(62)Is the "Flame of Peace" fire from the atomic bombing?

Local groups lit the fire

Standing in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, you can see the "Flame of Peace" behind it. According to the Department of Greenery Promotion, which manages the flame, the fire was first lit on August 1, 1964. Local political, business, and religious circles, as well as atomic bomb survivors, initiated the project which aims to maintain the fire until all nuclear weapons in the world are abolished. At the time, the Chugoku Shimbun reported that 35 million yen was donated from throughout Japan for the project.

Design by Kenzo Tange

The design for the "Flame of Peace" was made by Kenzo Tange, who also designed the Cenotaph. The book Hiroshima Peace Reader by the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation describes the design by saying that "The pedestal is an abstract rendering of two hands opening upward." The flame lies halfway between the Cenotaph and the A-bomb Dome.

The fire itself is made up of "religious fire" and "industrial fire." The "religious fire" came from 16 religious groups. The "industrial fire" was sent from industrial areas all over Japan.

By submitting an application to Hiroshima City Hall, it's possible to share in the fire from the "Flame of Peace." In 2008, in fact, the fire from the flame was used in 24 events, such as peace and anti-nuclear rallies and festivals. In 2009, City Hall received a total of 19 applications from Japan and overseas seeking use of the flame. Fourteen places, including sites in Okinawa, Canada the U.K., featured fire from the Hiroshima flame to appeal for peace.

As noted above, the "Flame of Peace" wasn't started with embers from the atomic bombing. However, a fire from embers of the bombing has been tended to this day in the village of Hoshino in Fukuoka Prefecture, about 350 km from Hiroshima.

The man who carried the embers to Hoshino was named Tatsuo Yamamoto. Mr. Yamamoto's hometown was Hoshino and he died in 2004 at the age of 88. On August 6, 1945, he survived the atomic bombing and helped with relief efforts for the wounded and the cremation of victims. At the same time, he searched for his uncle, who ran a bookstore on Hondori shopping street, but was unable to find him. On September 16, after the war was over, he took some embers from the basement of the bookstore, in place of his uncle's remains, and brought them back to Hoshino in a pocket warmer.

Fire shared in 14 places

Mr. Yamamoto kept this fire alive by lighting candles at his family altar, a brazier and a kamado, an old-fashioned Japanese stove.

Mr. Yamamoto's second son, Takudoh Yamamoto, 59, a Hoshino potter, explained: "For my father, the fire didn't only represent a 'flame of peace'; it was also a 'fire of anger' and a 'fire of remembrance' for the victims of Hiroshima." He added, "My father's emotions seemed torn when it came to the flame and he endured a lot of suffering in his life."

On August 6, 1968, the village of Hoshino took over the safeguarding of the flame. The fire remains lit in the town's Peace Tower and a peace ceremony is organized every year for the anniversary of the bombing, August 6.

According to Hoshino officials, the fire has been shared with 14 places in Japan, including Aichi and Tokyo. In addition, the flame is made use of about 10-15 times a year for short-term events like peace concerts. A book and a choral composition have also been created about this fire and, in the United States, a documentary film called "GATE" was made. (Rie Nii, Staff Writer)