Copy of minister’s diary is donated to his former church
Aug. 5, 2010
by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer
On August 4, family members of the late Kiyoshi Tanimoto (1909-1986), a minister of Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church who provided strong support for the "moral adoption" campaign of A-bomb orphans, among other efforts, donated a copy of his diary to the church. Chisa Tanimoto, 94, the minister's wife, and two other members of his family visited Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church with the materials. "I want to leave something to convey what happened in Hiroshima," she said.
Reverend Tanimoto's diary consists of 226 sheets of paper and one notebook and covers the time frame of August 6, 1945 to August 31, 1948. To enable visitors to read the minister's handwriting more easily, the family members attached their own handwritten and typed versions to the copied pages of the diary.
Reverend Tanimoto was exposed to the atomic bombing while at a friend's home. In his diary entry on that day, he described moving about in the area where the church and parish house were located, and coming to people's aid.
In the entry dated August 6, 1946, he touched on a declaration of peace made at a large church gathering that day, writing: "I came to the conclusion that a declaration of peace should involve a deep, inward repentance of our own sins rather than a declaration which simply advocates peace to others."
Reverend Hiroshi Okimura, 54, who received the copy of the diary, said, "These are very important materials. I would also like to utilize them in compiling the history of this church."
(Originally published on August 5, 2010)
On August 4, family members of the late Kiyoshi Tanimoto (1909-1986), a minister of Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church who provided strong support for the "moral adoption" campaign of A-bomb orphans, among other efforts, donated a copy of his diary to the church. Chisa Tanimoto, 94, the minister's wife, and two other members of his family visited Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church with the materials. "I want to leave something to convey what happened in Hiroshima," she said.
Reverend Tanimoto's diary consists of 226 sheets of paper and one notebook and covers the time frame of August 6, 1945 to August 31, 1948. To enable visitors to read the minister's handwriting more easily, the family members attached their own handwritten and typed versions to the copied pages of the diary.
Reverend Tanimoto was exposed to the atomic bombing while at a friend's home. In his diary entry on that day, he described moving about in the area where the church and parish house were located, and coming to people's aid.
In the entry dated August 6, 1946, he touched on a declaration of peace made at a large church gathering that day, writing: "I came to the conclusion that a declaration of peace should involve a deep, inward repentance of our own sins rather than a declaration which simply advocates peace to others."
Reverend Hiroshi Okimura, 54, who received the copy of the diary, said, "These are very important materials. I would also like to utilize them in compiling the history of this church."
(Originally published on August 5, 2010)
