81st anniversary of Hiroshima bombing observed with peace ceremony in Honolulu

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – On the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was the first time a nuclear weapon was ever used in warfare.

Read more Hawaii’s One Ohana Fund offers all $175M to Maui wildfire victims

Eighty-one years later, a Honolulu replica of the Hiroshima Peace Bell rang out to commemorate the somber anniversary.

Thursday’s Hiroshima Commemoration and Peace service opened with a blessing and Shinto purification ceremony by Bishop Daiya Amano of the Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii.

The program included a keynote by Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, along with speeches by Consul General Chotoku Hideaki and Hiroshima YMCA Student Exchange Program alum Jordyn Imig, among others.

Attendees were invited to ring the replica in support of world peace.

“Two-hundred thousand died within five years, and this is not include those who survived with physical and spiritual wounds,” said Zoe Moriwaki, YMCA Honolulu YTeen Club administrative director. “However, in years to follow, the people here in Honolulu moved forward in friendship and with the dedication to peace between our two cities.”

Read more Scientists trace DNA, evolutionary history of Hawaii’s endangered honeycreepers

RELATED POST: Sister Cities: Hiroshima’s tragic history leads to peaceful future

In 1985, the Hiroshima Prefectural Government presented a replica of the Hiroshima Peace Bell as a gift to the people of Hawaii in recognition of their long-standing and strong relationship.

The Hiroshima Peace Bell replica was dedicated and installed next to the Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii five years later.

Since 1990, an annual service has been held there to pay tribute to those who died in the 1945 bombing.

Read more WWE returning to Hawaii for first time in seven years