At the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, Atomic Bomb Memoir Reading Sessions are held to share the memories and thoughts of the hibakusha and pass them on to the next generation by reading and talking about hibakusha's stories and A-bomb poems. At the sessions, an overview of the damage caused by the atomic bombing is presented through a video, followed by the reading of A-bomb memoirs and poems by volunteer presenters, and finally the participants themselves are read poems.
　Last November 21, two reading sessions were held, one at 11:00 and the other at 14:30, as one of the events for the Month for a Culture of Peace.
　A total of 15 people participated, including residents of Hiroshima City, visitors from outside the prefecture, and people from the United States living in Japan.

Comments from participants

　A woman who is a nursery school teacher and was participating in the reading session for the third time, said that she was particularly impressed by the poem "Genshibakudan" (Atomic Bomb) written by Hatsumi Sakamoto, a third-grade elementary school student, which appeared in the poetry collection "From Under the Atomic Cloud" published in 1952.
　The woman said "This child, who has never met a ghost, compares people who have been hurt in the bombing to ghosts. I think it must have been so horrible that it can only be expressed in such words. I believe that participating in a recital session will move you. The duration is 40 minutes, so it's easy to participate, and I hope many people will join us."

Comments from volunteers

　We spoke with Ms. Yoko Matsuo, a volunteer who reads A-bomb testimonies. 　For the past 26 years, I have served as the host of the Peace Summit, a gathering of elementary school students who make the Commitment to Peace at the Peace Memorial Ceremony. I felt like I was being pushed, thinking "What am I doing when children are thinking about Hiroshima and peace as something so familiar to them?" That's when I heard about the call for volunteers to read A-bomb memoirs, and I decided to apply to pass on the A-bomb experience through readings. Then, in 2004, I started the activity as the first-generation member. 　I believe that the hibakusha had experiences and feelings that we cannot even imagine. To be close to the hibakusha's feelings, we repeatedly read their A-bomb memoirs and poems and express them as words. I am carrying out this activity with the hope that it will resonate in the hearts of the participants.
　"No one else should ever suffer as we have." I believe that we, as recipients of this important and kind message, must continue to pass it on.
　Reading the testimonies is a profound act. Even in the spaces between the lines and the different positions of punctuation marks, the feelings of the hibakusha are reflected. How can we understand and communicate this? I would like to continue to learn.