FROM HIROSHIMA TO HOPE — 81st Anniversary of Atomic Bombings
Annual Remembrance and Candle-lit Lanterns Spark Hope on Green Lake
THURSDAY EVENING – AUGUST 6, 2026
Candle-lit lanterns will spark hope on Green Lake at From Hiroshima to Hope on Thursday evening, August 6. Seattle’s annual community peace event honoring the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all victims of war and violence takes place from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 6 at Green Lake. It will be held just south of the Bathhouse on Green Lake’s northwest shore.
Pre-program activities begin at 6:00 p.m. and include lantern calligraphy, paper crane folding, and traditional Japanese music by Koto no WA. The family program gets underway at 7:00 PM and features keynote speaker Christina Shimizu, Executive Director of the Wing Luke Museum, and emcee Dr. Shampa Biswas, Whitman College Professor of Politics and author of “Nuclear Desire: Power and the Postcolonial Nuclear Order.” The program also includes the popular Japanese American drumming group, Seattle Kokon Taiko, along with music by performance youth group Totem Star. Poet Janae Lu, former 2024/25 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate and author of “In All Spaces Liminal,” and Oonaugh Foster-Bill, co-winner of Hanford Challenge’s Student Hot Poetry Contest, complete the program.
Based on the traditional toro nagashi ceremony, the evening concludes with lantern floating beginning at 8:00 PM with a procession to the lake, followed by the launch of nearly 1,000 lanterns inscribed with messages of peace and hope. The haunting notes of shakuhachi, played by Patrick Johnson, accompany the lantern floating.
The event also includes a historic photograph exhibit of the aftermath of the atomic bombings, and display of a fabric sculpture, “Little Boy (folded)” by artist Yukiyo Kawano. The sculpture is a full-scale replica of the Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
This year marks the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, and it also marks the 84th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of thousands of Japanese Americans on the U.S. West Coast. From Hiroshima to Hope is one of the largest commemorations of the atomic bombings held outside of Japan.
The event is created annually by the non-profit organization From Hiroshima to Hope, and is sponsored by local community organizations, with grant support from the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and the Abe Keller Peace Education Fund. It is held just south of the Bathhouse, on Green Lake’s northwest shore near West Green Lake Drive North and Stone Ave North. The eventis free and open to the public. For more information: https://fromhiroshimatohope.org or
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2026 Sponsors, Supporters and In-Kind Donors
Special thanks for grant support from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle Parks & Recreation, and the Abe Keller Peace Education Fund
Sponsors Include: Abe Keller Peace Education Fund, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Earthcare Not Warfare, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, Hanford Challenge, Japanese American Citizens League – Seattle Chapter, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington, No More Bombs, Northwest Against Nuclear Weapons Coalition, Pax Christi Northwest, Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple, Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Women’s Association, Seattle Hiroshima Club, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Seattle Parks and Recreation, 350 Seattle, Veterans for Peace Daniel Ellsberg – Chapter 92, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation, Wing Luke Museum
Supporters: Buddhist Peace Fellowship, El Centro de la Raza, Ethnic Heritage Council, Nipponzan Myohoji Temple
In-Kind Donors: Greenlake Boathouse, Lauren Nishizaki, Uwajimaya
Community support is crucial! Donations make this free, public event possible! Please consider making a contribution today. We are a (501)c3 non-profit organization.
The public event is free. Donations are welcome, on-site, or in advance here.
