Peace pole

Peace pole near Hiroshima, Japan. The Japanese text is arranged vertically in the traditional Masahisa Goi's handwriting.

A peace pole is a monument that displays the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in the language of the country where it has been placed, and usually 3 to 13 additional translations. The message often is referred to as a peace prayer.

The idea of peace poles was first thought up by Masahisa Goi in 1955 in Japan. The peace pole project today is promoted by The World Peace Prayer Society as well as other groups and individuals. The first peace poles outside Japan were constructed in 1983. Since then, more than 200,000 have been placed around the world in close to 200 countries.

Peace poles are made of many materials; most are made of wood, while others are made of limestone, copper, plastic or stainless steel. The text might be painted, carved, etched, welded, pasted, or riveted on, or it might simply be a plastic plaque attached with screws. In other cases, it is the careful work of an artist or sculptor.

Sometimes the word prayer is avoided so that peace poles are not regarded as religious objects therefore violating zoning restrictions. For example, a Quaker group in New York City ran into this problem year after year, and did not get permission to plant a peace pole in a park. Some manufacturers refer to the wording as a Peace Message for this reason.

Peace poles have been placed in such notable locations as the north magnetic pole, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the site of the Egyptian pyramids in Giza, and the Aiki Shrine in Iwama, Japan. Peace poles are commonly installed at high-profile public gathering places, such as community parks or near the entrances of churches or schools. In one case, a garden, created for a wedding, was designed around the peace pole that was its centerpiece. The Republic of Molossia, a micronation, has a peace pole in eight languages. The University of California, Los Angeles has a limestone peace pole with 14 languages directly in front of Kerckhoff Hall.

The initial inspiration for planting a peace pole often is as a response to a local historic hate crime, incident or issue. The world's second-largest peace pole, at 52 feet (16 m), is located in Janesville, Wisconsin, at the site of a 1992 KKK rally (Saturday, May 30). Another of the largest peace poles in the world, as measured in tons, is the granite peace pole in Beech Acres Park near Cincinnati, Ohio, inspired by hate literature left in the driveways of Jewish residents.

In September 2016, the World Peace Prayer Society and the Little Free Library project announced a collaboration to offer a new peace pole library structure. It features the standard peace pole message of peace – "May Peace Prevail on Earth" – in a six-foot library. Some of these new libraries were installed at locations significant to the civil rights movement, such as the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

A former grain elevator in Minneapolis is painted as a gigantic peace pole

The message in each language

The multilingual inscription of a peace pole constitutes a parallel text with top-to-bottom sentences. Each one is usually shown:

  • rotated clockwise in languages using LTR scripts (English, Latin, ...)
  • rotated counterclockwise in languages using RTL scripts (Arabic, Hebrew, ...)
  • arranged vertically in languages using East Asian scripts (Japanese, Chinese, ...)

They can be set in different case styles (sentence case, title case all caps, small caps), even on a single pole.

Language Inscription (description)
Afrikaans Mag Vrede Seëvier Op Aarde
Albanian Paqe mbretëroftë në botë
Algonquin Quenohteau Ohke woh aquené omskauau
Amharic ሰላም በሞላ ዓለም ይስፈን።
Anishinaabe Gidaa Awiibaa Mashkawisi Dakiiminan
Arabic ?
?
السلام للعالم أجمع‎
Armenian խաղաղություն ամբողջ աշխարի մարդկությանը։
Aymara Aka uraqinxa suma jakaña utjpa
Chukiago marca sumalaca ken sisiñani
Azerbaijani (Latin) Yašasın sülh bütün dünyada
Bafut Àyǝʼǝtɨ anɨ mǝ tá mbɔɔnǝ kwɛrɨ nsɨe ntsɨm
Bambara Nyesuma ka ladamu dukukolo kokan
Belarusian Няхай будзе мір чалавецтву ва ўсім свеце
Bengali বিশ্বে শান্তি বিরাজ করুক ।
Bislama Bambae pis i stap long wol
Bulgarian Нека пребъде мира по света.
Burmese ကမ္ဘာ့လူသားများငြိမ်းချမ်း၇း၇၇ှိပါစေ ။
Cambodian សូមឲ្យពិភពលោកបានសន្តិភាព ។
Cape Verdean / Kabuverdianu Pa pas ka kaba na mundu
Catalan / Valencian Que la Pau Prevalgui a la Terra
Que la pau prevalgui a la terra
Cherokee ᎡᎶᎯᏃ ᏙᎯᏱ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ
Chichewa / Nyanja Mtendere ukhale pa dziko la pansi
Mtendere ukhale padziko la pansi
Chinese ?
我們祈禱世界人類的和平
但願世界永遠和平
Chinese (Traditional) 我們祈願世界人類的和平
Chinese, Mandarin 我们祝愿世界人类的和平
Chinese, Mandarin (Latin)? keyi xia gan wu shi le zai diqiu shang
Comorian Amani oharimwa ye duniya kamili
Creole (Haitian) Pou lapè simaye dan lemond antye
Creole (Seychellois) Ki lape i rennyen dan lemonn
Croatian Neka mir zavlada na zemlji
Czech Ať mír vždy vládne na Zemi
Dakota Makasitomniya wodakota ni
Makȟasitoniya wodakȟota ni
Danish Må fred herske på jorden
Dari / Afghan Persian برقرار باد صلح در جهان
Divehi / Dhivehi / Maldivian ?
Douala / Duala Ese̱le̱ musango mu be̱ O wase
Dutch / Flemish Moge vrede heersen op aarde
Dzongkha འཛམ་གླིང་འདི་ནང་ལུ་ བདེ་སྐྱིད་ཕུན་གསུམ་ཚོགས་ཅུ་ཚིག།
English May Peace Prevail On Earth (title case)
May peace prevail on earth (sentence case)
MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH (all caps)
May peace prevail on earth (small caps)
Esperanto PACO REGU SUR LA TERO
Paco regu sur la tero
Estonian Olgu maailmas rahu
Filipino / Pilipino Sana'y Manatili ang Kapayapáan sa Mundo
Kapayapaan sa mundo (shorter)
Finnish Vallitkoon Rauha Maailmassa
French Puisse la Paix régner dans le Monde
Puisse la paix régner dans le monde
Paix sur la terre! (abbr.)
Galician Que a paz prevaleza na Terra
Georgian დაე იყოს მშვიდობა მთელ მსოფლიოში
German Möge Friede auf Erden sein
Friede auf Erden! (abbr.)
Greek Εύχομαι να Επικρατήσει η Ειρήνη στον Κόσμο
Εύχομαι να επικρατήσει η ειρήνη στον κόσμο
Guarani Toiko Py'aguapy Tenondete Ko Arapy Rehe
Toiko py'aguapy tenondete ko arapy rehe
Hausa Zaman lafiya ta tabbata a duniya
Hawaiian E Ho'omaluhia Me Ka Honua
Hebrew ישרה שלום עלי אדמות‎
Hmong Kom kev thaj yeeb mauj rau ntiaj teb no
Hopi Tuwa kwatsi es looma eyesni
Hungarian Legyen béke a földön
Icelandic Megi friður ríkja á jörð
Igbo Ka udo diri n'uwa
Ikiribati Ke e teimatoa te rau i aonnaba
Indonesian Semoga damai di dunia
Irish (Gaelic) Go raibh síocháin ar domhain
Italian Che la pace regni sulla terra
Japanese 世界人類が平和でありますように (as Masahisa Goi's handwritting)
Kazakh Адамзатқа бүткіл дүниеде бейбітшілік болсын
Kikongo Nbota luvuvamo luakala mu nsy ya wonssono
Kikuyu Thayú v́iyv́re thiine wa thi yothe
THAYU UIYURE THIINE WA THI YOTHE
Kituba Ngemba kuvanda na n'toto
Klingon tera'Daq taHjaj roj
Korean 세계인류의 평화가 이룩되도록
Kurdish (Iraq) ئاشتی بوهه موو جیهان‎
Kyrgyz Дүйнөдө тынчтык болсун
Lakota Makasitomniya wolakota ni
Makȟasitoniya wolakȟota ni
Unci Maka akan wolakota unkagapi kte
Lao ຂໍໃຫ້ສັນຕິພາບຈົ່ງມີຢູ່ໃນໂລກ
Latin Regnet Pax Omnem Per Terram
Pax in orbem praevaleat
Et in terra pax hominibus
Latvian Lai būtu miers pasaulē
Lingala Kimia ezala na mokili
Lithuanian Tebūna pasaulyje taika
Luxebourgish Fridden op de Äerd
Fridden mat allen Mënschen op der Welt
Macedonian Нека мирот завладее на земјата
Malay Semoga damai di dunia
Malgasy Enga anie hanjaka eran'izao tontolo izao ny fandriampahalemana
Malayalam ഭൂമിയിൽ സമാധാനം നിലനിൽക്കട്ടെ
Maltese Jalla l-paċi ssaltan fid-dinja
JALLA L-PACI SSALTAN FID-DINJA
Maori He maungārongo ki runga i te whenua
Kia tau te rangimarie kei te whenua
Marshallese Ainemon en bed ion lol in
Miami PEH-KO-KI-A A-KIN-KE-KWA-CI
Mohawk SKÉN:NEN KENHAK NÉ OHWENTSÁ:KE
Romanian, Moldovan Fie pace pe Pământ
Mongolian ?
Mongolian (Cyrillic) Даян дэлхий энх амгалан байг
Mungaka Mboni Ma Cie
Nauruan Enim mek iow eat eb
Navajo Nahasdzáán Bikáági Táá axtsogóó Hózhǫ́ǫ́ dooleex
Nepali विश्वमा शान्ति फैलिरहोस ।
Norwegian Måtte det være fred på jorden
Noongar Coer nagal nyjininyj Ngulla Boodja
Ojibwe, Odawa MAH NOH TAH BISON TAM GOT-EMAH AHKEENG KOGNIK
Mah Noh Tah Bison Tam Got-e-mah Ahkeeng Kognik
Palauan A budech bol mesisiich era belulachad
Pashto تل دی وی سوله په نړۍ کښی
Persian ?
برقرار باد صلح در سراسر جهان
Pidgin Pis mas istap long wol
Polish Niech będzie pokój na Ziemi
Niech ludzkość świata żyje w pokoju
Pokoj na ziemi! (abbr.)
Portuguese Que a Paz Prevaleça na Terra
Que a Paz Prevaleça no Mundo
Que a paz prevaleça no mundo
Potawatomi Nojma jag gégo gdokmeshen edjedéyag
Quechua Kusi Kausay Kachun Kay Pachapi
Quechua (Bolivia) Kay pachapi allin kawsay kachun
Quechua (Peru) Tiqsimuyupi allin kawsay kachun
Romansch Possia la pasch reger en il mund
Russian Да будет мир человечеству во всём мире
Да будет мир на земле! (shorter)
Rwanda-Rundi:
  • Kinyarwanda
  • Kirundi
 Amahoro n'aganze kw'isi hose
Kinyarwanda Amahoro n'aganze kw'isi hose
Kirundi Amahoro yosasagara mw'isi yose
Samoan la malo pea le filemu i le lalolagi
Sangho Siriri a douti na ndo ti sesse
Sanskrit पृथिव्यां शांति अस्तु
Scottish Gaelic Gum buadhaich sìth anns gach ceàrn dhe 'n t-saoghal
Seminole Hee-łom cho-bee po-baa-nom
Seneca Ja-wë-on Tha-yö-jeoK Yoë-dza-geh
Serbo-Croatian:
  • Bosnian
  • Croatian
  • Montenegrin
  • Serbian
 Neka mir zavlada na zemliji
Serbian (Cyrillic) Нека мир завлада на земљи
Serbian (Latin) Neka mir zavlada na zemlji
Sesotho Khotso e be teng lefatšeng
Setswana A kagiso e nne teng mo lefatsheng
Shona Runyararo ngaruveko pasi rose
Northern Ndebele Ukuthula kube semhlabeni
Sinhalese ?
රී ලංකාවේ සාමය පවතීවා
Sioux Wo' wa'hwa la ma'ka a'kan u'num'we
siSwati Kuthula akube semhlabeni
Slovak Nech pokoj vždy vládne na Zemi
Slovene Naj mir zavlada svetu
Somali Dunidu nabad ha ku waarto
Spanish Que la Paz Prevalezca En La Tierra
Que la paz prevalezca en la tierra
Swahili Amani na iwepo duniani
Swedish Må fred råda på jorden
Tagalog Sana'y manatili ang kapayapáan sa daigdig
Sana'y manatili ang kapayapaan sa daigdig
Kapayapaan ay maghari sa daigdig (shorter)
Kapayapaan sa mundo (shorter, with Spanish loanwords)
Tajik Барқарор бод сулҳ дар ҷаҳон
Tamil உலகில் அமைதி நிலவட்டும்
Tetum Dame ba mundu tomak
Thai ขอให้สันติภาพจงมาสู่โลก
Tigrinya ሰላም አብ ምልእቲ ዓለም ትስፈን።
Tongan Fakatauange ke toka 'a e melino 'i mamani kotoa
Tshiluba Bupole buikale pa buloba
Turkish Dünyada barış daim olsun
Yurtta Bariş Dünyada Bariş (motto of Turkey)
Turkmen Дүнйәде парахатчылык болсун
Tuscororan Rih Wharaku Ahske-ne Ticunuwehne
Tuvaluan Ke tumau te filemu ite lalolagi
Twi Asomdwoe nka wiasefo
Ukrainian Хай буде мир людству у всьому світі
Urdu دنیا میں امن قائم رہے
Uzbek Dunyoda tinchlik bo'lsin
Vietnamese Nguyện xin hòa bình đến với toàn thể nhân loại trên thế giới
Cầu chúc hòa bình cho toàn nhân loại trên thế giới
Cầu hoà bình cho toàn nhân loai tren thế giới
Welsh Mai Dangnefedd Prevail acha Briddo
Tangnefedd ar y ddaear
Wolof Na jàmm yàgg ci aduna
Yoruba Alàáfíà fún gbogbo àgbáyé
Yugambeh Duraiangah baugull gulli jagundah
(Language labels) [English, French, ...]
Music (score)
\header { title = "Let There Be Peace on Earth" % = piece } << \relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"tubular bells" % \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t % spacing not influenced by bars % \override Score.SpacingSpanner.uniform-stretching = ##t \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/3) % proportional notation % \override Score.SpacingSpanner.base-shortest-duration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8) % shortest duration (default=1/8) \time 3/4 \once \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/2) c2. c2 b4 c2 d4 e2 f4 \once \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8) g4 c,4 a'4 g2 c,4 % \once \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/3) d2.\<~ \once \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/2) d2 r4 } \addlyrics { \override LyricText.font-family = #'sans \override LyricText.font-shape = #'italic % \override LyricText.font-size = #-4 Let | there be | peace on | earth and let it be -- | gin with | me. __ } >>

from "Let There Be Peace on Earth" song

\header { title = "Imagine" % = piece } << \relative c'' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"acoustic piano" % \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/8) \key f \major \override Staff.TimeSignature.style = #'numbered \time 4/4 r8 d8[ f8 d8] f4 a8 a8 g16( f16 d8) r4 r2 e8 e4. e4 f8 g8~ \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/2) g2 \bar "||" } \addlyrics { \override LyricText.font-family = #'sans \override LyricText.font-shape = #'italic % \override LyricText.font-size = #-4 I -- ma -- gine all the peo -- | ple __ __ | li -- ving life in peace. __ } >>

from "Imagine" song

(Animal tracks / Paw prints) [🐾] (alligator, badger, bear, beaver, bison, bobcat, caribou, deer, dog, elephant, grasshopper, heron, kangaroo, mountain goat, opossum, otter, penguin, skunk, turkey, turtle, wild boar)
(Human feet prints) [👣]
(Leaf prints) [🍁]
(Dove with olive branch) [🕊]
(Earth) [🗺]
(Voice recordings / Audio) (audio in many languages)
(Audiovisual) (video in many languages)

Gallery

  • Peace pole in Spokane's Finch Arboretum, Washington
    Peace pole in Spokane's Finch Arboretum, Washington
  • The tallest (16.5 m (54 ft)) peace pole in the world on the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. It is made of a 105 years old Sapele tree. 5 languages (Twi—a local language in Ghana, Hindi, Chinese, Swahili, and Arabic) have been used to express the peace prayer on the pole: "May Peace Be on Earth".
    The tallest (16.5 m (54 ft)) peace pole in the world on the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. It is made of a 105 years old Sapele tree. 5 languages (Twi—a local language in Ghana, Hindi, Chinese, Swahili, and Arabic) have been used to express the peace prayer on the pole: "May Peace Be on Earth".
  • Peace Pole in 12 languages at Alverno College, Milwaukee
  • Peace pole at a church in Valparaiso, Indiana. Displays the Japanese text rotated, not arranged vertically.
    Peace pole at a church in Valparaiso, Indiana. Displays the Japanese text rotated, not arranged vertically.
  • Monument in memory of the 1998 embassy bomb blast victims from Nairobi (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Shows an unusual vertical arrangement of the engraved text.
    Monument in memory of the 1998 embassy bomb blast victims from Nairobi (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Shows an unusual vertical arrangement of the engraved text.
  • Peace pole planted in Argotti Botanic Gardens (Floriana, Malta)
    Peace pole planted in Argotti Botanic Gardens (Floriana, Malta)
  • Peace marker with abbreviated texts in Dortmund, Germany
    Peace marker with abbreviated texts in Dortmund, Germany
  • Peace marker with abbreviated texts in Neuenrade, Germany
    Peace marker with abbreviated texts in Neuenrade, Germany
  • Peace Pole and Cherry Tree planted by Hiroshima Survivors at Faslane Peace Camp, Scotland (on 6th August 1985)
    Peace Pole and Cherry Tree planted by Hiroshima Survivors at Faslane Peace Camp, Scotland (on 6th August 1985)


See also

Further reading

Translation sources: https://web.archive.org/web/20170511155434/http://www.peace-pole.com/translations_for_peace_poles.htm or http://www-peace.sakura.ne.jp/pages/_Earth.htm