Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
Festival Culture Summer · August 6

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

Hiroshima · Hiroshima · Chugoku

Held every year on August 6 at precisely 8:15 a.m. — the moment the atomic bomb detonated in 1945 — the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is attended by the city's mayor, the Prime Minister of Japan, and representatives from over 100 nations. A minute of silence is observed, doves are released, and a peace declaration is read beside the iconic A-Bomb Dome. Thousands of paper cranes, folded in the tradition of Sadako Sasaki, are offered at the Children's Peace Monument. The ceremony is open to the public and is broadcast live across Japan.

Type
Festival
Category
Culture
Season
Summer
Month
August 6
Region
Chugoku
Prefecture
Hiroshima
City
Hiroshima

Highlights

  • Moment of silence at exactly 8:15 a.m. on August 6
  • Attended by heads of state and ambassadors from around the world
  • Release of white doves over the Motoyasu River
  • Thousands of paper cranes offered at the Children's Peace Monument
  • Free, open-to-public ceremony in a UNESCO-listed memorial park