Traditional Annual Events

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

Let us unite in prayer for peace, regardless of race or nationality.

Date:August 6th
Place:The Peace Memorial Park
City:Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture

On August 6th, 1945, an American bomber dropped the world's first atomic bomb over Hiroshima City. The entire city was devastated by the heat and shock waves of the blast, producing numerous civilian casualties.

On this day, the Peace Memorial Ceremony (free entry) is held in front of the Hiroshima Peace City Memorial Monument erected in the Peace Memorial Park to appease the souls of those killed by the atomic bomb and to pray for eternal peace on Earth. During this ceremony, the Peace Declaration, appealing for the abolition of nuclear weapons and for the realization of eternal world peace, is delivered by the Mayor of Hiroshima City and is transmitted worldwide.

At 8:15 a.m., which is the exact time when the atomic bomb was dropped, the Peace Bell is rung and citizens, either at the ceremony, at home, or at work offer silent prayers for one minute for the repose of the souls of the atomic bomb victims and for peace.

In order to offer prayers for the souls of the victims, a ritual in which small lanterns are lit and floated downstream to console the souls of the dead is organized by volunteers in the evening by the Motoyasugawa River. Some atomic bomb victims had jumped into this river seeking water. It flows by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Genbaku Dome, which is all that remains of the original building that stood at the epicenter of the Hiroshima bomb blast, and was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1996. The Peace Memorial Park and its environs are visited till late at night by people from all over the world wishing for peace.

A similar ceremony praying for peace is held on August 9th every year at Nagasaki, which was also struck by an atomic bomb on August 9th, 1945.