Thematic Links
 
  • Global education
  • Peace
 
Story Overview
 

This is a whole school Assembly that is suitable for K-6. The assembly focuses on the stories of Sadako and other children affected by the A-bomb.

 
 
Cultural Notes
 
Heiwa no hi   There is no 'Peace Day' holiday in Japan. However some local governments have decided on a special day for commemorating peace. For example, Hiroshima has Genbaku no Hi (Atomic Bomb Day) August 6 and Nagasaki has a similar day on August 9. The Tokyo metropolitan government has held Heiwa no Hi on March 10 since 1990, and Okinawa has Irei(memorial service) no Hi on June 23.
Genbaku otome/
(Hiroshima Maidens)
 
  are women whose bodies and faces were badly burned by the A-bomb. Many of them suffered psychological damage by that and lost hope in the future. When Norman Cousins, who was a famous American essayist and editor, long associated with Saturday Review, visited Hiroshima in 1949, he started to support the victims of the A-bomb especially women and children. In 1955 he took 25 women to America to give them free surgical treatment and they came to be known as the "Hiroshima Maidens."
Bon /O-bon   is a time to remember relatives who have passed away, around 13-16th of July or August. (Most Japanese companies have Obon holidays in August.) A Buddhist religious ritual, the Japanese believe that during Obon the spirits are released and allowed to return to our world to visit relatives. At the end of the spirits' visit, relatives guide them back to their spirit world on the small boats guided by candle-lit lanterns or Okuribi (bonfire for escorting the spirits of the dead) such as Daimonji yaki in Kyoto.
Tooroo nagashi/
Shooryoo nagashi

Floating Lantern
  marks the end of Obon, and we have several variations of Tooroo nagashi or Shooryoo nagashi, depending on the area in Japan. Apart from Obon, we have similar event in Hiroshima on August 6 (see website below). In Nagasaki, each year on August 8, the night before the Peace Ceremony, the Candles for Peace event is held so that each citizen may always remember the tragedy of the atomic bombing, and to foster peace awareness.
 
 
Web Links
 
 
 
Characters
 
  • Narrator x2
  • Sadako
  • Sadako's friends x 2
  • Sachi
  • Shin
  • Junko
  • Other students (chorus etc) - any number
 
   
   

 

In Hiroshima

 
ナレーター 1   こども へいわ かいぎを します。 Welcome to our Peace Assembly.
     
ナレーター 2   八月(はちがつ) 六日(むいか)は へいわの ひです。August 6 is Hiroshima Gen−baku(A-bomb)Day. This is the date on which the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in 1945. たくさんの ひとが しにました。There were many lives lost and terrible destruction on that day and after. This week our class has been listening to personal stories of the sad things that happened on that day. Here are some of them.
     
さだこ   わたしは ささき さだこです。My name is Sadako Sasaki. 2さいのとき ひろしまで ひばく しました。and I was just 2 years old when the bomb was dropped on my city in 1945. 10さいまでは げんきでした。It wasn't until 8 years later that I became very ill from the radiation from the bomb. I was told that if I folded a thousand paper cranes my wish would come true. I wished for life. しにたく なかったです。だから、せんばづるを おりました。But I was only able to make 664 cranes. でも、664わしか できませんでした。(Students sitting folding paper cranes and counting them in the background)
     
ともだち 1   せんばづるを ぜんぶ おるまえに、 さだこちゃんは しにました。12さいでした。Sadako died before she could make all the paper cranes so my friends and I finished them for her. だから ともだちと のこりの つるを おりました。We also helped raise money to build a monument to her memory. そして おかねを あつめました。At the very top stands a life size statue of Sadako in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. ひろしま へいわ こうえんに さだこちゃんの  モニュメントを つくりました。 She holds a gold coloured crane over her head.  きんいろの つるが さだこちゃんのあたまに のっています。
     
ともだち 2   The monument is dedicated to all the children of Hiroshima who died there. それは げんばくで しんだ こどもの ための モニュメントです。There are many monuments in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. ひろしま へいわ こうえんには ほかにも いれいひが たくさんあります。There is a monument showing the words 'Rest in Peace for the mistake shall never be repeated.' 「やすらかに おねむり ください。 あやまちは くりかえしませぬから。」 と かいた いれいひも あります。 
     
さち   わたしは さちです。My name is Sachi and I was helping tear down houses for the war effort when the bomb dropped. げんばくで こわれた いえから たすけられました。My arm became permanently bent and I was badly burned on my face. けれど うでも まがりました。 かおも ひどい やけどを しました。 After the war I wore a mask to hide my face. だから いつも かおを かくしていました。かなしかったです。In 1949 the Americans took 24 other Japanese women and me to America to give us free surgery to fix the burns. でも アメリカで しゅじゅつを うけることが できました。 We were called the Hiroshima Maidens みんな わたしたちを 「げんばく おとめ」と いいました。 and I was able to smile again and start a new life. それからは もう かおを かくしません。 わらうことも できます。 
     
しん   ぼくは しん。My name is Shin. これ、ぼくの さんりんしゃ。and this is my tricycle. I was just 3 years old in August 1945. My uncle gave me this tricycle just before my fourth birthday. 4さいの たんじょうびに おじさんが かってくれたの。I had always wanted a tricycle. ずっと ずっと ほしかったの。 After I died my father buried my tricycle with me. ぼくが しんだあと おとうさんが いっしょに うめてくれたの。Many years later they found the tricycle ずっと あとで にわから みつかったんだ。and it is now in the Hiroshima Peace Museum. いまは ひろしま へいわ はくぶつかんに あるよ。(Small child rides around on tricycle.) 
     
じゅんこ   わたしは じゅんこです。My name is Junko and I was at home sick on the morning of August 6. げんばくが おちたとき びょうきで いえに いました。I was one of the many survivors. それで たすかりました。When I grew up I came to live in Australia おおきくなって、オーストラリアに きました。 and I wrote the book 'My Hiroshima' as well as many other books about Japan. そして「わたしの ひろしま」という ほんを かきました。 Please look for it in the library and read it. (Show picture of 'My Hiroshima') みなさん、よんで くださいね。
     
ナレーター 1   にほんでは おぼんに とうろうながしを します。Obon is a custom in Japan by which people remember members of their family who have died. Tooroo are lanterns with candles and Tooroo nagashi is the floating those lanterns in the water. They are meant to guide the spirits of the dead back after a brief reunion.
     
ナレーター 2   みなさん、きょうは こども へいわ かいぎに きてくれて ありがとうございました。Thank you for coming to our Assembly. さいごに キャンドルを つけて (title of suitable song を うたいましょう。We would like to finish the assembly by lighting our candles and listening to 'Heal the World'.(Or other suitable song.)
 
 
 
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