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112 volumes of register for A-bomb victims are aired

by Yuichi Ito, Staff Writer

On May 17, the 112 volumes of the register holding the names of the A-bomb dead were removed from the stone chest at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, where they are kept. Employees of the City of Hiroshima exposed the volumes to the air to remove moisture from the pages before the onset of the rainy season.

At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb exploded above Hiroshima, 20 city employees offered a silent prayer. They then laid out white sheets in front of the cenotaph, removed the volumes from the stone chest one by one, and placed them on the sheets. In a gentle breeze, the employees carefully turned the pages, made of Japanese paper, and checked for any signs of damage.

Koko Hihara, a 10-year old fifth grader at Honkawa Elementary School, which is located near the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, observed the work as part of a peace education program and said, “The atomic bombing killed many innocent people. I’d like to continue learning about peace and telling this to people around the world.”

Of the 112 volumes, 110 contain the names and dates of death of 303,195 victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima who were confirmed dead by August 5 of last year. Another volume contains the names of nine victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki whose family members requested that their names be dedicated to the cenotaph. The other volume is for the “many people whose names are unknown.”

The stone chest was cleaned before the register, with the exception of the newest volume and the volume containing the names of Nagasaki victims, was placed back into the chest. The names of those who died or have been confirmed dead since August 6, 2016 will be added to the register starting early next month. These volumes will be dedicated to the cenotaph during the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony this August 6.

(Originally published on May 18, 2017)

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