The Dove of Peace

The Dove of Peace is produced by the City of Hiroshima (Honshu Island), Japan. This nice artistic work depicts a dove, a universally recognized symbol of peace.

The dove is held in human hands and its shadow is visible on the ground. Forming shadows in the shape of animals is a traditional game still loved by children in Japan.

Each year on August 6, the mayor of Hiroshima reads the Declaration of Peace and then a thousand doves are released, bearing our wishes for peace to the heavens.

By depicting a dove as the symbol of peace, in hands emerging from the earth, Hiroshima wants to convey the sincere desire for a world at peace, in which all people help each other despite national and cultural differences.

The denizens believe that this work can increase people’s awareness of the importance of peace for the City of Hiroshima, which lived through an atomic bombing.

Doves, pigeons, and other similar birds form the columbidae family of at least 335 species. Two close cousins, the Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, disappeared from Mauritius and Rodrigues Island, off the coast of Madagascar, a few decades after the arrival of European colonists.

The origin of the idea to make the dove and olive branches symbols of peace comes from the story of Noah’s Ark: it was a dove with an olive branch in its beak that told him the deluge was over.

The dove is held in human hands and its shadow is visible on the ground. Forming shadows in the shape of animals is a traditional game in Japan. Image: © Lucie Dumalo

By depicting a dove as the symbol of peace, in hands emerging from the earth, Hiroshima conveys its sincere desire for a world at peace, in which all people help each other despite national and cultural differences. Image: © ProvinceQuebec.com