"What color is peace?" Survey on August 6th?

Color the world with smiles

Images associated with life, such as green and yellow

We surveyed 123 visitors to Hiroshima on August 6 and asked about "colors for peace" in several questions.

The largest number of people, 30, chose "green." Reasons for choosing green included its association with life and plants and because it evokes a feeling of gentleness.

After "green," the color of "yellow" was chosen by 18 people. Yellow is a lively color and suggests smiles, they said.

A 16-year-old girl from the United States drew a rainbow with seven colors to represent "all the people in the world, united." Another person drew a pink heart.

In response to the question about the color of Hiroshima on August 6, some people chose the same color as their "peace color." Of these, 22 said "blue" and 20 said "green." Others chose a color similar to their "peace color" and commented: "I'd like to say the same color, but something is still lacking."

About the color for Hiroshima, there were various ideas, such as "green because Hiroshima was revived after the atomic bombing and became a city blessed with nature" (by a 42-year-old woman from Tokyo) and "colors of the rainbow" because of the wide range of people, of many nationalities and ages, that gather in Hiroshima on this day.

We also asked "What color is the world today?" 36 people said "grey" including a 16-year-old boy from Hiroshima who explained, "Because some countries are still suffering from civil war or conflict." Other common choices were "black" and "red," each selected by 13 people. These colors suggest that the respondents strongly feel the world is still not a peaceful place.

Although about half of the respondents chose darker colors, some voiced optimism, too. "It may be dark now, but the future will surely be brighter," said a 20-year-old woman from Tokyo.

Our last question was: "What is needed for the world to become the color of peace?"

The largest proportion of people, 33, said "abolish war and nuclear weapons."

Others referred to environmental issues, expressing hopes to stop pollution, restore clean water and air, and increase plant life.

More notable responses concerned the idea of individual effort. Answers in this area, such as the need to shed selfishness, ill will, and discrimination and instead foster compassion and love, were offered by 35 people. The fact that so many people emphasized individual action as a step toward peace, by making efforts at personal growth, was something we found impressive.

(Akane Murashige, 16, Yuki Sakata, 15, Miyu Sakata, 13, and Yusuke Suemoto, 12)