Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual Japanese vigil.
Every August 6, "A-Bomb Day", the city of Hiroshima holds the Peace Memorial Ceremony to console the victims of the atomic bombs and to pray for the realization of lasting world peace. The ceremony is held in front of the Memorial Cenotaph in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Participants include the families of the deceased and people from all over the world. The first ceremony was held in 1947 by the then Hiroshima Mayor Shinzo Hamai.

WWW city.hiroshima.lg.jp/site...

Contents of the ceremony

Dedication of Water, accompanied by the music "Prelude" by composer Kunio Ootsuki
Opening
Dedication of the Register of the Names of the Fallen Atomic Bomb Victims
Address
Dedication of flowers, accompanied by the music "Prayer Music No. 1: Dirge" by Hibakusha composer Masaru Kawasaki
Silent Prayer and Peace Bell
*The bell is rung by one representative of bereaved families and one representative of children
Peace Declaration
Release of Doves
Commitment to Peace
Addresses
Hiroshima Peace Song, with music by Minoru Yamamoto and lyrics by Yoshio Shigezono
Closing

Memorial ceremonies for Hiroshima outside Japan

Due to the dissemination of the memorial culture surrounding Hiroshima worldwide, memorial ceremonies were and are being held also in other parts of the world. One such instance was on August 6, 1986, as a delegation from Hiroshima of 18 individuals arrived at the Israeli Holocaust memorial of Yad Vashem and held a brief ceremony at the Yizkor Hall.

United States

In 2010, John V. Roos became the first United States ambassador to Japan to attend the ceremony, paving the way for a historic visit to Hiroshima by then president Barack Obama six years later.