My primary goal for this thesis was to investigate current American and Japanese practices of remembrance about the atomic bombings and to trace cross-cultural influences on the commemorations and narratives. On the surface, these narratives and practices appear divergent; however, investigation reveals that they are intimately connected, and over time, have influenced one another. Icons of history that seem to be set in stone develop from these stories, but if we look at them carefully, we see that they present to us the true process of memory, and thus history.