Rock legend Patti Smith says 'people have the power' in anti-nuke talk with Japan hibakusha

The Mainichi

30-04-2025

HIROSHIMA -- "The people have the power," U.S. punk rock legend Patti Smith called out to a crowd of some 250 people in Hiroshima, the western Japan city where the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.
Smith, currently in Japan for the "Correspondences" live performance project in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective, stopped by Hiroshima on April 28. She joined a dialogue session with 87-year-old "hibakusha," or A-bomb survivor, Keiko Ogura in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. After delivering a spoken word version of her 1988 single "People Have the Power," Smith remarked, "Let's rise up together in great numbers against injustice, war, and any inhumanity against humanity."
During the dialogue, Ogura detailed her experience of surviving the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing of Hiroshima as an 8-year-old girl. At the time, she was near her home, which was 2.4 kilometers, or 1.5 miles, from the hypocenter. A blinding flash of light was followed by an enormous blast, and Ogura said she was beaten against the road, becoming unconscious.
Years later, she was shocked to see people around her pass away due to what was suspected to be radiation-induced diseases. "Without any scars or burns, they died, and many survivors suffer and deal with fear even now," she said.
Smith, 78, shared memories of her deceased father, who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, and was sent to the Philippines and New Guinea. "When the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, my father cried. When I was little, he explained to me about the bomb and the terrible destruction. I wanted to come here and ask for forgiveness, on behalf of my father," Smith said.
Ogura expressed hibakusha's determination to keep speaking out to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, saying their pledge is contained in the inscription on the cenotaph for A-bomb victims in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The inscription reads, "Let all the souls here rest in peace; For we shall not repeat the evil."
"Nuclear weapons were built not to defend, only to destroy," Smith said. Pointing to Ogura, she continued, "This 8-year-old girl did not seek vengeance, but peace. She rises up and tries to spread love and a peaceful message globally, and that's what we must all do."
After the talk, Smith recited "People Have the Power," which has become an anthem for democratic movements around the world. During a Q&A session, an audience member, who said they had been joining nightly protests before the Atomic Bomb Dome in the peace park to show solidarity with Palestinians, asked what people can do to take action toward a better world.
Referring to the Israeli military's invasion into Gaza, Smith said, "This is not war, but destruction on people." Quoting a line from her song -- "I believe everything we dream can come to pass through our union" -- Smith insisted, "We all want simple human things, and we have to fight for them together. Not just for one country, or one child, but all children, all countries, all people."
"It's the people who can vote and take to the streets. We can't stop fighting, we can't stop praying, we can't stop joining together. That is our great hope, to love and to unify."
Hideaki Nishimura, a 56-year-old longtime fan of Smith, said, "I felt a rush of excitement listening to the poem. I also want to do my part by listening to firsthand experiences of war, and learn more about war from all perspectives."
Smith had last visited Hiroshima in 2013, during her Japan tour, where she included a charity drive to raise money for children who lost their parents in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
(By Chinami Takeichi, Hiroshima Bureau)