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City cooperates with local group to seek Memory of the World status for A-bomb manuscripts of Sadako Kurihara, others; desire to convey A-bombing experience to the world

by Yuichi Ishii, Staff Writer

On June 2 the City of Hiroshima announced that it would cooperate with a local organization to apply to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeking Memory of the World designation for manuscripts of Sadako Kurihara and two other writers who survived the atomic bombing. The application is intended to “help convey the atomic bombing experience to the world,” the city said. The Society for the Preservation of Hiroshima Literature, which initiated the application, sought the city’s cooperation in its effort. The city’s cooperation is expected to lend weight, both in Japan and overseas, to the call to preserve and make use of literature related to the A-bombing.

Tokiko Tsuchiya, president of the preservation society, and five other members of the group met with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at city hall on June 2. The mayor pledged the city’s support for the group’s effort saying, “It dovetails with Hiroshima’s concern for peace, and in many ways the city is in a position that obliges it to cooperate.”

The group is seeking the registration of three items: the notebook in which Ms. Kurihara (1913-2005) wrote her famous poem “Umashimen ka na” (“Bringing Forth New Life”); the notebook from the time of the A-bombing in which Tamiki Hara (1905-1951) drafted his novel “Natsu no Hana” (“Summer Flowers”); and the final draft of “Genbaku Shishu” (“Poems of the Atomic Bomb”) by poet Sankichi Toge (1917-1953). Ms. Kurihara’s notebook is housed at Hiroshima Jogakuin University. The other two items were turned over to the Peace Memorial Museum for storage by the families of the writers.

The preservation society launched its effort to register the materials with the Memory of the World Program in June of last year. In January it approached the city about filing a joint application, and the city then considered the request. The city will now accelerate the effort to complete the application forms that the society had been in the process of preparing. Ms. Tsuchiya said, “It’s really encouraging to have the city as a joint applicant, and it will give us a big boost in our effort to register the materials.”

Each country may submit up to two items for registration with the Memory of the World Program. The Japanese National Commission for UNESCO is soliciting applications for 2017 registration through June 19 and will then conduct preliminary screening. After screening the applications, the selection committee will meet by September to select two items and then submit its applications to UNESCO by March of next year.

Keywords

UNESCO Memory of the World Program
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established the Memory of the World Program in 1992 in order to preserve the world’s documentary heritage, including original manuscripts, books and films. UNESCO accepts nominations for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register from nations, local governments and non-governmental organizations every two years. These nominations are then screened and decisions on registration are made. As of January 2014, 301 items had been registered including three from Japan: the historical coal mine paintings and other works of Sakubei Yamamoto, which were nominated jointly by the City of Tagawa in Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefectural University, and two national treasures that were nominated by the central government.

(Originally published on June 3, 2015)

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