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Statue of Girl Praying

 
Chiran Speech Contest
Adult Division

The annual Chiran Speech Contest began in 1990, and the number of applicants in the adult division peaked in 1995, the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II. Interest in the contest continues at a high level, with over 100 applicants each year. Contest entrants submit speech drafts with topics related to the preciousness of life and the importance of peace. The selection committee chooses four finalists, who give their speeches in Chiran Town on August 15.

The contest's adult division receives entries from all over Japan, with residents of 37 of Japan's 47 prefectures submitting draft speeches for the 2004 contest. The prefectures with the most entrants were Tokyo, Kagoshima, Shizuoka, and Hyogo.

This web page shows a statue of a girl praying, located in the Japanese garden next to the entrance road to the Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots. The Chiran Speech Contest web site, which publishes winning speeches from prior years, displays this statue since it symbolizes peace. Hiroyuki Yamasaki, who lost his brother in a kamikaze mission, made the statue. Kazuo Hayashikawa, a Chiran native, donated this statue to the Chiran Peace Museum in 1986.

The Chiran Speech Contest's first-prize winner receives a prize of 300 thousand yen (US$2,700). The second-prize and two third-prize winners receive 200 thousand yen and 100 thousand yen, respectively. Each winner also gets a certificate of commendation and a bronze trophy.

This web site presents English translations of selected winning speeches from prior years: