HIROSHIMA—The city’s professional baseball team held its Peace Night game on Aug. 6, an annual initiative advocating conflict prevention and nuclear disarmament.

The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, a team in Japan’s Central League, has two unique but important fixtures in its annual calendar.

One is May 5, national Children’s Day, when “koinobori” carp streamers traditionally are flown.

The other is Aug. 6, the day of remembrance for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. All Carp players on the active roster wear the number 86 – a reference to the date.

In the first half of the game at Mazda stadium, Shogo Akiyama, batting cleanup for the first time in his professional career, helped spark the offense.

In the first inning, he hit a double down the left-field line to expand a scoring opportunity, setting the stage for Kaito Kozono’s clutch hit.

In the fifth inning, Akiyama singled with two outs, leading to Elehuris Montero’s two-run homer.

The spotlight after the bottom of the fifth inning belonged to the fans.

The fans aligned red and green sheets of paper at the height of the Atomic Bomb Dome and offered prayers for peace. It was dubbed a “peace line.”

Norihiko Nabara, who was born in the prefecture and grew up with Hiroshima’s peace-aligned education, got his second hit of the game in the ninth inning, although the Carp soon lost 11-7. 

“It’s frustrating to lose on such a special day,” Nabara said. “Even when we were trailing by four runs in the ninth, I could really hear the fans cheering. We lost today, but we’ll make sure to win next time.”

Despite the defeat, which dropped Hiroshima into last place in the Central League, the back-and-forth game kept the stands filled with cheers, groans and every emotion in-between.

Being able to lose themselves in a game underscored the fact that the fans who packed the stands are living in a time of peace.