Documenting Hiroshima 80 years after A-bombing: August 6, 1950, under shadow of Korean War, Hiroshima Peace Festival canceled
Feb. 16, 2025
by Michio Shimotaka and Minami Yamashita, Staff Writers
On August 6, 1950, sirens reverberated in Hiroshima City at the exact time of the dropping of the atomic bomb, with residents of the city observing a moment of silence where they were at that moment. Four days earlier, the Hiroshima Peace Festival (present-day Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony), which had been held on the date of the atomic bombing for three consecutive years starting in 1947, was suddenly cancelled based on a decision made by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Service Committee, the festival organizer consisting of the Hiroshima City government and other groups. The city government called on Hiroshima’s citizens to make August 6 “a day of reflection and prayer.”
Prior to that, on June 26, the Korean War had begun. In July, the United Nations forces were formed, led by the U.S. military, in order to provide support to South Korea. Later, in July, China sent its own volunteer troops to North Korea. The conflict, which pitted the U.S.-centered capitalist side against the communist side led by the Soviet Union, intensified under the Cold War, leading to growing concerns over nuclear weapons use. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers (GHQ), headed the U.N. troops, and Japan served as a logistical support base for the war.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Service Committee tried at first to communicate the significance of holding the Peace Festival precisely because of “the current situation.” In July, a committee document requesting that the GHQ and other organizations send messages for the ceremony indicated that the festival would help expand awareness about the idea that “war is meaningless and a crime” and preserve peace.
In late July, the committee sent posters and invitations to relevant groups and individuals overseas, but all of sudden, on August 2, it did an about-face and announced cancellation of the festival. The organizer did not provide any specific reason for the cancellation, but it was obvious that the decision was influenced by the intentions of the GHQ.
On August 6, sirens sounded at 9:15 a.m., because clocks had been set forward one hour in Japan, which had adopted daylight-savings time. However, just like the Peace Festival, there was no Peace Declaration delivered by the Hiroshima City mayor that day, despite the fact that the mayor had consistently used the occasion until the previous year to call for the “renunciation of war.”
Meanwhile, that same day, a book that had been compiled by the city government was published. It was titled Genbaku Taiken-ki (in English, ‘Accounts of A-bombing experiences’) and contained personal accounts solicited from citizens by the city for the first time. In the publication’s preface are inscribed the words, “We believe this sacred collection of personal accounts from people who survived the depths of agony and despair to arise once more will compel the children of people to listen to this divine appeal for peace, amidst the raging storm of intense conflict underway between two different worlds.”
(Originally published on February 16, 2025)
On August 6, 1950, sirens reverberated in Hiroshima City at the exact time of the dropping of the atomic bomb, with residents of the city observing a moment of silence where they were at that moment. Four days earlier, the Hiroshima Peace Festival (present-day Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony), which had been held on the date of the atomic bombing for three consecutive years starting in 1947, was suddenly cancelled based on a decision made by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Service Committee, the festival organizer consisting of the Hiroshima City government and other groups. The city government called on Hiroshima’s citizens to make August 6 “a day of reflection and prayer.”
Prior to that, on June 26, the Korean War had begun. In July, the United Nations forces were formed, led by the U.S. military, in order to provide support to South Korea. Later, in July, China sent its own volunteer troops to North Korea. The conflict, which pitted the U.S.-centered capitalist side against the communist side led by the Soviet Union, intensified under the Cold War, leading to growing concerns over nuclear weapons use. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers (GHQ), headed the U.N. troops, and Japan served as a logistical support base for the war.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Service Committee tried at first to communicate the significance of holding the Peace Festival precisely because of “the current situation.” In July, a committee document requesting that the GHQ and other organizations send messages for the ceremony indicated that the festival would help expand awareness about the idea that “war is meaningless and a crime” and preserve peace.
In late July, the committee sent posters and invitations to relevant groups and individuals overseas, but all of sudden, on August 2, it did an about-face and announced cancellation of the festival. The organizer did not provide any specific reason for the cancellation, but it was obvious that the decision was influenced by the intentions of the GHQ.
On August 6, sirens sounded at 9:15 a.m., because clocks had been set forward one hour in Japan, which had adopted daylight-savings time. However, just like the Peace Festival, there was no Peace Declaration delivered by the Hiroshima City mayor that day, despite the fact that the mayor had consistently used the occasion until the previous year to call for the “renunciation of war.”
Meanwhile, that same day, a book that had been compiled by the city government was published. It was titled Genbaku Taiken-ki (in English, ‘Accounts of A-bombing experiences’) and contained personal accounts solicited from citizens by the city for the first time. In the publication’s preface are inscribed the words, “We believe this sacred collection of personal accounts from people who survived the depths of agony and despair to arise once more will compel the children of people to listen to this divine appeal for peace, amidst the raging storm of intense conflict underway between two different worlds.”
(Originally published on February 16, 2025)
