On 30 March 2024, the 8th WPPC ceremony was held in front of the main Pagoda of Kozanji temple in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, under a wonderful blue sky, a complete change from the stormy weather of the previous day. WPPC is a ceremony in which all participants pray for peace in all countries while raising the national flag of each country.
I was invited to participate by the organizer, Ms ZUSHI Kumiko, and about 30 WPPC members and local residents attended.
The ceremony started with Gagaku music, followed by an opening address by Ms ZUSHI and a greeting by Mr. HAMANO, President of the Kinan UNESCO Association, and a peace message by the representative of a yoga organization Brahma Kumaris in Kobe. I then delivered a peace message on behalf of the association for the preservation of UN Peace Bell, after which the flag ceremony began with the ringing of the Peace Bell. Participants waved the flags of all countries on each continent, wishing for peace in the 193 UN member states and all the other countries, and prayed aloud for peace in their countries and peace in the world. Each time the continents changed, I rang the bell and we all did a short peace meditation, following the lead of the yoga leader. The ceremony was broadcast to the world via ZOOM.
