Hiroshima (Japan)
Hiroshima in southern Honshu, population 2,882,000 (1995), is on a delta bisected by six branches of the Ohta River. It was a castle town ruled by the Asano family for 250 years before emerging as a leading military city. Population was estimated at 350,000 when on 6 August 1945, it became the first city destroyed by an atomic bomb. Fatalities by 1986 were estimated at 200,000. In 1949 government support began for rebuilding the city as a symbol of peace.
Peace Memorial Park, with the Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Memorial Hall, preserves the memories of A-bomb realities. It hosts 2 million visitors annually. Religious, political, and educational peace organizations abound. Every 6 August a joint memorial service is held. Mennonites, the Society of Friends, and the Church of the Brethren help support World Friendship Center, an agency promoting peace and service to A-bomb survivors.
Mennonite churches in Hiroshima by 1987 were the Kita Christian Church (Nihon Menonaito Burezaren Kyodan, Mennonite Brethren) founded in 1976; and the Hiroshima Mennonite Christian Church (Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kaigi, General Conference Mennonite) founded in 1979. Mission efforts continue, but by 1987 there was no Mennonite work in the sister city of Nagasaki.
Bibliography
The Committee for the Compilation of Materials on Damage Caused by the Atomic Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, translators; Eisei Ishikawa and David L. Swain. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1981.
| Author(s) | Orland J Goering |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1987 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Goering, Orland J. "Hiroshima (Japan)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hiroshima_(Japan)&oldid=120251.
APA style
Goering, Orland J. (1987). Hiroshima (Japan). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hiroshima_(Japan)&oldid=120251.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 372. All rights reserved.
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