Hiroko Yasunishi and the Himawari Choir

Hiroko Yasunishi of the 'Himawari' choir. The 'Himawari' (Sunflower) is a choir composed of Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors. The members ages range from 69 to late 80's. The choir celebrated its 10th anniversary in November 2014. Until their recent performances in New York and scheduled concerts in Munich this autumn, they had only performed in Japan. They received standing ovations at every performance in New York coinciding with United Nations conference that is reviewing the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The choir is lead by Kazumichi Terai. He has composed several songs to support lawsuits filed by atomic bomb survivors against the Japanese government seeking official recognition as survivors of the atomic bombings. Their most popular song 'Never Again' is sung at the annual Nagasaki memorial ceremony on August 9th to commemorate the anniversary of the atomic bombing. The Himawari's songs call for the abolition of nuclear weapons to prevent the recurrence of death and destruction which occurred during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.