The opening ceremony of a special exhibition commemorating this year’s Nobel Peace Prize going to Nihon Hidankyo, a group of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors, was held at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo on Wednesday.
Some Nihon Hidankyo members attended the opening ceremony, including co-chair Terumi Tanaka, who gave a speech at the prize award ceremony on Tuesday.
The exhibition, named “A Message to Humanity,” aims to convey to the world the wish for nuclear abolition through exhibits highlighting the damage the U.S. caused in its 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities. It will run until November 2025.
On display are photographs of the devastation after the atomic bombings and those of Nihon Hidankyo members sharing their stories, as well as drawings by hibakusha and notes by the late former Nihon Hidankyo co-chair Mikiso Iwasa about his experience of losing his mother, who had become trapped under their collapsed house, right before his eyes.
There is also a special installation created by noted Japanese architect Kengo Kuma featuring 1,000 objects made from cedar wood from Hiroshima, which represent the testimonies of 1,000 hibakusha.
The center has hosted special exhibitions related to the Nobel Peace Prize every year, attracting some 200,000 visitors annually.
Kjersti Flogstad, executive director of the center, said that the Peace Prize and related special exhibitions have the power to inspire people of various age groups and encourage them to take action.