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Photograph of Ichiro Kawamoto to be registered at Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims

by Kyoko Niiyama, Staff Writer

A photograph of Ichiro Kawamoto, who proposed to erect the Children’s Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park, located in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, and worked as the facilitator of the Hiroshima Paper Crane Club, in which students of elementary schools and junior and senior high schools acted for peace, will soon be registered at the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims (Naka Ward).

Mourning the death of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who died of A-bomb-induced leukemia at the age of 12, he, with other classmates, started a fundraising campaign to raise a statue as a symbol of peace. The club was formed in 1958 when the monument was unveiled.

Mr. Kawamoto, inspired by the diary of Hiroko Kajiyama who died of leukemia when she was 16, also made efforts to preserve the A-bomb Dome with children when there had been discussions over whether to keep it or not. She had written in the diary, “The Atomic Bomb Dome, as a painful reminder of the past, can convey the horror of the atomic bombing to the world long into the future.” Mr. Kawamoto continued his activity until 2001, when he passed away at the age of 72.

Back then, Mr. Kawamoto was 16, working at a power plant in Saka-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture. He was exposed to the residual radiation when he entered Hiroshima City shortly after the atomic bombing. He is also known as one of the founders of the first survivors’ organization, the Atomic Bomb Survivors Association, which was established with the late Kiyoshi Kikkawa and others in 1952.

Shinichiro Kurose, 79, honorary chairman of trustees of Hiroshima YMCA (Naka Ward) and heir to Mr. Kawamoto’s property, was his close friend while he was alive. He will submit the application for inclusion in the register. Mr. Kurose taught at Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School (Naka Ward), where he met Mr. Kawamoto who was working as a school janitor. Mr. Kurose says, “He was always folding paper cranes with students or went to the Children’s Peace Monument to offered a thousand paper cranes tied together on a string, which was sent to the school,” and continued, “I would like people to know about Mr. Kawamoto who honestly dedicated his life for peace activities.”

(Originally published on July 25, 2020)

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