Volunteer guides share stories behind peace monuments
Aug. 9, 2012
Based in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, a group of volunteers who serve as guides to A-bomb monuments offer visits to many of the lesser-known memorials that dot the city.
The group was formed in 1999 from the participants of a training session for volunteer guides to local peace monuments, which was held at the Takeya Community Center in Naka Ward. Led initially by the late Hiroto Kuboura, an A-bomb survivor, the members of the group began sharing the stories behind monuments found around the city. Today the group numbers 11 members, ranging in age from their 40s to their 90s.
Once a year, they organize a tour to visit city monuments. They have guided participants, some coming from as far away as Tokyo and Kyoto, on visits to monuments in such parts of the city as Fukuromachi, Eba, and Hakushima.
The group is also engaged in providing guides for the monuments in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for students on school trips and organizing exhibitions to relate the stories behind the city’s peace monuments.
Narumi Tasaka, 77, the assistant head of the group, lost her mother to leukemia, an illness induced by the A-bomb’s radiation. A resident of Asakita Ward, she commented, “I want to convey the thoughts of people who died in the atomic bombing.” The leader of the group, Kazuhiro Tamaki, 44, a resident of Asaminami Ward, told me, “The monuments are imbued with anger over the bombing and the wish for peace. I want people to know about the reality of the atomic bombing.”
This year, in cooperation with four community centers in Naka Ward, the group plans to hold a tour on August 4 which will visit monuments mainly in the Honkawa district. (Kana Kumagai, 17, writer and photographer)
(Originally Published on July 2, 2012)
The group was formed in 1999 from the participants of a training session for volunteer guides to local peace monuments, which was held at the Takeya Community Center in Naka Ward. Led initially by the late Hiroto Kuboura, an A-bomb survivor, the members of the group began sharing the stories behind monuments found around the city. Today the group numbers 11 members, ranging in age from their 40s to their 90s.
Once a year, they organize a tour to visit city monuments. They have guided participants, some coming from as far away as Tokyo and Kyoto, on visits to monuments in such parts of the city as Fukuromachi, Eba, and Hakushima.
The group is also engaged in providing guides for the monuments in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for students on school trips and organizing exhibitions to relate the stories behind the city’s peace monuments.
Narumi Tasaka, 77, the assistant head of the group, lost her mother to leukemia, an illness induced by the A-bomb’s radiation. A resident of Asakita Ward, she commented, “I want to convey the thoughts of people who died in the atomic bombing.” The leader of the group, Kazuhiro Tamaki, 44, a resident of Asaminami Ward, told me, “The monuments are imbued with anger over the bombing and the wish for peace. I want people to know about the reality of the atomic bombing.”
This year, in cooperation with four community centers in Naka Ward, the group plans to hold a tour on August 4 which will visit monuments mainly in the Honkawa district. (Kana Kumagai, 17, writer and photographer)
(Originally Published on July 2, 2012)
