20 students in Hiroshima send out a message of peace by making peace signs in front of the A-bomb Dome
May 19, 2019
(by Yumie Kubo, Staff Writer)
On May 12, 20 elementary school and junior high school students from Hiroshima demonstrated for peace in front of the A-bomb Dome, in Naka Ward, by making peace signs. They had read an article in the Chugoku Shimbun which asked readers whether making a peace sign in front of the dome was disrespectful or not. The students then considered this question for themselves.
On this day, 20 children, ranging from the first grade of elementary school to the third year of junior high school, smiled and made peace signs with their hands as tourists looked on. The children also held up B4 papers with handwritten messages like “We hope for world peace.”
The students all attend a private cram school located in Takatoriminami, Asaminami Ward. The school has a weekly class in which Koji Otani, 58, the head of the school, introduces selected newspaper articles to his students. The students then write essays in the class that convey their impressions or their opinions.
In March, the class read a feature article with the headline “Readers Speak: Is it disrespectful to make a peace sign in front of the A-bomb Dome?” Responding to a message from an elderly man who wrote, “I see some tourists flashing peace signs when they take pictures in front of the A-bomb Dome and I think this is really disrespectful,” two staff writers from the newspaper listened to opinions from various people and put together the article.
Mio Nishimura, 10, a fifth grader at Yasunishi Elementary School, felt that making a peace sign at the dome was not the right thing in consideration of the people who were killed in the atomic bombing. Minami Yoshioka, 13, a second-year student at Tomo Junior High School, said that she felt a bit guilty about making a peace sign there in the past.
Though most of the students expressed the opinion that making a peace sign at the dome was inconsiderate, Mr. Otani encouraged them to think more intently about why they felt this was inappropriate and what could be done to improve the situation. During this discussion, Ms. Yoshioka learned that this gesture is not only used to express happiness and camaraderie but also to present a wish for peace.
So Ms. Yoshioka concluded that it was not good to make a peace sign simply for fun, but there was significance in this gesture when it was done with the desire to convey a wish for peace to others.
However, she thought that if she only made a peace sign in front of the A-bomb Dome, the people around her wouldn’t understand her intent. Therefore, she came up with the idea of making the peace sign at the dome while also holding a message. She put these thoughts, developed during the process of discussion, into her essay and completed her draft after rewriting it five times. Mr. Otani then shared Ms. Yoshioka’s essay with the other students. After that, the students expressed their support for her idea and decided to actually carry it out. So, on May 12, 20 students headed to the dome with Mr. Otani.
The students also toured the Peace Memorial Museum, which reopened in April after its renewal. They learned once more about the tragedy wrought by the atomic bombing and the history of the A-bomb Dome. Ayano Furukawa, 10, a fifth grader at Tomohigashi Elementary School, said, “Thinking about all the people who lost their lives because of the atomic bombing, in this place where the dome stands, I made a peace sign while wishing for a peaceful world.”
This experience provided the participants with not only the chance to learn more about the history of the war, but to reflect on what they think and what they could do to help realize a peaceful world. In addition, they were able to recognize the importance of taking action. Ms. Yoshioka said, “I saw many international visitors taking photos of our peace signs at the dome. I hope those who understood our message will share their photos online so the world can see them.”
(Originally published on May 19, 2019)
On May 12, 20 elementary school and junior high school students from Hiroshima demonstrated for peace in front of the A-bomb Dome, in Naka Ward, by making peace signs. They had read an article in the Chugoku Shimbun which asked readers whether making a peace sign in front of the dome was disrespectful or not. The students then considered this question for themselves.
On this day, 20 children, ranging from the first grade of elementary school to the third year of junior high school, smiled and made peace signs with their hands as tourists looked on. The children also held up B4 papers with handwritten messages like “We hope for world peace.”
The students all attend a private cram school located in Takatoriminami, Asaminami Ward. The school has a weekly class in which Koji Otani, 58, the head of the school, introduces selected newspaper articles to his students. The students then write essays in the class that convey their impressions or their opinions.
In March, the class read a feature article with the headline “Readers Speak: Is it disrespectful to make a peace sign in front of the A-bomb Dome?” Responding to a message from an elderly man who wrote, “I see some tourists flashing peace signs when they take pictures in front of the A-bomb Dome and I think this is really disrespectful,” two staff writers from the newspaper listened to opinions from various people and put together the article.
Mio Nishimura, 10, a fifth grader at Yasunishi Elementary School, felt that making a peace sign at the dome was not the right thing in consideration of the people who were killed in the atomic bombing. Minami Yoshioka, 13, a second-year student at Tomo Junior High School, said that she felt a bit guilty about making a peace sign there in the past.
Though most of the students expressed the opinion that making a peace sign at the dome was inconsiderate, Mr. Otani encouraged them to think more intently about why they felt this was inappropriate and what could be done to improve the situation. During this discussion, Ms. Yoshioka learned that this gesture is not only used to express happiness and camaraderie but also to present a wish for peace.
So Ms. Yoshioka concluded that it was not good to make a peace sign simply for fun, but there was significance in this gesture when it was done with the desire to convey a wish for peace to others.
However, she thought that if she only made a peace sign in front of the A-bomb Dome, the people around her wouldn’t understand her intent. Therefore, she came up with the idea of making the peace sign at the dome while also holding a message. She put these thoughts, developed during the process of discussion, into her essay and completed her draft after rewriting it five times. Mr. Otani then shared Ms. Yoshioka’s essay with the other students. After that, the students expressed their support for her idea and decided to actually carry it out. So, on May 12, 20 students headed to the dome with Mr. Otani.
The students also toured the Peace Memorial Museum, which reopened in April after its renewal. They learned once more about the tragedy wrought by the atomic bombing and the history of the A-bomb Dome. Ayano Furukawa, 10, a fifth grader at Tomohigashi Elementary School, said, “Thinking about all the people who lost their lives because of the atomic bombing, in this place where the dome stands, I made a peace sign while wishing for a peaceful world.”
This experience provided the participants with not only the chance to learn more about the history of the war, but to reflect on what they think and what they could do to help realize a peaceful world. In addition, they were able to recognize the importance of taking action. Ms. Yoshioka said, “I saw many international visitors taking photos of our peace signs at the dome. I hope those who understood our message will share their photos online so the world can see them.”
(Originally published on May 19, 2019)
