Activities of the Hiroshima Association for the Success of the Atomic Bomb Exhibition “Atomic Bombs and the Poems of Sankichi Toge”

The Atomic Bomb Exhibition entitled “Atomic Bombs and the Poems of Sankichi Toge” was held from November to December 2001 at the old Bank of Japan, Hiroshima Branch building. To work hand in hand with the Secretariat of the Shimonoseki Atomic Bomb Exhibition toward the success of this exhibit, the Hiroshima Association for the Success of the Atomic Bomb Exhibition “Atomic Bombs and the Poems of Sankichi Toge” was formed on October 6, 2001.

The Association has continued to hold this exhibition since 2001 in an attempt to promote a society which will never allow atomic bombs and wars. It is hoped that in telling these stories, the younger generation will come to know the horrors of the war, and thus continue our efforts of promoting a peaceful future where wars will be avoided by all means.

The three main activities of the Hiroshima Association are the following:

1. Conducting exhibits of the “Atomic Bombs and the Poems of Sankichi Toge” panels at various places such as community centers, work places and schools.

2. Communicating, orally and in writing, the experiences of the Atomic Bomb victims to younger generations.

3. Promoting the works of Sankichi Toge.

The number of A-bomb survivors who cooperated in sharing their stories has been increasing. They have related their experiences to students who come to Hiroshima for school excursions from other prefectures, as well as to students in Hiroshima as well. Moreover, we have loaned exhibition panels of the Atomic Bomb Exhibition to schools.

The Secretariat of the Shimonoseki A-Bomb Exhibition made the panels “Atomic Bombs and the Poems of Sankichi Toge” in order to narrate the experiences, the pains, the sorrows and the anger of those who were caught under the Atomic Cloud.

To date several hundred thousand people have visited the A-bomb Exhibition conducted at more than a thousand places. In schools the panels have also been displayed as teaching materials.

In recent years, we added panels of “The truth of the World WarⅡ”, which could then improve our exhibition “ Atomic bomb and War Exhibition,” which collates the feelings of all people with their experiences in the battlefront, air raids, or wars like the Battle of Okinawa.

In addition to that, more and more young people have joined our activities every year. They joined the annual meeting to learn about experiences of the atomic bomb or the war through the speakers and panels, or work with us to help with the Atomic Bomb Exhibition or translation work.

We have outlined the historical highlights of the Hiroshima Association with the timeline listed below.