Hiroshima Day

   

Grafton Peace Pagoda

Earlier this year, sculptor, Thomas Matsuda, invited artists from around the world to make and contribute a prayer flag for this event, taking place tomorrow, Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The ceremony is not specifically a Buddhist thing, but, as Thomas says: it is an interfaith ceremony, with prayers offered by many people coming together. Likewise, Hiroshima Day is not just about Hiroshima, but has become a symbol of the tragedies of war, inspiring prayers and wishes for peace.     

 

 

 

 

 

(All photos here are © Thomas Matsuda, from the 2007 ceremony) 

 

HIROSHIMA DAY
At the Grafton Peace Pagoda
 
Friday August 1, 2008
 
63nd commemoration of Hiroshima-Nagasaki      

 

 

                    

  Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
 
Vast arsenals of nuclear weapons remain in high states
of readiness — deployed or easily available. Proliferation
is gaining momentum, and the human family still faces
the peril of extinction. This is because a handful of old-fashioned
leaders, clinging to an early 20th century worldview in thrall
to the rule of brute strength, are rejecting global democracy,
turning their backs on the reality of the atomic bombings and
the message of the hibakusha. Here in the 21st century the
time has come when these problems can actually be solved
through the power of the people. The message born of that
agony (the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) is a beam
of light now shining the way for the human family.
            ~ Tadatoshi Akiba, mayor of Hiroshima 2007