Popular Protest in Post War Japan: The Antiwar Art of Shikoku GorōMain MenuOverviewThis exhibit explores the vibrant grassroots artistic culture of Hiroshima, known as the atomic bombed city. From 1949 through the 1990s, local artist Shikoku Gorō advanced a bold and democratic vision for cultural life by bringing poetry to the streets & mobilizing visual arts to represent the vitality, beauty, and complexity of Hiroshima. The exhibit explores a set of influential books, along with other examples of socially committed art. Shikoku and his circles of collaborators illuminated pathways to civic engagement for the citizens of Hiroshima—hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors), vets, & younger generations.Atom Bomb Poetry CollectionThe Angry JizoHiroshima SketchesGlossaryResourcesAcknowledgmentsAnn Sherif99c9850c7ffbc663daa16feec7b9f1dd71ca3e2e
Background Design
12020-05-26T15:13:16+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca6991plain2020-05-26T15:13:16+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69The poet Tōge Sankichi’s name is in the upper right corner, and the title Genbaku shishū runs across the lower edge.
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12020-05-26T15:13:12+00:00Atom Bomb Poetry: A Book4plain25312020-08-03T21:06:31+00:00For a book with the alarming words “atom bomb” in its title, Shikoku Gorō designed a striking cover that evokes the human cost of war, but employs an abstract visual vocabulary & palette resonant with mid-20thcentury viewers. He describes a line of human silhouettes in orange, in postures of contortion, struggle or disorientation. The faceless figures are unable to find footing on the undulating background design.
From the start, the Allied Occupation (1945-1952) severely curtailed publication about the atomic bombings out of concern that frank depictions or images of the nuclear aftermath might undermine the legitimacy of the Occupation and the victory itself. As the U.S. sharpened its anticommunist stance at home and with allies like Japan, authorities increasingly cracked down on antiwar and antinuclear protest movements associated with the left. Even this late in the Occupation, Tōge and Shikoku therefore sought out a like-minded underground local printer to publish this first edition.
