9. Mother and Child in the Storm Statue
A mother holds her baby tight to her chest
To protect it
From every calamity falling on them.
Wrapping it with her entire body to protect it,
Mother doesn' t cry.
Explanation
The Mother and Child in the Storm Statue is a work of Shin Hongo, a sculptor, which was shown in the Exhibition of Shinseisaku in 1953. A plaster cast of this work was donated to Hiroshima City through the Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs to mark the fifth World Conference Against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima in 1959.
Then Hiroshima citizens' enthusiasm inspired a women' s group to start a fund-raising campaign to make a bronze statue. Cast in bronze, the Mother and Child in the Storm Statue was erected in front of the Fountain of Prayer in 1960.
Location : Peace Memorial Park, Naka-ku
Music : Mother and Child in the Storm Statue(1:41)
Keiko Kotoku Marimba Peace Concert
at Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hiroshima (2008/6/26)