The offering of floating lanterns, a memorial ritual for the A-bomb victims who died craving water, was held on the evening of August 6, at the Motoyasu River near the hypocenter in Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, and at other locations. About 10,000 lit lanterns, released with a prayer for a nuclear-free century, adorned the surface of the rivers.

This year, the lantern candles were lit by the embers from the fire following the A-bomb raid, that had been preserved in Hoshino Village in Fukuoka Prefecture. Aging bereaved families, folks and attendees of the World Conference of Mayors for Peace through Inter-city Solidarity, among others, silently placed the lanterns on the water.

Chizuko Ogawa (66) of Minami Ward lost her husband last October. He had been exposed to the black rain after the bombing. "I married and came to Hiroshima 35 years ago, but this is the first time I offered the lantern. I am overwhelmed with the memory of my husband," Ogawa said as she joined her hands in prayer.

[Caption] Children releasing lanterns from the Motoyasu River embankment (7:40pm, August 6).