Okinawa Peace Prize nomination

Posted by JoAnn Sims on January 7, 2012
Categories: Peace , Japan

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Peacemaking

How does Peace happen? Christian’s might say Jesus came to bring Peace to all mankind and his teaching of loving your neighbor is key to that goal. Buddhist’s might say the Universal Spirit is harmony and all need to strive to achieve harmony. Shinto Priests and followers might say the gods of all things require humbleness. Native American spiritual teachers might say care for the earth and all things in it. Muslims might say support your brothers and sisters and be gracious to all. Jewish followers might say Peace comes when righteousness for all is achieved. Hindu believers might say that Peace will come with many lifetimes of learning to serve others.

The world yearns for Peace no matter the religion, race, culture, nationality, or family structure. Making Peace is hard work. It requires a steady spirit, loving your neighbor, striving for harmony, humbleness, caring for the earth, supporting your family, working for righteousness, and learning to serve others.

Since 1895 the world recognizes individuals through the Nobel Prize for achievements in various fields such as economics, physics, literature, or medicine. The Nobel Peace Prize is the best known and perhaps the most revered prize as it recognizes a Peacemaker in a world that is often in conflict. Nobel’s will described the recipient of the Peace Prize as…“The prize is given to a person who shall have done the most or best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” The world waits each year to hear who will receive the next award.

There is another Peace Prize Award. It is not as well known and has a history only since 2001. It is the Okinawa Peace Prize. It is awarded every two years. The prize is issued from Okinawa as the only prefecture in Japan during WWII where a severe ground battle engulfed all residents and claimed over 200,000 lives. Okinawa has a deep appreciation of the preciousness of life and the importance of peace. Okinawa sees itself as a bridge and a Crossroad of Peace in the Asia Pacific Region involved in the building and maintenance of peace with the rest of the world.

The Okinawa Peace Prize is aimed at recognizing efforts of individuals and organizations contributing to the promotion of peace in the Asia-Pacific region geographically and historically related to Okinawa. There are three ideas that create the foundation for eligibility for the Okinawa Peace Prize: 1) Promote peace and non-violence in the Asia Pacific region. 2) Help achieve human security, promote human rights, solutions to poverty, hunger, disease, and activities that contribute to enriching society. 3) Activities that cultivate cultural diversity and mutual respect and efforts to create foundations for peace in different regions around the world.

As volunteer directors of the World Friendship Center we nominated Hiromu Morishita for the Okinawa Peace Prize. He is an amazing individual. His story begins in 1945 when he survived the A-bomb in Hiroshima. He was severely burned. He became a high school homeroom and calligraphy teacher. Stunned that his students didn’t know about the A-bomb and the realities of war he decided he needed to tell his story in hopes that such a horror would never be repeated.

He joined a Peace Mission sponsored by Barbara Reynolds, the founder of World Friendship Center. That experience helped shape his lifetime of peacemaking. One of his contributions to peace is as a Peace Ambassador, visiting 30 countries with his message of Peace and sharing his A-bomb survival story.

He is the founder of Peace Education in Japan, developing curriculum and organizing A-bomb teacher survivor associations. He directly influenced over 10,000 students and indirectly over 6 million students since 1970 when Peace Education began in Japan.

Hiromu Morishita is a Poet and master Calligrapher. On his peace ambassador trips he shared his story often through his poetry and by teaching or demonstrating calligraphy. His poetry and calligraphy are displayed on significant monuments in Hiroshima and Peace Memorial Park. Over one million visitors view his work each year.

Morishita has been Chairperson of the World Friendship Center for 26 years. Under his guidance World Friendship Center (WFC) has sent multiple Peace Ambassador teams to Germany, Poland, USA, and Korea to tell the story of Hiroshima and its work for Peace. WFC operates a guesthouse and has shared the story of Hibakusha (survivors of the A-bomb), the hope of Hiroshima for a world without nuclear weapons, and the story of Barbara Reynolds/ WFC to over 80,000 visitors. The World Friendship Center is celebrating its 47th year of operation this year. Hiromu Morishita has guided the direction and accomplishments of WFC. The most recent example of his efforts was overseeing the design and unveiling of a monument dedicated to Barbara Reynolds, jointly erected by the City of Hiroshima and World Friendship Center in Peace Memorial Park, June 2011.

Mr. Morishita is a worthy nominee for the Okinawa Peace Prize. We are hopeful he will be selected. The world continues to yearn for Peace. Making Peace is hard work. It requires a steady spirit, loving your neighbor, striving for harmony, humbleness, caring for the earth, supporting your family, working for righteousness, and learning to serve others. Hiromu Morishita is a peacemaker with all those attributes. He represents for each of us a living model of peacemaking. It was an honor to nominate him for the Okinawa Peace Prize.

JoAnn Sims,
Volunteer Co-director, World Friendship Center
Hiroshima, Japan

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