From Hiroshima to Hope — 80th Anniversary of Atomic Bombings Remembrance and Lanterns Shine Hope on Green Lake August 6, 2025
Sunday, August 3, 2025
With music, poetry, and a lantern floating ceremony, From Hiroshima to Hope shines hope on Green Lake on Wednesday evening, August 6, 2025 the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9.
The annual remembrance event honors the victims of the atomic bombings, and all victims of violence. Featuring 1,000 candle-lit lanterns floating on Green Lake, From Hiroshima to Hope is one of the largest commemorations of the atomic bombings held outside of Japan.
This year also marks the 83rd anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans on the U.S. West Coast during WWII.
From Hiroshima to Hope begins at 6:00pm with lantern preparation, followed at 6:30pm by a musical performance by Hatsune Matsudaira and Laryn Young with Koto no WA, and a striking procession and dance by Heron Dancers.
The family program gets underway at 7:00pm with the popular Japanese American drumming group, Seattle Kokon Taiko. Sharon Maeda, longtime Seattle social justice advocate, will emcee the program. The keynote speaker is Stan Shikuma, activist with Tsuru for Solidarity — a project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support immigrant and refugee communities under attack.
The program also features The Rhapsody Songsters, cellist Melanie Grad of the Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute, and Janae Lu, Seattle Youth Poet Laureate and author of her debut chapbook, "In All Spaces Liminal".
The program also features The Rhapsody Songsters, cellist Melanie Grad of the Japan-Seattle Suzuki Institute, and Janae Lu, Seattle Youth Poet Laureate and author of her debut chapbook, "In All Spaces Liminal".
Based on the traditional toro nagashi ceremony, the lantern floating begins at 8:00pm with a procession to the lake, followed by lanterns inscribed with messages of peace and hope launching on the lake at dusk. The haunting notes of shakuhachi, played by Patrick Johnson, accompany the lantern floating.
From Hiroshima to Hope also showcases a photo exhibit with historic photographs of the aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and two sculptures. "Little Boy (folded)", a full-scale fabric replica of the Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima by artist Yukiyo Kawano.
From Hiroshima to Hope also showcases a photo exhibit with historic photographs of the aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and two sculptures. "Little Boy (folded)", a full-scale fabric replica of the Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima by artist Yukiyo Kawano.
"The Wild Rose of Hiroshima," created with a nuclear industrial fan blade, is a collaboration between Japanese American artist Lauren Iida, Blades of Change, and Wanapum/Yakama artist Johnny Buck. The sculpture links past to future, land to spirit, Hiroshima to Hanford.
The event is created annually by the non-profit organization, From Hiroshima to Hope, and is sponsored by local community organizations, with a grant from The Abe Keller Peace Education Fund.
The event is created annually by the non-profit organization, From Hiroshima to Hope, and is sponsored by local community organizations, with a grant from The Abe Keller Peace Education Fund.
It is held just south of the Bathhouse, on Green Lake’s northwest shore near West Green Lake Drive North and Stone Ave North. The program is free and open to the public.
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