Stories of Hiroshima Nagasaki Told by the Youth

Sunday, August 10, 2025, 11 am to 1 pm

Unitarian Church of Staten Island

312 Fillmore Street, Staten Island, NY 10301

Music by Young Musicians of Staten Island

KAMISHIBAI Stories Courtesy of Youth Arts NY/Hibakusha Stories. 

Sponsored by Peace Action of Staten Island, Unitarian Church of Staten Island, Staten Island 4 Palestine, Youth Arts NY

This is the 80th anniversary of the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which took place on August 6 and August 9, 1945. For the past several years, the Unitarian Church of Staten Island has hosted commemorations of the atom bombings in the hope that nuclear weapons will never be used again and that they can be abolished, as called for by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

It has been the stories of the young survivors of the atom bombings which has sparked and kept alive the nuclear abolition movement. We owe a great deal to these surivivors, called hibakusha in Japanese, who turned the trauma they experienced as children and youth into powerful testimony that moved millions around the world to demand steps to reduce and eliminate the threat of nuclear war.

 The program on Sunday, August 10th, will use KAMISHIBAI, an ancient Japanese form of storytelling with a narrator, illustrated cards and text. The program will present 3 kamishibai created by students under a program organized by Hibakusha Stories, a program of the UN NGO Youth Arts New York. 

 We will hear the stories of Yasuaki Yamashita, survivor of the bombing of Nagasak, Shigeko Sasamori, survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima, and Pamela Kingfisher of the Cherokee Nation who grew up on the Hanford Reservation where her father worked on the production of plutonium for the Manhattan Project. 

​Staten Island educator and artist Hiroko Otani will share her reflections on the 80th anniversary of the atom bombings and what it means to her as a Japanese American. Hiroko Otani was born and grew up in Tokyo, Japan. She studied early childhood education and became a pre school teacher. Hiroko taught over 12 years at several private early childhood institutions in Japan and America. Through teaching, she developed unique teaching methods with artistic multiple disciplines. After long time experience as a teacher, she moved on alternative teaching style as teaching artist, serving local communities.

The Young Musicians of Staten Island will perform. They are a group of young musicians from middle school, high school and college who bring their musical talents to the Staten Island community. Tingke Wang, who is the coordinator, feels that by performing in nursing homes and at community events, it is a way for the youth to give back to their community.

Drawing by Paige Arnold, Advanced Placement Studio Art Class, Jennifer Brown, Teacher