Remembrance Ceremony 平和祈念式典
Hymne à la paix
6 août 1945... Cette date bourdonne dans les oreilles de tout un pays tel un cri déchirant les cœurs. Un traumatisme qui nécessite un temps exutoire chaque année, pour se souvenir et partager sa peine. Le 6 août, le Japon se recueille à Hiroshima.
After the speech for universal peace made by the mayor of the city, the bell rings in front of the cenotaph of the Peace Memorial Park at 8:15 a.m. It was at this precise time that the city turned to dust and ashes, with the first atomic bomb in the history of mankind. For one minute, the 50 000 people who have come to pay their respects, pray in silence for the departed souls to rest in peace. Several representatives of the victims of the disaster or their families speak to honor the hibakusha, a term created to describe any individual who has suffered the adverse effects of the atomic bomb directly or indirectly.
Later, hundreds of voices can be heard from the choir dressed in white shirts and black pants, as they sing a hymn for peace and the respect of human rights.
Annual commemoration
Every year this ceremony reminds humanity of the horrors that were suffered by hundreds of thousands of people in Hiroshima. This is also an opportunity to renew the national request for countries with nuclear weapons to dismantle their arsenal.
Once night falls, lanterns are placed on the Motoyasugawa River in honor of those who, burning with fire and thirst, threw themselves into the river, thinking that the water would save their lives. The heinous thus becomes transfiguration, whilst the lights dance on the water before an audience that turns to the future.