Etched into the new century, the memory of the atomic bombing. On the sixth,
Hiroshima marked the first A-bomb Day of the 21st century. Nuclear weapons
were first used against human beings in 1945. The average age of the survivors
in Hiroshima has climbed over 70 for the first time.
The aging survivors began before dawn filing into Peace Memorial Park in
the center of Hiroshima, where they approach the A-bomb Cenotaph and silently
put their hands together in prayer.
The experience these witnesses of the 20th century, the century of war,
are unable to fully convey in words has helped to prevent nuclear war.
Today, it is more important than ever to transmit that experience to coming
generations.
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| 2001/08/06/ 00:00 |
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The A-bomb Dome - Witness to the A-bombing. Greeting the first Day of Prayer
in the 21st century, the Dome stands on the banks of the Motoyasu River
in central Hiroshima speaking to us of lasting peace. |
2001/08/06/ 00:10 |
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"I came in the place of my 83-year-old grandfather who just died."
Keiko Sasaki (25), a company employee who lives in Kogominami 2-chome,
Nishi-ku, Hiroshima, quietly offers incense at the A-bomb Cenotaph. |
2001/08/06/ 00:30 |
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"Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the
evil." People standing before dawn in front of the stone coffin engraved
with that pledge. |
2001/08/06/ 05:50 |
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Names of a family of five engraved on a gravestone at Saikoji, a temple
near the hypocenter, close to Peace Memorial Park. People have been coming
here to pray since early morning. |
2001/08/06/ 06:00 |
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A new day, early morning. An endless line of mourners files over the stones
leading to the A-bomb Cenotaph. |
2001/08/06/ 08:00 |
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About 50,000 people attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony. |
2001/08/06/ 08:15 |
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Signaled by the ringing of the Peace Bell, the attendees bow their heads for a moment of silence to pray for the peaceful repose of the victims and for peace. |
2001/08/06/ 12:00 |
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A group in front of the Children's Peace Monument reading and displaying a picture book about Sadako Sasaki, the girl who was the model for the monument. Children passing by stopped to listen. |
2001/08/06/ 13:30 |
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Members of the Hiroshima Children's Peace Tour, a group from Kanagawa Prefecture.
A fifth-grade girl said, "I could actually feel the horror of the
A-bomb." |
2001/08/06/ 18:03 |
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Members of the Hiroshima Prefectural Chapter of the Japan Shakuhachi Federation
offering music to the A-bomb Cenotaph. They are directed by Hanzan Shimabara
(99), a living national treasure of Japan and an honorary citizen of Hiroshima. |
2001/08/06/ 19:20 |
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Peace candles represent wishes for peace for children. Students from forty elementary and junior high schools in the city participated in the event. Two thousands flames lit and surrounded the A-bomb Dome. |
2001/08/06/ 19:30 |
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Rest in Peace. Peace. Each carrying its own thought, ten thousand lanterns decorate the surface of the river. |
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