80th Anniversary Commemoration of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
AMC Kabuki 8, 1881 Post St., S.F. Japantown
FREE Admission (donation suggested)
12 p.m.
Special Screening of “White Light / Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” (2007, 86 min.). Primetime Emmy Award-winning film introduced by filmmaker Steven Okazaki
ABOUT THE FILM:
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki’s “White Light/Black Rain” (2007, 86 min.) provides a powerful examination of the atomic bombings and their aftermath through a succession of vivid personal accounts from 14 Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors (known as hibakusha), many of whom had never spoken publicly before; as well as four Americans, including one of the pilots and one of the crewmen who released the bombs, and two scientists on the observer planes that accompanied the B-52s that dropped the bombs. Produced for HBO Documentary Films.
2 p.m.
80th Anniversary Commemoration of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Interfaith Blessing by JARF
• “A Girl From Hiroshima”(2022, 5:22) by Cynthia Liu
• Keynote: Manon and Kanon Iwata, founders of Teens 4 Disarmament & Nonproliferation
• Hibakusha Reflections
• Lanterns of Remembrance Ceremony
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Teens 4 Disarmament & Nonproliferation was founded in 2022 in Los Angeles, Calif. by twin sisters, Kanon and Manon Iwata, who were high school freshmen at the time. Since they were young, Manon and Kanon have heard many heart-broken stories surrounding the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 from the hibakusha (survivors of atomic explosion either in Hiroshima or Nagasaki in 1945). They aim to raise awareness and educate teenagers regarding the potential consequences of nuclear weapons. “Our main goal is to raise awareness and involve the future generation regarding the risks nuclear weapons pose to the entire planet,” they say. Today, there are five chapters of the organization around the world, including three in Japan and one in Ukraine.
ABOUT THE FILM:
“A Girl From Hiroshima” (2022, 5:22) by Cynthia Liu. Some 70 years after Toshiko Ishikawa loses her home and entire family in the 1945 Hiroshima bombing, her Japanese American daughter Kathleen, now an acclaimed author, tells her story — a testament to love as much as it is loss.
MORE INFORMATION / TO RESERVE TICKETS:
https://nichibeifoundation.org/educational-programs/atomic-bomb-commemoration/
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Presented by the Eyewitness for Peace Consortium
Friends of Hibakusha
Nichi Bei Foundation
Japanese American Religious Federation
Genryu Arts
National Japanese American Historical Society
Japantown Task Force
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Related 80th Anniversary Commemorative Events
Visit the exhibit:
“Latent August: Legacy Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki”
July 11 to Sept. 30, 2025 at NJAHS Peace Gallery, 1684 Post St, SF Japantown (M-F and 1st Saturdays, 12 to 5 p.m.)
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July 12 to Sept. 10, 2025 at MIS Historic Learning Center at Building 640, Presidio
(weekends only, 12 to 5 p.m.)
For more information on exhibits: www.njahs.org
Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, 4:15 p.m.
Osaka Way Peacemaking: 200,000 blessings
Osaka Way (Buchanan Mall), SF Japantown
Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, 11:02 a.m.
Osaka Way Peacemaking: Generations of Joyful Drumming and Dance for Peace
Osaka Way (Buchanan Mall), SF Japantown
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 11 a.m.
Latent August: Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
National Japanese American Historical Society
1684 Post St., SF Japantown
Keynote speaker and SFSU panel discussion
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 1 p.m.
We Choose Peace: Art and Activism for Peacemaking
Studio Gen, Japan Center East Mall
The role of art making in the community, art panel discussion, and Bon Odori workshop.
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