Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual Japanese vigil. Every August 6, "A-Bomb Day", the city of

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

holds the Peace Memorial Ceremony to console the victims of the atomic bombs and to pray for the realization of lasting world peace. The ceremony is held in front of the Memorial Cenotaph in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Participants include the families of the deceased and people from all over the world. The first ceremony was held in 1947 by the then Hiroshima Mayor Shinzo Hamai.

Contents of the ceremony

Satsuki Eda Yohei Kono and Yasuo Fukuda 20080806

*Dedication of

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

(by the citizen representatives of Hiroshima), accompanied (since 1968) by the music "Prelude" by composer Kunio Ootsuki *Opening *Dedication of the Register of the Names of the Fallen Atomic Bomb Victims *Address *Dedication of flowers, accompanied (since 1975) by the music "Prayer Music No. 1: Dirge" by Hibakusha composer Masaru Kawasaki * Silent Prayer and Peace Bell (for one minute from 8:15am) **The bell is rung by one representative of bereaved families and one representative of children *Peace Declaration (by Mayor of Hiroshima) *Release of Doves *Commitment to Peace (by Children's representatives) *Addresses (by

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

and other visitors) *Hiroshima Peace Song, with music by Minoru Yamamoto and lyrics by Yoshio Shigezono *Closing

Memorial ceremonies for Hiroshima outside Japan

Due to the dissemination of the memorial culture surrounding Hiroshima worldwide, memorial ceremonies were and are being held also in other parts of the world. One such instance was on August 6, 1986, as a delegation from Hiroshima of 18 individuals arrived at the Israeli Holocaust memorial of Yad Vashem and held a brief ceremony at the Yizkor Hall.

United States

In 2010, John V. Roos became the first United States ambassador to Japan to attend the ceremony, paving the way for a historic visit to Hiroshima by then president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

six years later.

References

External links

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

* Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony 2009 *
Offering of water, 5,635 names added to the list of victims, making 263,945 in total
*
Offering of flowers, minute's silence for the victims
*
Peace Declaration by Mayor of Hiroshima
*
Commitment to Peace by students
*
Addresses by Prime Minister of Japan, by Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture
*
by president of the United Nations General Assembly, by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
*
Chorus of Hiroshima Peace Song

{{coord missing, Hiroshima Prefecture Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Culture in Hiroshima Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Ceremonies in Japan Annual events in Japan August observances Summer in Japan

Contents of the ceremony

Memorial ceremonies for Hiroshima outside Japan

United States

See also

References

External links