We should never forget "Hiroshima" not only to compensate for the guilt and to honour the repose of the souls of the many victims of the atomic bomb, but also in order that all mankind may survive free from ignorance, prejudice, and the threat of wars; that is the primary task for us who are now living in the age of nuclear weapons, and "Hiroshima" is the starting point.The core of this Institute is Hiroshima Teachers Union (formed by approximately ten thousand teachers of public elementary schools and junior high schools in Hiroshima) and this Institute is basically financed by a fixed monthly assessment from each member. The management is carried cout by two bodies, independent of the Hiroshima Teachers Union, namely by the Administration Board, with the chairmanwho is also the president of Hiroshima Teachers Union, and by the Research Board with the chairman who is the professor emeritus at Hiroshima University. About thirty members, mostly teachers from all levels, elementary schools to universities in Hiroshima, are now being entrusted as researchers. Also there is a system to conduct research work all over the country.We can do much through the power of education in building this fortress of peace in human minds, and "Hiroshima" is the starting point from where we must think again about peace education for this nuclear age. To pass "Hiroshima" on to the coming generation and to make it a common possession to all mankind is our duty for history of mankind. The Hiroshima Institute for Peace Education has been established on full recognition of this fact, and aims at promoting world peace education, as well as making scientific surveys on peace education.
Then how about in Hiroshima?−In September 1945, immediately after the war, publications about the A-bomb were put under restriction by the occupation forces. The age of "A-bomb Taboo" continued until the Peace Treaty was signed in September, 1951, and what Hiroshima could do during that period was nothing more than to escape from the prostration−a small effort toward reconstruction of the city and peaceful living. At this time, the teachers who survived the A-bomb had a strong feeling that they didn't want to recall the awful experience, nor have their physical and mental wounds touched. Under such circumstances, it was hardly for the idea of peace education to arise from the devastanted city. In the Peace Statement which the Hiroshima Teachers Union released at the sixth general assenbly meeting in 1950, an ardent pursuit of peace campaigns was adovocated, but the idea of peace education itself was not addressed yet.
Campaigns to collect memories of the A-bomb experience, however, had an important meaning in such circumstances. In 1949, the Department of Japanese Study of Hiroshima University, Shinonome Branch (Prof. Shin-ichi Matsunaga and others) collected writing on "Memories of the A-bomb and Hope for the future" from the students,pupils and citizens, and in 1950 the Hiroshima City Social Education Office collected writings from the general public and issued "A Record of the Experience of the A-bomb". Well-known among them is "Children of the A-bomb:(or Children of Hiroshima) An Appeal of the Boys and Girls in Hiroshima" (Iwanami Publishing Co., 1951), compositions by the A-bomb children, collected and compiled by Prof. Arata Osada of the Department of Education, Hiroshima University. There is no doubt that the influence of "Children if the A-bomb" on the educational world of Japan in regards to the problem of Hiroshima and Peace has been significant.
The National Educational Research Activity started in 1951 by the Japan Teachers Union, with the basic theme if peace and democracy had a big influence on teachers in Hiroshima, and they have been pursuing education for peace in all aspects. Especially among the A-bomb teachers, there were many who realized their duty and historical position and talked positively about the A-bomb problems with the children in the classroom, though this cannot be called structural and systematic peace education. Also the Hiroshima Teachers Union shared a part of peace education through campaigns for showing such movies as "Children of the A-bomb" (1951), "Hiroshima" (produced by the Japan teachers Union, 1953) and "a Thousand Paper Cranes" (1957).
In this way, peace education in our country seemed to have made progress around 1950, but soon came to be influenced by the change of domestic affairs brought about by the Korean War (June, 1950-July, 1953) and the intensified cold war between U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. In 1954 the Two Bills on Education were established, then in 1956 the appointment of the education board members and the system of textbook regulation were established and since 1957, the teachers efficiency rating system was enforced. This series of actions taken the beginning of national control of education. Since then, the teaching policy program of elementary schools, junior high-schools and high schools set by the Ministry of Education has been changed a few times, and each time the textbooks have been revised through the regulation. The description concerning "Hiroshima" in the official textbooks has changed both in quality and in quantity. As for quantity, a page has been reduced to a few lines and in some textbooks has disappeared completely. This tendency became evident since around 1963 and can be seen in the indictment of the authorized textbooks in the famous "Ienaga Suit" (1965) which testified that this would deprive the nation's consciousness of the spirit of pacifism and democracy.
However, for a fairly long time, there was no strong feeling of danger for peace education even among the tearchers in Hiroshima. Before long, around 1968, some of the teachers were strongly shocked by the marked change of situation which had taken place before they were aware of it. It started from a trivial incident when a group of third year students of one of the junior high schools in Hiroshima took a field studs trip to Nagasaki. The teachers were surprised to find that most of the students did not know the song, "We Must Not Forget the A-bomb". In the classroom around 1960, the teachers and children used to sing this song together. In 1968, the Hiroshima Teachers Union, which took a serious look at the root cause of the problem, set up a Peace Education Division in Education Research Activities and Education Research Meetings in Hiroshima, and also decided to promote the systematization of Hiroshima A-bomb Teachers Organization. Moreover, in December of the same year, the Hiroshima Teachers Union made an investigation into the A-bomb proglems of approximately two thousand elementary and junior high school students (3735th grade 5 elementary and 1583 Junior high students) centered around Hiroshima City.
The result of the survey tells us, for instance, that those who could not answer what country dropped the A-bomb yielded 9% in the 5th grade of elementary school, and 2% in the third year of junior high school. And those who hadn't heard the song "We Must Not forget the A-bomb" yielded 90% and 52% respectively.
Undoubtedly, the A-bomb had steadily faded away as time went by
even in Hiroshima within the twenty years. This situation may be due to
the senselessness of man and forgetfulness caused by a long lapse of time,
but a much more essential fact is that this had been impelled intentionally
before we were aware of it. The fact that today's children in Hiroshima
do not know "Hiroshima" could be due to the system of entrance examinations
for higher education, but we must say that it is mainly due to the national
education policy that has tried not to let us know.
Now, in 1968, the Hiroshima Teachers Union, which keenly felt again
the need of peace education, requested at the Eighteenth National Education
Research Meetion of the Japan Teachers Union in January, 1969,the development
of peace education throughout the country with Hiroshima as the starting
point, and strove for its propulsion in Hiroshima. The cooperation and
role of the Hiroshima A-bomb Teachers Organization (approximately 600 members
with Mr. Akira Ishida as president) which started in March 1969, is of
great importance.
In 1969, a supplementary reader "Hiroshima" (for students of higher grades in elementary school and for junior high school students) was published in Japanese and English under the cooperation of the Hiroshima Teachers Union and Hiroshima A-bomb Teachers Organization, and "Hope for the Future....the A-bomb experience and the starting point of education" (Junpo Publishing Co.) was also published. Moreover in 1970, a supplementary reader "Hiroshima" (for elementary school students), and in 1971 an English supplementary reader "Let's Cry foe Peace" (for students of junior high school and of lower grade high-school) were respectively published. Among these, especially the supplementary readers have come to be used widely not only in Hiroshima but also in other areas as teaching materials for peace education. After beginning this peace education in this way the problem that the teachers of Hiroshima soon faced was the need to organize this education and of foundamertal theory to suppurt it. That is, there was a need for continued cooperative research by university professors specialists in different fields and teachers actually teaching in elementary and high schools. This idea was strongly promoted in discussions in the international peace conference, "Hiroshima Conference", held in November 1970. During this Conference in which the teachers of Hiroshima also participated, "The Hiroshima declaration" was drafted, in which reference is made to the importance of peace research and peace education. And also at the end of "The Report of the Citizens' Conference", the urgent need for the establishment of a "Peace Research Center" in Hiroshima was addressed. Though the conception of this "Peace Research Center" was much broader and not limited to the problems of peace education, it revealed, at the sane time, what the teachers of the Hiroshima Teachers Union needed. Before long, at the Annual Hiroshima Teachers Union Meeting in May 1971, preparations for the establishment of the "Hiroshima Institute for Peace Education" was resolved, and after a year's preparation this Institute became operational on June 1,1972.