Remembering Hiroshima's floating lanterns

As a self-anointed Nipponophile, I have always admired the Japanese sense of tradition

Today is August 6. On this very day, in 1945, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima (the one dropped over Nagasaki was on August 9). The two bombings between them killed 355,000 people in the two cities, most of whom were civilians.

I was in Hiroshima 12 years ago on this day to experience Toro Nagashi: The Floating Lanterns — Messages for Peace event that is held every year on the evening of August 6. People gather in Hiroshima to pray for peace and float lanterns down the river, with personal messages written on