Presentation of the UN Peace Bell to the Hiroshima Takeya Area Atomic Bomb Memorial Ceremony Executive Committee
On 19 July 2024, a ceremony was held in the gymnasium of Takeya Elementary School in Hiroshima to present the UN Peace Bell to the Takeya Area Atomic Bomb Memorial Ceremony Executive Committee, with 300 schoolchildren in attendance. In attendance were KOYANAGI Hiroshi, Chairman of the Takeya Area Atomic Bomb Memorial Ceremony Executive Committee, MIYASEI Junji, Principal of Takeya Elementary School, SUZUKI koudou, PTA President, SADAI Yuji, Chairman of the Takeya Area Social Welfare Council, and KURAMOTO Ken, Member of Hiroshima Prefecture Assembly.
After a talk on the Peace Bell by Representative TAKASE, the two representative children were presented with a 4 kg Peace Bell.
After a heartfelt speech by PTA President SUZUKI, Representative TAKASE rang the Peace Bell, and the sound of the bell echoed through the gymnasium as everyone prayed for peace.
Takeya National School was located about 1,500 meters from the A-bomb hypocenter. Teachers and students who were at the school on the day of the bombing were killed. The Monument to the National School and Pupils who died in the Atomic Bomb is said to be about the teachers and children of Takeya National School. The school was rebuilt in its present location after the war, and a memorial ceremony is held every year on 4 August to pray for the repose of the souls of the A-bomb victims. Until now, they used to borrow a bell from a nearby temple and ring it during the ceremony to pray for peace, but when they saw the website of the Association, they strongly wished to ring their own bell at the ceremony, so we decided to present them with a peace bell.
We are grateful for this wonderful opportunity.
Presentation of the Peace Bell to the Republic of Kosovo
Through the association of Ms Takigawa Yoko, a member of the Association for the Preservation for the UN Peace bell who taught Japanese in Kosovo, we decided to present the Peace Bell to the Republic of Kosovo. 11.7.2024, Mr Akiyama Shingo, Director of the Kosovo-Japan Friendship Association, Mr Takai, Director of our association and I visited the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Japan, We presented a 4 kg Peace Bell to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Sabri Kiçmari.
There was an interpreter at the embassy, Kikuchi Yuki, so we explained to him the origin of the Peace Bell and asked to ring it every day. The Ambassador immediately rang the bell three times with a smile.
The Ambassador also gave us a lovely figurine in the shape of the country of Kosovo, made from a mineral that is a speciality of Kosovo, as a commemorative gift. The embassy was decorated with a picture of a statue of Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to helping people suffering from poverty and disease. Mother Teresa was Albanian, born in Skopje, and we learned that the Mother Teresa statue was there because her mother had been from what is now Kosovo.
Soul initiation ceremony
On 25.6.2024, a ceremony was held at Kamakura Shrine to receive four UN Peace Bells, attended by 16 people.
These bells will be presented to the Hiroshima Takeya Area Atomic Bomb Memorial Ceremony Executive Committee, the Republic of Kosovo, Israel and Palestine. It was a very hot and humid day, but as the ceremony began, a cool breeze suddenly blew, which seemed to be the mercy of the enshrined deity. The ceremony began with offering the blessing by the chief priest KOIWA, followed by the Ninjou Mai ritual dance. Afterwards, all attendees presented a tamagushi (a sacred object) and rang the Peace Bell. The ceremony ended in a solemn but warm atmosphere with speeches by Mr KOIWA, representative TAKASE and the recipient’s representative, KOYANAGI Hiroshi.
9th General Membership Meeting held
The General Membership Meeting was held in person for the first time in five years on 9 June 2024, after COVID-19 pandemic and it had been held by voting form. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Association for the Preservation of the UN Peace Bell, which has 229 members, including those from abroad. The General Assembly was attended by 95 full members, including proxy attendance.
Despite the busy schedule, the meeting was very active, with questions and opinions raised by those present.
The items reported and discussed were unanimously endorsed and successfully concluded.
Participation in Overseas Development Study Group.
The 20th Overseas Development Study Group was held at Josui Kaikan in Tokyo on 5.6.2024 and I participated as a guest.
The theme was ‘Japan’s security/risks with global trade’. There were 62 participants, many from large companies that have been active overseas, and I was surprised at the breadth of Mr KADOTA’s personal network. There was an address by Dr KOGURE, former chairman of the board of directors of Shibaura Institute of Technology, and speeches by ABDULWAHAB, former Iraqi Embassy staff member, and IDA Takeo, former director of Nippon Life Insurance Beijing. At the beginning of the meeting, we talked about the UN Peace Bell, and we started with the clear sound of the small bell we had brought.
UN Peace Bell takes part in carp streamer event
On 29.4.2024, a Koinobori (carp streamer) event was held at Osaka Expo ’70 Commemorative Park, organised by Dr NAKAMURA Tetsu of Momoyama Gakuin College of Education. The event included making and hoisting carp streamers, striking a small UN Peace Bell and making jumbo bubbles to pray for world peace and cultural exchange.
The children were so interested in the Peace Bell that they struck it one after the other, making its sound resonate. The children naturally bowed their heads with their hands together after striking the bells, which showed a prayer for peace that transcended any religions and any ideologies.
