For Students

The INU Student Seminar on Global Citizenship:
Hiroshima, 4-9 August 2006

The Peace ceremony, Hiroshima 2006

Students and staff participating in the Student Seminar at Hiroshima University were invited to attend the 2006 Peace Ceremony in Hiroshima. Students and staff attending the 2007 Seminar will also have this opportunity.

The Peace Ceremony is held every year on the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park. The park is in the center of Hiroshima and is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to be nuclear bombed.

There are a number of monuments and buildings in the park, each dedicated to a different aspect of the bombing. The A-Bomb Dome is the building closest to ground zero. It was left how it was after the bomb in memory of the bombing and is probably the most well-known symbol of the park.

Near the center of the park is a concrete, saddle-shaped monument that covers a Cenotaph holding the names of all of the people killed by the bomb. The Cenotaph carries the epitaph, "Repose ye in Peace, for the error shall not be repeated." Through the monument you can see the Peace Flame and the A-Bomb Dome.

Peace Flame

The Peace Flame is another monument to the victims of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, but it has an additional purpose. The flame will remain lit until all nuclear bombs on the planet are destroyed and the planet is free from the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

After the Peace Ceremony, participants in the Student Seminar will be taken around the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The Museum is dedicated to educating visitors about the bomb and has exhibits and information covering the build up to war, the role of Hiroshima in the war up to the bombing, and extensive information on the bombing and its effects, along with substantial memorabilia and pictures from the bombing.

For more information on the Peace Ceremony and the Memorial Museum go to the Hiroshima Peace Site.

The Lantern Ceremony

Students and staff attending the Seminar will spend the remainder of the day (6th August, 2006) in Hiroshima city, so that they can participate in the beautiful and moving Lantern Ceremony at dusk.

The Lantern Ceremony is an ancient tradition celebrated in many Asian countries around the world, including China, Thailand and Japan. The Lantern Festival is usually held on a Buddhist holiday on the night of a full moon. Since the worlds first atomic bombings of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and three short days later Nagasaki on 9 August 1945 this ceremony has taken on a new meaning in Japan. Japans Buddhists believe the souls of their ancestors visit them every year so they put out lanterns to guide the spirits and when the visit ends the lantern is set adrift to light the path back to heaven.

Now every year on 6 August, it not only commemorates those who died in the worlds first two nuclear attacks, it also includes all those killed in past wars and is an expression of hope that nuclear weapons will never be used again. Each lantern is a symbol of a personal commitment to create peace in this world and hopes for the future.

The ceremony takes place as dusk is falling and participants in the Student Seminar will be given the opportunity to light their own lantern.