Participants, who had traveled by bus from Minamata to Hiroshima (The final training location of this trip) for the entire day, visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum the following day, November 20. They first heard from legacy successor Ms. Sachiko Hiraoka. She shared about her aunt Sadae Sasaoka’s experience of the atomic bomb. She was 13 and happened to be at home when the bomb dropped 3.5 kms away. She shared the horrors her aunt saw, of the pain of losing family members, and the hopelessness of war. Ms. Hiraoka also said that she is honored to share these experiences with people who are community leaders. We hope that it was impactful for participants, too.
After this, participants had time to tour the museum and learn more deeply from the exhibits. Some panels in the permanent exhibit were renewed and there was a new exhibit of items donated in 2023. They are on display from October of this year till February 2026. Within it were stories of how people kept these items to remember their family members and now felt it was time to donate them to the peace memorial museum so their memory will continue to be honored. Some participants were deeply impacted, not only by the contents of this day, but by all the issues they encountered during the WJST.
Finally, after lunch, participants walked around the peace park led by one of our staff, Takashi, visiting various sites of importance. The hypocenter of the bomb, the dome, the bridge, etc. At each location, they offered a prayer for the many people who lost their lives during the war and especially the atomic bombing. They ended the day at the cenotaph. Our collective hope is for peace everywhere in the world, where the evils of war are not repeated.
On the 21st, they set off on their return journey. Despite encountering trouble along the way when one of their buses had a problem, everyone arrived safely back to ARI late on the night of the 22nd.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each one of you who supported this trip in various ways and prayed for them from near and far. Thank you so much!
