Events mark 70th anniversary of Nagasaki blast

DENNIS ODA / OCT. 9
Masago Asai shows some of the pieces displayed at the “A-bombs Exhibit for Peace” project. Masago’s mother, Tokiko Asai, survived the Nagasaki atomic bomb, which hit Japan on Aug. 9, 1945, when she was 14 years old.

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Three events this month will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, which brought an end to World War II.

The Hongwanji Buddhist Hawaii Betsuin will hold its sixth annual candlelight peace walk at 5 p.m. Aug. 9, starting with a lantern lighting service and ending with bell ringing at 7 p.m. at the Nagasaki Peace Bell Memorial at the Honolulu Civic Center. Chartered bus service will be available for those who are unable to walk from the temple, at 1727 Pali Highway, to South Beretania Street. Call the office at 536-7044.

Preceding the walk, the movie "GATE: The Atomic Flame," will be shown at 3 p.m., telling the story of three Buddhist monks who made a 1,600-mile pilgrimage 10 years ago to Trinity, N.M., the birthplace of the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The monks returned the atomic flame, which burned continuously at a memorial site between Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in the hope that returning it to its birthplace would close the cycle of nuclear destruction and usher in a new cycle on nuclear disarmament, a news release said.

Masago Asai, whose mother survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, will be the keynote speaker at two other free events. The title of her talk is "Human Inner Maturity is the Core of Global Peace."

The chief financial officer of CompuTant, Asai has received awards for her work in promoting peace. She will speak at: the following times and locations:

» 10 a.m., Aug. 9 (Nagasaki A-bomb Day) at Palolo Hongwanji, 1641 Palolo Ave. She will also present a short DVD, "The Sugarcane Fields (of Okinawa)," and dance a hula, "Hawaiian Lullaby." Contact the Rev. Noriaki Fujimori at 732-1491.

» 10 a.m., Aug. 30 at First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, 2500 Pali Highway. She will present a short DVD, "Nuclear Destruction: The Human Folly," and a dance, "Pua Lililehua." Contact Steve Lohse at 595-4047.

Asai has coordinated the annual "Peace Prayer" ceremony at the Hawaii Conference of Religions for Peace since 2006 and received the "Hero of Forgiveness Award" on Hawaii International Forgiveness Day in 2006, a release said.

In October 2014 she organized the conference’s "A-bombs Exhibit for Peace: Face the Past to Heal the Present," an educational program over nine days. The project received The Healing Role in Hawaii Award from The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii.

Asai also performs hula at various ceremonies and care homes with her daughters as a hobby and a gift to the community.