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 the 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.

Contents of the ceremony

 * Dedication of Water (by the citizen representatives of Hiroshima), accompanied (since 1975) by the music "Prayer Music No. 1: Dirge" by Hibakusha composer Masaru Kawasaki
 * Opening
 * Dedication of the Register of the Names of the Fallen Atomic Bomb Victims
 * Address
 * Dedication of flowers
 * Silent Prayer and Peace Bell (for one minute from 8:15am)
 * The bell is rung by one representative of bereaved families and one representative of children
 * Peace Declaration (by Mayor of Hiroshima)
 * Release of Doves
 * Commitment to Peace (by Children's representatives)
 * Addresses (by Prime Minister of Japan and other visitors)
 * 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 Aug. 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.