Hiroshima City ventilates 118 volumes of register for A-bomb victims
May 21, 2020
(by Natsumi Teramoto, Staff Writer)
On May 20, the Hiroshima City government brought outside 118 volumes of a register with names of A-bomb victims that is housed in the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, with the aim of improving ventilation and removing moisture. With fewer visitors this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hiroshima City employees in protective masks turned the pages of the 118 volumes, an increase of two volumes compared with last year, at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima.
After offering a silent prayer at 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, 19 city employees began the work. Last year, about 700 people observed the work, including students from elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools in Hiroshima, as well as students visiting from other prefectures on school trips. This year, however, few people attended, because the city did not advertise the event. The city employees placed the volumes of the register in front of the cenotaph and checked for any signs of damage.
Of the 118 volumes, 116 volumes contain names of Hiroshima A-bomb victims. With 5,068 names added to the register last year, the 116 volumes now have 319,186 names of Hiroshima A-bomb victims. Another volume holds the names of 10 Nagasaki victims of the atomic bombing, one name more than last year. The other volume bears only the words: “Many people whose names are unknown.”
Hisako Konishi, 74, a housewife and a resident of Hiroshima’s Nishi Ward, watched the work with her grandchild, an elementary school student. She is considered a prenatally exposed survivor. The name of her mother, who died last year, is recorded in the register. While holding the hand of her grandchild, she said, “I want young people to carry on the wish for peace so that August 6 will not be forgotten.”
Except for the newest volume of Hiroshima A-bomb victims and the one volume of Nagasaki victims of the atomic bombing, the other 116 volumes were replaced in the stone chest. After the names of A-bomb victims who have died or been confirmed as dead since August 6 last year are added, the two volumes will be returned to the stone chest during this year’s Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6.
(Originally published on May 21, 2020)
Consoling souls of the dead: Turning the pages of a register serving as record of lives
On May 20, the Hiroshima City government brought outside 118 volumes of a register with names of A-bomb victims that is housed in the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, with the aim of improving ventilation and removing moisture. With fewer visitors this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hiroshima City employees in protective masks turned the pages of the 118 volumes, an increase of two volumes compared with last year, at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima.
After offering a silent prayer at 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, 19 city employees began the work. Last year, about 700 people observed the work, including students from elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools in Hiroshima, as well as students visiting from other prefectures on school trips. This year, however, few people attended, because the city did not advertise the event. The city employees placed the volumes of the register in front of the cenotaph and checked for any signs of damage.
Of the 118 volumes, 116 volumes contain names of Hiroshima A-bomb victims. With 5,068 names added to the register last year, the 116 volumes now have 319,186 names of Hiroshima A-bomb victims. Another volume holds the names of 10 Nagasaki victims of the atomic bombing, one name more than last year. The other volume bears only the words: “Many people whose names are unknown.”
Hisako Konishi, 74, a housewife and a resident of Hiroshima’s Nishi Ward, watched the work with her grandchild, an elementary school student. She is considered a prenatally exposed survivor. The name of her mother, who died last year, is recorded in the register. While holding the hand of her grandchild, she said, “I want young people to carry on the wish for peace so that August 6 will not be forgotten.”
Except for the newest volume of Hiroshima A-bomb victims and the one volume of Nagasaki victims of the atomic bombing, the other 116 volumes were replaced in the stone chest. After the names of A-bomb victims who have died or been confirmed as dead since August 6 last year are added, the two volumes will be returned to the stone chest during this year’s Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6.
(Originally published on May 21, 2020)
