situation distinctive
to each member’s region.

Mayors for Peace Action Plan (2021-2025)
The Action Plan, adopted at the same time as the Vision, incorporates initiatives to be implemented together
with member cities based on the three objectives of the
Vision, in order to ensure the safety and security of thecitizens from the threat of nuclear weapons, and at thesame time enable the sustainable and peaceful coexistence of human race.

3. Foster and expand of international public
supportIn order to reinforce the above objectives (Realize aworld without nuclear weapons; and Realize safe andresilient cities), we believe it is important to foster andexpand international public support for lasting world
peace. Under Objective C: Promote a culture of peace,
we will promote three initiatives.
First, we will hold a variety of events of art, sports, etc.

1. Sharing in the hibakusha ’s earnest wishes
In Objective A: Realize a world without nuclear weapons, initiatives will be pursued that are based on sharing
the wishes of the hibakusha .
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to encourage more citizens to think about the importanceof peace and to cultivate peace consciousness in civilsociety. In close collaboration with international peace
research institutes, we will share relevant information on
nuclear weapons on the Mayors for Peace website andin the monthly newsletter.
To have as many people as possible deepen their understanding of the realities of the atomic bombings andwar, we will also hold poster exhibitions and provide
opportunities for people to hear atomic bomb testimonies and talks on war experiences.
In addition, in order to encourage young people, whowill be responsible for peace activities in the next generation, to deepen their understanding of the realitiesof the atomic bombings, to think about the importanceof peace, and to work proactively for a peaceful world
without nuclear weapons, we will promote efforts toenhance peace education, such as the “Children’s Art
Competition ‘Peaceful Towns’” and to spread educational activities on peace and disarmament.

aim of achieving 10,000 cities, we will enhance the above
activities and promote collaboration with internationalorganizations, NGOs, and peace research institutes.
We will also work to share information through social
media and conduct public relations activities to makemore people aware of the activities of Mayors for Peace,gain a greater number of supporters, and receive donations and other forms of support.
Based on this new PX Vision and Action Plan, Mayors
for Peace, together with its member cities, will work tirelessly toward the realization of lasting world peace.
(Mayors for Peace Administration Division)

75 years since the atomic bombing:communicating the reality ofthe bombing from Pearl Harbor－ Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb andPeace Exhibition at Battleship Missouri
Memorial －4. P
 romote sustainable development of Mayors
for Peace as an organization
Sustainable development of Mayors for Peace as an organization will be key to consistent implementation of
the above initiatives. For that reason, we will promote thefollowing five initiatives: expansion of our membership,enhancement of member city initiatives, collaboration
with a diverse range of groups, strengthening of the functions of the Secretariat, and improvement of our financial
capability.
Specifically, while expanding our membership with the

Takuo Takigawa
Director of the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum

From August 13, 2020 (75 years after the atomic bombing)
to February 27, 2021 (80 years after the start of the war
between Japan and the United States), the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb and Peace Exhibition was held at the

A-bomb Testimony Recital Sessions

The stories written by the hibakusha , their families, and the bereaved relatives of the victims are extremely moving, containing truths and emotions that only those who know the reality of the atomic bombing can write.
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims holds “A-bomb Testimony Recital Sessions” to share the memories and thoughts of the hibakusha with many people and pass them on to the next generation byreading and talking about their testimonies and A-bomb poetry.
At the recital sessions, first images are used to explain the actual damage caused by the atomic bombing. This is followed by the reading of A-bomb testimonies and poetry by A-bomb testimony recital volunteers. Finally, the participants
read out their own A-bomb poems. By listening to the readings while imagining what it was like at the time of the atomic
bombing, and by actually reading aloud, the experience of the atomic bombing as it was written down is conveyed with asense of realism, and the sorrow, suffering, and desire for peace of the hibakusha is deeply felt.
On August 5 and 6, 2021, four recital sessions were held, twice a day, where visitors to Peace Memorial Park could participate without reservations. A total of 143 people participated in the event, including parents, children, and students who
were visiting Hiroshima as part of peace studies. Participants commented, “I could truly understand the sorrow of the hibakusha ,” and “I was moved to tears when I actually read it out loud.”
The Peace Memorial Hall holds various recital sessions, including regular recital sessions held on the third Sunday of
every month, recital sessions for children and students who visit the Peace Memorial Park on school trips or for peacestudies, and recital sessions held at schools, where A-bomb testimony recital volunteers travel to the schools. Please contact the Peace Memorial Hall for inquiries.
【Inquiries】
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims ／ Phone: (082) 207-1202
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Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, thesite of the start of the war between Japan and the UnitedStates. Twenty A-bomb artifacts and thirty panels explaining the reality of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima andNagasaki were displayed to convey the actual damage inflicted by the atomic bombings.

control, and the museum eventually opened on December
16, just before the end of the year.
Although themuseum wasopen only fourdays a week, wewere able to extend the exhibition period, fromthe original plan
ending at the end Venue of the A-bomb exhibition (photographprovided by Battleship Missouri Memorial)of November, toFebruary 27, 2021. I felt like I had somehow managed toclimb up from rock bottom.

Battleship Missouri Memorial
In September 1945, around four years after the outbreakof war between Japan and the United States, the ceremony
for the signing of Japanese Instrument of Surrender washeld on the Battleship Missouri. After being decommissioned, the Missouri was docked at Pearl Harbor in 1998,
and was opened to the public the following year as theBattleship Missouri Memorial.
The highlightsof the ship include the deck
where the signingceremony took
place, the 16-inch
main gun, and
the Wardroom in Battleship Missouri Memorial (photographprovided by Battleship Missouri Memorial)
officer’s Country.
Visitors can also see the Kamikaze Deck, the site of the
Kamikaze suicide plane crash. In April 1945, during a battle off the coast of Okinawa, a suicide plane plunged into
the starboard stern area of the ship, causing a fire. Afterthe fire had been extinguished, the body of a suicide attacker was found on the deck, with only the upper half of
his body remaining. The crew tried to quickly dispose of
the body, but Captain William Callahan said, “Now that heis dead, he is no longer our enemy, and we should respect
his actions in fighting for his country. He shall be given a
military burial at sea.” The next morning, with many crew
members watching, the burial at sea took place. The crashsite was not repaired and remains intact.

Visitors’ reactions
The A-bomb artifacts and panels were displayed under
the title “Of Silhouettes and Ash: The Atomic Bombings ofHiroshima and Nagasaki”, together with Sadako Sasaki’s
paper cranes, which the Battleship Missouri Memorial Museum had received from her family in June 2019.
There were around 13,500 visitors to the exhibition, halfof whom were in their 20s or younger.
The main results of the questionnaire survey are indicated below. I believe that the exhibition adequately conveyed
the reality of the atomic bombing.
○ After seeing this exhibition, how did you find the contents?
83.8% responded that the content was understandable.
Combined with the 13.1% who said it was "somewhat understandable", the total was 96.9%.
○ To what extent did this exhibition help you deepen
understanding about the A-bomb and the damage it
caused?
66% responded that it deepened their understanding very
much, 25.8% said "to some extent", and 6.2% said "a little",
for a total of 98%.
○ How much did this exhibition help you understand theimportance of nuclear disarmament?
58.2% responded that they gained understanding very
much, 30.8% said that they gained understanding to someextent, and 4.4% said that they gained a little understanding, for a total of 93.4%.
More than 90% of the respondents had a greater understanding of the atomic bombing, its damage, and nuclear
weapons.
○ Please provide any opinions or comments.
"I think it is important to know the damage caused by
A-bomb in order to understand the history.""It is important to remember and show the past as it occurredin history not as we wish it was. We must never forget.""I wish there were more exhibits."
These are some of the comments that were provided by visitors.

Exhibition held during the pandemic
Due to the spread of the COVID‑19, the Exhibition washeld amidst some confusion.
First of all, the exhibition started on August 13, 2020, approximately one month later than originally planned, and
the A-bomb testimonies, which are usually given on-siteat the A-bomb exhibitions, were given online from Hiroshima on August 21. Immediately after this the infection
spread again in Hawaii, and for this reason the Battleship
Missouri Memorial was closed from August 27.
I spent many days in confusion in Hiroshima, wondering
what would happen next. Every day, as soon as I arrived
at work, I opened my computer to check the current situation in Hawaii. It took some time to get the situation under5

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Message from Battleship Missouri Memorial
Mike Carr, President and CEO
The Battleship Missouri Memorial hosted a brand-new
traveling exhibit paying homage to those who lost their lives
and loved ones in the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. This special display really gave Mighty Mo visitors asense of the strong ties and partnership between Japan andthe United States. We are thankful for our partnership with
the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for sharing their artifacts with us so thatthe Battleship Missouri Memorial could showcase such remarkable stories and commemorate a significant time in history through its "Of Silhouettes and Ash: The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" exhibit.

Atsushi Maeda (left), Hiromi Peterson (right)

who provided the following comments: “It was a reallyvaluable opportunity to hear the real voices of people wholive and work in Hawaii. Their honest words touched myheart,” and “Their perspectives on Hiroshima and Japan
from overseas were very refreshing to hear, and I realizedthat there are still many issues that need to be addressed.”
We also received many requests to hear about museums
overseas that have held A-bomb exhibitions.

Heidi Mooney, Tour Guide
I was so thankful to have the opportunity to view thetraveling Hiroshima/Nagasaki exhibit that was temporarily at the USS Missouri Battleship. I lived in Japan formany years, but never made it to Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
There were many aspects of the Atomic Bombs that wererevealed to me through this exhibit; things I didn't know
previously. Thank you for working to educate others
about the dangers of atomic warfare.

Support in Hawaii
Hiroshima’s immigration to Hawaii began in earnest in1885. Hiroshima City formed a sister city relationship with
Honolulu in 1959, so the two cities have a long relationship.
The City of Honolulu and the Honolulu Hiroshima Kenjinkai provided enthusiastic support for the holding of thisAtomic Bomb and Peace Exhibition, including PR activities for the citizens of Honolulu.
Initially, it was planned to hold an A-bomb panel exhibition at the Honolulu City government office and have faceto-face testimonies by members of the Kenjinkai, but thesewere cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. While thiswas very unfortunate, we were able to create new connections between Hawaii and our museum, such as when the
Honolulu Hiroshima Kenjinkai sent us masks to help prevent infection in March of this year.

Online event linking with Hawaii
Even after the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic Bomb andPeace Exhibition concludes, we will continue to work together with Battleship Missouri Memorial to pass on experiences of war. As part of this effort, on July 10, 2021,
Battleship Missouri Memorial and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum co-hosted an online event on the themeof “Communicating the Memories of War and Sowing theSeeds of Peace”, where we listened to the stories of two
people living in Hawaii.
Mr. Atsushi Maeda, a native of Kochi Prefecture, Japan,
who moved to Hawaii in 2005, has been serving as a tour
guide at the Battleship Missouri Memorial since then. He
told us about the Battleship Missouri and his thought that“peace is not something we can take for granted, but is actually something we are very blessed with and must cherish.”Ms. Hiromi Peterson is a second-generation A-bomb
survivor from Hiroshima City and a former high school
teacher who has been involved in peace activities formany years. She spoke about her family’s experience of
the atomic bombing, the Sadako Project at Pearl Harbor,and the development of human resources who can takeaction to achieve peace. She said “Let each one of us be a
person who thinks and acts for peace. If we all do something small, society will change a little.”
The event was attended by 267 people in Hiroshima,

Masks received from Honolulu-Hiroshima Kenjinkai

The Atomic Bomb and Peace Exhibition was significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic sweeping
the world, and I would like to express my gratitude once
again to everyone involved for their enthusiasm and support, which enabled us to achieve various results underthese adverse circumstances.
(August 2021)
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to ease their anxiety about guiding activities and gavethem the desire to engage in various activities evenduring the pandemic. Finally, the participants listened toan A-bomb testimony in English, hearing about the actual experiences of hibakusha as well as their struggles
and thoughts about sharing their A-bomb experiences.
For some of the students, it was the first time that they
had heard an A-bomb testimony. The experience seemed
to renew their desire to become guides, as they said “It
was a very valuable experience. I would like to convey
the thoughts of the hibakusha .”Youth Peace Volunteers started their guide activities on
November 21.
(Public Collaboration for Peace Division)

Introducing Peace Memorial
Park in English－ Activities of the Youth Peace Volunteers －This Foundation has been training Youth Peace Volunteers to communicate the reality of the atomic bombing
in English to foreign visitors to Peace Memorial Park.
This is to ensure that the youth of Hiroshima, who willlead the next generation, learn the importance of peaceand have more opportunities to convey the “Spirit of Hiroshima” to visitors from overseas. We have been conducting guide activities since 2020.
This year, the second year of these activities, we could
not provide volunteer guides to foreign tourists dueto the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, so a video(URL: https://youtu.be/ xOXheWj-Eq4) was made. The
video introduces in English ten locations in Peace Memorial Park, including the Cenotaph for the Atomic
Bomb Victims, the Atomic Bomb Dome, the A-bombed
aogiri tree, and more.

Online A-bomb Testimonies
for Overseas Audiences－ A new way of passing on A-bomb
experiences becomes more common
during the pandemic －Since 2010, Peace Memorial Museum has been conducting
the Online A-bomb Testimonies for Overseas Audiences
program, which connects hibakusha in Hiroshima withpeople around the world to listen to their testimonies.
The program is available to those who are outside ofJapan, and is free of charge as long as there are at least ten
people in the audience. Participants can hear directly fromhibakusha and interact with them through a question &answer session, all while remaining their own countries.
In order to continue to deliver the voices of hibakusha to
the world even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, online conference tools are becoming increasingly important. Since 2020, the museum has been making further
efforts to improve the environment for this purpose. Until
2019, online testimonials had been conducted approximately ten times a year, but in 2020 the number was morethan doubled, at 23. The number continued to increase in
2021 and as of the end of August, the program had alreadybeen conducted 13 times in eight countries, including the
U.S. and Hungary, and around 550 people had heard thestories of the hibakusha .
The audiences were fromdiff erent regions, backgrounds, anda ge g r o u ps,
includingcountries with
nuclear weap- Keiko Ogura speaking about her A-bomb experienceons, countries online to people in Bosnia-Herzegovina in June 2021

Title image of the video, created by Youth Peace Volunteers.

Training sessions for Youth Peace Volunteers leading up to start of activities
This year, 37 new members (21 high school students
and 16 university students) are participating in the Youth
Peace Volunteer training. At the first training session
held on July 18, participants were able grasp the point of
the activities and deepen their understanding of the reality of the atomic bombing. First, they attended a peace
study course, where they learned about the process leading up to the atomic bombings, the damage caused by
the atomic bombs, and the current status of nuclear disarmament in the international community. The students
who attended the peace study course commented, “There
were many things I did not know. I would learn more in
the future.” Next, the students listened to a senior Youth
Peace Volunteer demonstrate how to talk to people when
actually guiding them, and explain the guide video thatwas created during the coronavirus pandemic. The newmembers received explanations and advice from the senior members based on their experiences, which seemed
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without nuclear weapons, and countries under the nuclear
umbrella.
An American university professor who applied for the
online testimony for the second year in a row said, “Thesetestimonies are the first step in a long dialogue.” Students
who listened to the testimonies said, “I was shocked by thereal stories of those who experienced the atomic bombing, which I cannot learn from books or history classes,”and “I was able to learn properly about the effects of nuclear weapons on humans for the first time.” There werealso comments such as, “Peace in a world with nuclear
weapons is impossible,” showing encouraging signs thatthey are trying to think about the role of the younger generation in the future. The comments of these students illustrate how important it is to remember the perspectiveof each individual person who was under the mushroom
cloud when we think about nuclear issues.
As the hibakusha continue to age, the museum will continue to offer the online environment to ensure that the
pandemic does not prevent the handing down of stories
from the hibakusha . We will also continue to seek ways tohelp as many people as possible learn about the horrors of
the atomic bombing and think about nuclear issues.
(Peace Memorial Museum Outreach Division)

artifacts and detailed information related to them. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum will continue to convey
the various damage caused by the atomic bombing, toachieve the abolition of nuclear weapons. We would appreciate your cooperation in donating the A-bomb artifacts to the museum.
【Inquiries】
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Curatorial Division
Phone: (082) 241-4004

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Special Exhibition

What The Items Tells Us
Dates: October 1, 2021 - February 13, 2022
Venue: E ast Building 1F, Special Exhibition Room,
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Cosmetic bottle with a fancy lid on it, beer bottle leaving
the content inside, clock of modern design―these items
left at the burnt-out ruins remind us that people always
seek a little joy and comfort in their lives whether 76
years ago or today. No matter how severely deformed,
items that had been used in daily life help us realize thatpeople at that time had some of the same feelings as we
do today.
This exhibition traces the lives and memories of peopleof that time by using items found at burnt-out ruins after
the atomic bombing as clues. The model, visual materials, and graphic charts in the exhibition provide a clear
description of the fierceness of the heat rays and thefire which burned anddeformed the items.
Some of the items on
display were collected by those who wereleft behind; they kept
the items carefully toremember their loved
ones.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

New Arrivals Exhibit
Dates: March 26, 2021 - April 3, 2022 (tentative)
Venue: E ast Building B1, Special Exhibition Room,
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Items: 176 atomic bomb artifacts donated infiscal year 2019
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum collects and stores
A-bomb artifacts preserved by hibakusha and their bereaved families, as valuable materials for conveying thereality of the damage inflicted by the atomic bomb. In
fiscal year 2019, 47 people donated 4,758 items. Someof these are currently on display.
With 76 years having passed since the end of the war,
it has become increasingly difficult to collect A-bomb

Exhibition Contents
1. Tracing everyday
life through the items
2. With just one bombheat rays and fires
3. City of ruins
4. Memories found at
the burnt-out ruins

Lunch box left by Hideo Yamane (then 12)(Donated by Yoshie Yamane)
Hideo Yamane was a mobilized student working at a building
demolition work site (700m from the hypocenter) when he was
exposed to the atomic bomb.

A deformed cosmetic cream bottle(Donated by Toshiyo Nakamura)Toshiyo Nakamura (then, 40) and herelder sister Kameyo were exposedto the A-bomb at their home and fled
through the flames. When they returned
after the war to clear the debris of
their home, the house and all theirpossession lay in burned ruins. In the
rubble, they found this cosmetic creamjar, disfigured by the heat. They Kept it
for many years on display in their home,then donated it to the museum in 1979.

【Inquiries】
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Curatorial Division
Phone: (082) 241-4004
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PEACE CULTURE No.86

November 2021

Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation and Nagasaki
University Research Center
for Nuclear Weapons Abolition
expand collaboration on peaceand disarmament education

International Resident
Consultation Service isRenewedThe International Resident Consultation Service thatcommenced in April 2021 is now used by foreign residents not only in Hiroshima City but also in Aki County,
and is now known as the Hiroshima City & Aki County
International Resident Consultation Service.
In addition, a new Filipino consultation day will beheld every Friday, and counselors who can speak Chinese, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Filipino will be available to help with various notifications
to government agencies and consultations on problems.
On the second Friday of every month, from 1:30 p.m.
to 4:00 p.m., a staff member from the Immigration Bureau will be available for on-site consultation. On-site
consultations are available by appointment only.
Also, for foreign residents who have moved to Hiroshima City, our counselors will provide information on
their new life in Hiroshima City.
Please feel free to use this service.

The Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation (HPCF) and the Nagasaki University Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA) have been collaborating and cooperating witheach other for some time. The two organizations held an online signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) on May 13, 2021, with the aim of contributing to thecommon goal of abolishing nuclear weapons and promoting
peace by expanding cooperation in research and disseminationof peace and disarmament education.
The four items of collaborative cooperation are as follows:(1) R ECNA will conduct status surveys and needs analysis of
the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses operated by
the HPCF,(2) R
 ECNA will create and provide peace and disarmament
education materials and model curricula for use in the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses,(3) P rovision of information on peace and disarmament education to the member cities of Mayors for Peace(4) O ther matters deemed necessary to achieve the purpose of
the collaborative cooperation.

【Inquiries】
Phone: (082) 241-5010
Email: soudan@pcf.city.hiroshima.jp【Location】
International Relations and Cooperation Division, 3rd
Floor, International Conference Center Hiroshima* The service moved from the International Exchange
Lounge on the first floor in August of this year.
【Opening hours】
Monday−Friday, 9:00 a.m.−4:00 p.m.

As an example of this collaboration, RECNA’s materials areposted on the Resource Room on Nuclear Weapons, which
was launched in April 2021 on the Mayors for Peace website,
and RECNA has contributed to the Mayors for Peace newsletter since the June issue, following on from the Hiroshima
Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University.
With the conclusion of this MOU, HPCF will further cooperate and collaborate with RECNA to contribute to the abolitionof nuclear weapons and the promotion of peace.

【Languages】
Chinese, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Filipino (Friday only), and others.
【Closed】
Public holidays, August 6, December 29−January 3.

Facility Introduction

International Conference Center
Hiroshima－ From the world’s Hiroshima,communicating to future generations －Online signing ceremony(Left: RECNA Director Yoshida, right: this Foundation’s Chairperson Koizumi)

Overview of online signing ceremony(1) Date/time: May 13, 2021 (Thurs) 10:30-11:30(2) Attendees Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
Chairperson KOIZUMI Takashi
Nagasaki University Research Center for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition
Director YOSHIDA Fumihiko

The International Conference Center Hiroshima (ICCH) is
located in Peace Memorial Park, and has as its aim the promotion of international exchange and the enhancement ofcivil culture. With a capacity of 1,504 people in the mainhall, an international conference hall, and large, medium,and small conference rooms, the ICCH can be used for a9

PEACE CULTURE No.86

November 2021

● Small conference room (Orchid): 260 m2● Conference room management office: 520 m2※ In addition to school style and theater style, various
layouts are available. Please contact us for details.

variety of purposes, including concerts, lectures, domestic
and international conferences, as well as exhibitions andparties.
Each conference room is connected via optical fiber,
which allows for transmission from the lecture hall to eachconference room, as well as online and hybrid conferences.
It is also equipped with simultaneous interpretation facilities in six languages, and many international conferences
are held there every year.
The ICCH hosted 31 international conferences in 2019,
mostly peace-related conferences, which is the 8th highest
number in Japan.
It has also hosted many international events, and in May
2021, it was the venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch
Relay Celebration Event, sending out the message to theworld of Hiroshima Prefecture residents’ desire for peace.
In addition tothese international
conf erences andevents, the ICCH
also takes advantage of its location in the Peace
International Conference Center Hiroshima Memor ial Pa r k
to serve as a place for peace education for more than 100
school trips per year, helping to convey the reality of theatomic bombing to the next generation.
Due to the spread of the COVID-19, there are currently
various restrictions on holding conferences, but all possible
measures are being taken to prevent infection by providing
sterilizing alcohol, thermal imaging cameras, and acrylic
panels for speakers free of charge.
The ICCH will continue to send out messages of Hiroshima's openness to the world and its desire for peace.

Dahlia【Inquiries】
International Conference Center Hiroshima
1-5 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City 730-0811
Phone: (082) 242-7777
URL: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/icch/
E-Mail: eigyo-icch@pcf.city.hiroshima.jp

International Symposiumfor Peace
On July 31, this Foundation, the City of Hiroshima, and
the Asahi Shimbun co-hosted 2021 international peace
symposium on the topic of The Road to Nuclear WeaponsAbolition: A New World Illuminated by a Treaty of Hope.
In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, participants were not invited to the venue, and instead a free live
webcast was provided from the International ConferenceCenter Hiroshima.

Keynote speech and panel discussion
In the first part, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs whose efforts led tothe adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons (TPNW), gave the keynote speech titled “Howwill the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons willchange the world?” Ms. Nakamitsu praised the achievements of the hibakusha , saying, “The hibakusha playeda very important role in the establishment of the TPNW.
The establishment of the treaty is the result of the tirelessefforts of the hibakusha .” She said “we must redouble ourefforts to achieve the UN’s highest disarmament priority,
the total elimination of nuclear weapons.”
In the panel discussion that followed, Ms. Nakamitsu,
Ms. Rose Gottemoeller, who was in charge of nuclear dis-

Overview of main facilities

1 Main hall (Phoenix Hall)● Capacity: 1,504 people●T his hall has two Steinway pianos. The pianos areopen for use by the public twice a year at a reasonable
price.

Phoenix Hall

2 Conference hall and rooms● International conference hall (Himawari): 600 m2● Large conference room (Dahlia): 650 m2● Medium conference room (Cosmos): 350 m2

Panel Discussion

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PEACE CULTURE No.86

November 2021

armament and non-proliferation as Under Secretary ofState in the Obama administration, Mr. Hiroshi Nakanishi,a professor at the Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University, and Ms. Natsuki Yasuda, a photojournalist, discussed
how to promote nuclear disarmament from now on andthe future role of the A-bombed cities.

Memoir of the A-bombing

Fate of life or deathSpecial talk by actor Akira Takarada anduniversity students

Junko Yamase
Atomic Bomb Witness for thisFoundation

In the second part, Mr. Akira Takarada, an actor who
starred in the first Japanese monster movie “Godzilla” inspired by the Bikini hydrogen bomb test, Mr. Yuta Takahashi, a Keio University student from Hiroshima Prefecture and co-chair of KAKUWAKA Hiroshima, a group ofyoung voters who want to know about nuclear policy, and
Ms. Suzuka Nakamura, a researcher for Parliamentary
Watch who promotes the TPNW and a student at Sophia
University from Nagasaki Prefecture, gave a special talktitled “Connecting War Experiences to the Future”.
At the beginning of the special talk, Mr. Takarada spoke
about his own horrific war experience after the war ended
in Harbin in the former Manchuria, where he was shot by
a Soviet soldier and underwent an operation to remove thebullet without anesthesia, and stressed the importance ofpeace. Mr. Takahashi and Ms. Nakamura, who established“KNOW NUKES TOKYO” as a place for the younger generation to think about nuclear abolition, also spoke
about their activities and thoughts, and Mr. Takarada sent
cheers to them, saying, “The road may be rough, but actions will eventually blossom into a big movement.”

Situation on the day of the bombing
In 1945, my family consisted of eight members: mygrandmother, my parents, my older brothers who were in
the second year of junior high school and the sixth year of
national elementary school, myself who was in the thirdyear of national elementary school and was eight years old,my younger sister who was four years old, and my younger brother who was two years old.
At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, I was in the kitchen and saw theorange light of a bare light bulb on the window pane, andthe next thing I knew, a bomb fell on the Japanese-style
room right next to me with a tremendous roar. I thought abomb had been dropped on our house.
The wind pressure from the atomic bomb caused theceiling to fall down, dust to fly, and shoji screens, fusuma sliding doors, and furniture to blow away. Instinctively, I got down on the floor, hugging my mother. Shards ofglass were all over our backs. As I hurriedly walked out
to the bus road in front of my house (Danbara-nakamachi), neighbors were shouting that a bomb had fallen on
their houses, and they were scared. The woman from thepharmacy next door crouched on the road holding her
child, blood spurting from her arms, screaming “Please
help me! Please help me!” My mother tied her arm with
the Japanese hand towel that she was wearing, as first aid
to stop the bleeding. The pharmacy woman’s four-year-old
son was blinded by a piece of glass in one eye. The townof Danbara had been destroyed and there were collapsedbuildings as far as the eye could see. The sky, which had

Special Talk

(Public Collaboration for Peace Division)

Hiroshima ScholarshipThis Foundation provides 30,000 yen per month for one year as the Hiroshima Scholarship to privately financed international students enrolled in universities and graduate schools in Hiroshima City. In 2021, 30 scholarship recipients were selected in late June.
The Hiroshima Scholarship program started in 1988, and by the end of fiscal year 2020, 1013 students had been awarded the scholarship in total. The Hiroshima International Student Fund is funded by donations from the city of Hiroshima
as well as from citizens and organizations. However, due to the recent decline in interest rates, financial resources are in avery tight situation. We look forward to your warm support for the Hiroshima International Student Fund.
【Inquiries about the Hiroshima Scholarship】
International Relations and Cooperation Division, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
1-5 Nakajimacho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0811, Japan (3rd floor, International Conference Center Hiroshima)
Phone: (082) 242-8879
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PEACE CULTURE No.86

November 2021

been clear until a few moments before, was now covered
with atomic clouds and a cloud of dust that instantly darkened to something like dusk. It was a world of eerie horror.
Eventually, an open three-wheeled truck passed in frontof the house. On the back of the truck lay motionless,near-naked people covered in blood and dust. As the truck
bounced over obstacles on the road, the injured people inthe back of the truck bounced along with it.
After that, a procession of injured people with shaggy
hair and torn, dirty clothes continued down the narrow,unfenced, steep mountain path of Hijiyama, as if they
were climbing a precipice, shoulder to shoulder, using apiece of stick as a cane to support themselves, or crawlingwhile sitting with their buttocks on the ground. They musthave come over the mountain from the direction of thecity center. A
man in national
dress and gaiters was goingaround witha megaphone,telling people
to be caref ul,
A-bomb Drawings by Survivors: “People evacuating
because there to Hijiyama”(Created by: Chieko Matsumura)were “crazy” people running around. It is no wonder that
there are people who went through the hell of the atomic
bombing in an instant and are no longer in a normal stateof mind.

brother’s senior and junior classmates, 353 excellent students, were killed in the bombing. My father was on his
way to work, and he had been standing at a streetcar stop 1.8
km away from the hypocenter. He did not get on a crowded streetcar that was going to the hypocenter, and so was
saved. My mother had wanted to take my eldest brotheron a bus to the countryside to go shopping, but my brother
did not want to go, so they had to cancel the trip. The bus
they were supposed to take was passing near the hypocenter, so they survived. My grandmother had evacuated toher relative’s home in the countryside and my second older
brother had also evacuated with classmates away from Hiroshima, so they were safe. I was at home before going toschool for remedial classes. My younger sister and brotherwere also at home, and the family of eight survived.

From Hiroshima to the world
There are countries that develop and possess nuclear
weapons. Even if they do not develop or possess them,
there are countries that believe in nuclear deterrence andallow other countries to possess them. I long for a peacefulworld without nuclear weapons, and I want to pass on myexperience of the atomic bombing to as many people aspossible. It is no exaggeration to say that if people connect
with each other and spread the peace movement throughout the world, this will become a force that can move theleaders of many countries. The messages and actions from
Hiroshima carry weight.
ProfileMy father’s burns and keloid scars
It was nearly evening when my father came home withsevere burns on the left side of his body. A few days later,
our house was too badly damaged to live in, so we evacuated to Fuchizaki (currently Niho 1-chome), 4.5 kilometers from the hypocenter. My father had burns on his
neck, from his upper arm to his wrists, and on his fingers,and he could only lay down as he recuperated. The flies
smelled the blood pus and flew in with a buzzing sound. It
would be terrible if flies laid eggs in the infected wounds
and maggots sprang up, so the family took turns fanninghim with fans to get rid of the flies. The cells in my father’s burn scars multiplied abnormally, causing the skin
to rise and stretch across his joints, leaving behind keloid
scars. The joints of his arms were bent, and his small finger
and ring finger were also bent like crab legs, and he would
never be able to straighten them out for the rest of his life.

[Junko Yamase]

When eight years old and in the third year of National
School, Junko Yamase and her family were forcibly evacuated from their home in front of Hiroshima Station. They
moved to Danbara-naka-machi at the foot of Hijiyama, 2.2
kilometers from the hypocenter, and this is where she was
exposed to the atomic bomb. Retired from the Hiroshima
Shinkin Bank in 1966. Later worked as a real estate agent,
notary public, and director of medical and social welfare
corporations before retiring in 2015.
information
Our newsletters (Japanese version and English version)
are accessible on the internet.
[URL] http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpcf/paper/〔Request〕Please contact us if you change your mailingaddress.

HIROSHIMA PEACE CULTURE FOUNDATION
1-2 Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima

Survival of a family of 8
My eldest brother was a sophomore at the prefectural first junior high school. The day the atomic bomb was
dropped was a Monday, but it had coincidentally beenchanged to a holiday, so he was saved. However, my eldest

730-0811, JAPAN
Phone: (082)241-5246
E-mail: p-soumu@pcf.city.hiroshima.jp〔URL〕http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpcf/
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