Reconstructing Hiroshima as a peace memorial city: local agency and identity-making in peacebuilding

Hiroshima's identity as a peace memorial city has been shown to accelerate its post-war reconstruction, providing valuable insights for contemporary peacebuilding efforts. The study highlights the pivotal role of the 1949 Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Law, which not only funded reconstruction but also shaped the city's identity. This identity served as a guiding vision during planning, despite initial citizen contests. By analyzing historical records through a two-pillar framework of local peacebuilding and identity-making, the research demonstrates how local agency was manifested in this process.

Katayanagi, M., & Kawano, N. (2023). Reconstructing Hiroshima as a peace memorial city: local agency and identity-making in peacebuilding. War & Society, 43(1), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/07292473.2023.2273032