A-bomb victim’s certificate held by Kazuzo Tagashira, A-bomb survivor and rose breeder, delivered and to be exhibited at ICAN’s headquarters
Jul. 12, 2022
by Kana Kobayashi and Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writers
An A-bomb victim’s certificate issued 77 years ago to Kazuzo Tagashira, 93, an A-bomb survivor and rose breeder living in Tomota in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima, was delivered to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a nongovernmental organization. Mr. Tagashira carefully kept the certificate for many years. The certificate will be exhibited at ICAN’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and communicate an A-bomb survivor’s wish to the world.
The palm-sized, brown piece of paper is dated August 8, 1945. Mr. Tagashira’s name and address are written in it. The certificate is a “silent witness” that conveys the memory of the hellish scenes Mr. Tagashira witnessed in the neighborhood of the hypocenter on the evening of August 6, the day of the atomic bombing, and conveys his sorrow from that day, when he lost his younger brother in the atomic bombing.
In 2017, when the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was established, Mr. Tagashira was moved so deeply he named a new variety of rose he had produced “ICAN,” which connected him to the organization. He entrusted the A-bomb victim’s certificate to Akira Kawasaki, 53, a member of ICAN’s steering committee, in the summer of 2020, saying, “It’s painful just to remember the day. Besides, I can’t engage in activities to share my A-bomb experience because of old age. I hope the certificate will be helpful instead of me.”
Mr. Kawasaki framed the victim’s certificate with a photograph of these roses and handed it to Beatrice Fihn, the ICAN’s executive director, at the venue of the Nuclear Ban Forum, held by ICAN in Vienna, Austria, before the first meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Partly due to the influence of the coronavirus pandemic, it took two years for the victim’s certificate to be delivered to ICAN. Ms. Fihn expressed her delight and said that the framed certificate was a symbol of the global campaign toward a common goal of nuclear abolition.
(Originally published on July 12, 2022)
An A-bomb victim’s certificate issued 77 years ago to Kazuzo Tagashira, 93, an A-bomb survivor and rose breeder living in Tomota in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima, was delivered to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a nongovernmental organization. Mr. Tagashira carefully kept the certificate for many years. The certificate will be exhibited at ICAN’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and communicate an A-bomb survivor’s wish to the world.
The palm-sized, brown piece of paper is dated August 8, 1945. Mr. Tagashira’s name and address are written in it. The certificate is a “silent witness” that conveys the memory of the hellish scenes Mr. Tagashira witnessed in the neighborhood of the hypocenter on the evening of August 6, the day of the atomic bombing, and conveys his sorrow from that day, when he lost his younger brother in the atomic bombing.
In 2017, when the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was established, Mr. Tagashira was moved so deeply he named a new variety of rose he had produced “ICAN,” which connected him to the organization. He entrusted the A-bomb victim’s certificate to Akira Kawasaki, 53, a member of ICAN’s steering committee, in the summer of 2020, saying, “It’s painful just to remember the day. Besides, I can’t engage in activities to share my A-bomb experience because of old age. I hope the certificate will be helpful instead of me.”
Mr. Kawasaki framed the victim’s certificate with a photograph of these roses and handed it to Beatrice Fihn, the ICAN’s executive director, at the venue of the Nuclear Ban Forum, held by ICAN in Vienna, Austria, before the first meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Partly due to the influence of the coronavirus pandemic, it took two years for the victim’s certificate to be delivered to ICAN. Ms. Fihn expressed her delight and said that the framed certificate was a symbol of the global campaign toward a common goal of nuclear abolition.
(Originally published on July 12, 2022)
