Key Points
- A Japanese Catholic group in Sydney will hold a special mass on Saturday to coincide with the new bell’s ringing in Nagasaki.
- Nagasaki was bombed on 9 August 1945, killing thousands of people.
- The Nagasaki Bell Project was largely funded by donations from the American Catholic community.
For the first time in over 80 years, Nagasaki, the second city in Japan to suffer the devastating impact of an atomic bomb, will once again hear the two bells of Urakami Cathedral ringing together.
Located just 500 metres from the bomb's epicentre, the cathedral was almost completely destroyed by the blast.
One of the two cathedral bells was among the few items to survive, and was later unearthed on Christmas Eve in 1945. It was subsequently reinstalled in a new church after the war.
Now, the second bell —the St Kateri Bell of Hope— similar to the original left bell, has been installed by the Nagasaki Bell Project.
Urakami Tenshud (St. Mary's Cathedral), the ruins of a Roman Catholic church located in Motoomachi, Nagasaki 7 January 1946. Credit: Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images
Among them were approximately 8,500 Catholic Christians, making up more than 60 per cent of the local Christian population.
Kojiro Moriuchi is a descendant of Japan’s "hidden Christians", who were forbidden to practice their religion for nearly 250 years during the Edo period (1603–1868).
He is also a second-generation hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor).
“My father often spoke about the bells in the cathedral and how beautiful they were. I’ve never heard the two bells ring together, but I always hoped that day would come,” he told SBS Japanese.
That wish is set to become a reality at 11:02 am on 9 August, exactly 80 years after the bombing, thanks to donations from American Catholics.
Dr James Nolan Jr. (left) and Mr Kojiro Moriuchi (right) . Credit: Dr James Nolan Jr.
The Nagasaki Bell Project
The Nagasaki Bell Project to restore the second bell was led by American professor of sociology Dr James Nolan Jr.
He first heard about the silent tower from Mr Moriuchi in 2023, when working on a book about Nagasaki.
“Mr Moriuchi explained to me that the left tower remained empty all this time. He suggested, 'wouldn't it be great if some American Catholics replaced that bell?' And I said 'what a great idea,'” recalls Dr Nolan Jr.
Why the bell? The sound of the bell reaches everyone equally. May the sound spread far and wide, offering compassion, healing, and comfort to all who hear it.Kojiro Moriuchi
For Dr Nolan Jr, the restoration of the bell carried a personal meaning and deep significance.
His grandfather, a medical doctor who specialised in radiology, was one of the key figures in the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bombs. The grandfather, recruited by Robert Oppenheimer, was one of the first Americans to set foot in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings.
A general view shows the Urakami cathedral in Nagasaki on November 23, 2019. Source: AFP / ED JONES/AFP
The Nagasaki Bell Project collected US$125,000 from 640 people in less than 16 months.
“I gave lectures around the country, telling the people the story about Nagasaki, its history, the bomb, and the bell. The people were very willing to give, keen to give. Many people told me that they knew nothing about Nagasaki," Dr Nolan Jr. said.
The hope is that this gift will be a symbol of unity and it will bear the fruits of fostering peaceDr James Nolan Jr.
Special Mass in Sydney
The spirit of unity has crossed oceans, with a Japanese Catholic group in Sydney preparing a special mass to coincide with the new bell’s ringing in Nagasaki.
For about two decades, the group was led by Father Paul Glynn, who spent a considerable time in Japan, and is widely known for his book — A Song for Nagasaki — through which many around the world have come to learn about Nagasaki's deep history.
Japanese Catholic group in Sydney, with Father Paul Glynn in the centre and Mr Sugimoto at top right. Credit: Michimasa Sugimoto
"Nagasaki is often overshadowed by Hiroshima."
It is often said: anger of Hiroshima, prayer of Nagasaki (While Hiroshima expressed its path toward peace through activism and anger, Nagasaki found its healing through prayer and forgiveness)Michimasa Sugimoto
Many believe Nagasaki and the surrounding areas to be the place from which Christianity made its way into Japan, and where many hidden Christians later found refuge.
Mr Moriuchi hoped that the newly restored bell, named St. Kateri Bell of Hope, together with the surviving bell will become a strong symbol of peace.
“When people around the world hear about this bell, I want them to feel that war must end — and that leaders must have the courage to make it happen.”
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