On Wednesday, Aug. 5, from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m., the Hiroshima Commemoration Committee, formed by Champaign-Urbana locals, invites you to a gathering in the U of I Arboretum, north of the Japan House, to stand in witness to the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Join us in remembering what happened when the first nuclear bomb was used against people 75 years ago and dedicating ourselves to preventing this from ever happening again. Masks and social distancing are required. Yohei and Asami Endo will play the guitar, banjo, and recorder.
In another Hiroshima 75th-anniversary commemoration, the film Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard will be shown online on Aug. 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. This 85-minute documentary explores an act of kindness, a message of hope and reconciliation, and the unwavering optimism of children—an inspiring story about an exchange of gifts between Americans and Japanese after a devastating war. Pictures drawn by Hiroshima schoolchildren, living in the aftermath of the atomic bomb, are discovered deep inside a church in Washington, DC. A gift of thanks for supplies donated in 1947, these beautiful, surprisingly happy pictures are restored in 2009 and taken back to Hiroshima for a special exhibit attended by the surviving artists who drew them.