No.210 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　2004.10.13

Echo

Reiko Kato, President of the Meguro UNESCO Association

　August is a sad month, the month when an atomicbomb was dropped on Hiroshima City. At 8:15 A.M. onthe 6th, the Peace Bell tolled for one minute under thesummer sky, according to annual custom. The bell was cast by the late Mr. Masahiko Katori, who had been bestowed the status of a living national treasure and granted honorary citizenship of Meguro City. He also was a founding member of Meguro UNESCO Association, and displayed his works in the Meguro UNESCO Art Exhibition every year for more than thirty years until he passed away on November 19th, 1988. We can assume the temple bells he cast are imbued with his prayer for peace as based on UNESCO philosophy.
　Atop the bell are images of two doves symbolizing peace, the upper part of the bell is engraved with the sun, moon and clouds representing the universe, and in the middle, the kanji characters of “peace” handwritten by the late Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. The platform evokes the radiation warning mark, expressing the hope for the abolition of atomic and hydrogen bombs. The belt at the bottom is engraved with water patterns and the crest of Hiroshima City. The side is inscribed with “Let all nuclear arms and wars be gone, and nations live in true peace!”
　When I visited the Asian Center at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver about ten years ago, I encountered another temple bell by Mr. Katori. Adjacent to the bell tower is the Nitobe Memorial Garden where a monument stands with the inscription: "I wish to be a bridge across the Pacific Ocean". The bell tower and the garden are located very close to each other. Mr. Katori and Mr. Nitobe lived at different times, but with the same UNESCO spirit. Both of them contributed to world peace. Mr. Katori was a member of a private organization (UNESCO Association) and Mr. Nitobe was the Assistant Secretary General of the League of Nations and Chief Secretary of International Committee for Intellectual Cooperation, which was established as its consultative body and developed into UNESCO later on.
　Meguro City holds a “Peace Memorial Ceremony” early August every year. The ceremony starts with silent prayer and ends with the tolling of “Meguro’s peace bell” cast by Mr. Katori. The peal of the bell rung at a corner of the Citizen’s Center resounds through the sky, carrying the prayer for peace.
　Meguro UNESCO Association, nurtured in Meguro City, will soon enter its next half-century, marking a new start for this small region. Fifty years ago, we began by addressing children. The fiftieth anniversary events coincidentally started with a concert by American youth and with a collection of children’s poems from all over the world. The collection entitled “Road to the Future” will soon be published. The poems are filled from children’s hearts, cries, and dreams. Many people in Japan and abroad made efforts to give shape to (or translate) those poems this summer. Faxes and mail were sent from Japan to France, Greece and other countries day and night.
　I think that the fundamental role of private UNESCO movements is to develop human resources. I especially hope that our efforts will best serve young people and small children, both domestic and abroad, who will build the future. I hope that everyone’s effort will act in concert, regardless of age and place, to grow into a mighty swell. Our movement will serve its purpose only when people’s hearts resonate with each other under the flag of UNESCO just like the ring of a bell carries far and wide.

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