Roses of a new variety cultivated by a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor, or "hibakusha," were sent as a gift to peace-promoting actress Sahel Rosa in the Japanese capital from a member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on May 23.
Sahel Rosa, an Iran-born actress based in Japan, has consistently used theater and media platforms to express wishes for a world without war. She grows over 120 types of roses near her home, and Akira Kawasaki, a member of ICAN's international steering committee, requested that she also nurture the new rose variety, named "ICAN" after the organization.
Kazuzo Tagashira, 91, who bred the ICAN rose, survived the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. After the war, he taught himself rose cultivation methods and opened a rose garden in the city of Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan. Tagashira learned of ICAN's endeavors after it won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, and gave the name "ICAN" to a new rose variety with pink petals overlapping one another.
