Honor in Passing
Photograph by Sheldon Marumoto
My children joined thousands of others in an offering of respect and remembrance on the 78th memorial of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. Every lantern was handmade. Some were brought from home. Others assembled onsite at stations made available. Most of the lanterns had writing. Memorials for passed relatives, or wishes for a peaceful future.
Our lanterns memorialized my mother and father. This trip had originally been intended for my mother to guide us through her memories and introduce us to long estranged relatives. She passed during the COVID epidemic, so that chance was lost. I did the best I could to give them a sense of heritage and connection to their forebearers, and this was the last stop in that trip. To pay their respects. My mother had witnessed the bombing from a distance. Other relatives were not so lucky.
So my family put lanterns in the water and watched as the flickering flames carried our memories to wherever our loved ones were. And in the background as the lanterns floated past, the Peace Dome stood as mute witness.
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