@5 days until Hiroshima Summit: Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm
May 14, 2023
by Yumie Kubo, Staff Writer
In front of the “Fountain of Prayer” in Peace Memorial Park, located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, there is a flower monument welcoming the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations). Standing beside it is a 1.5-meter-tall bronze statue, the Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm.
The statue conveys the powerful image of a mother trying to stand up in the face of hardship, holding her baby with her right hand and carrying her infant on her back with her left hand. It was erected by the Hiroshima City women’s association (now the Hiroshima City Federation of Regional Women’s Organization) in 1960. Women who lost their children to the atomic bomb enthusiastically collected donations for the production costs.
The creator of the statue is Shin Hongo (1905-1980), one of Japan’s leading sculptors. The same bronze statues as in Hiroshima are also exhibited at three other facilities in Sapporo City, Oshamambe-cho, Hokkaido, and Kagoshima City.
(Originally published on May 14, 2023)
In front of the “Fountain of Prayer” in Peace Memorial Park, located in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, there is a flower monument welcoming the summit meeting of the G7 (Group of Seven industrialized nations). Standing beside it is a 1.5-meter-tall bronze statue, the Statue of Mother and Child in the Storm.
The statue conveys the powerful image of a mother trying to stand up in the face of hardship, holding her baby with her right hand and carrying her infant on her back with her left hand. It was erected by the Hiroshima City women’s association (now the Hiroshima City Federation of Regional Women’s Organization) in 1960. Women who lost their children to the atomic bomb enthusiastically collected donations for the production costs.
The creator of the statue is Shin Hongo (1905-1980), one of Japan’s leading sculptors. The same bronze statues as in Hiroshima are also exhibited at three other facilities in Sapporo City, Oshamambe-cho, Hokkaido, and Kagoshima City.
(Originally published on May 14, 2023)
