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
Inscribing the Cenotaph
12020-05-26T15:13:27+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca6992plain2020-06-14T16:09:02+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69The cenotaph inscription reads “Please rest in peace. The mistake will not be repeated.” Peace Park, Hiroshima. Debates arose about the inscription, as it used the passive voice and did not acknowledge Japan’s own role in the world war and colonialism. Shikoku commented, “I recall that, as part of the controversy over the words on the cenotaph, some people objected that the inscription makes sense for the perpetrators of the bombing but not for those who suffered its effects, and that it should be changed to ‘we will not allow the mistake to be repeated.’ . . As someone who lost close relatives in the atomic bombing, I initially struggled with the inscription. Eventually, I accepted it; now I believe that there is no other suitable wording. The only thing any human being can do is to bow to the spirits of those who fell victim to this concluding act of a foolish war and promise to never again repeat a mistake like that, whether we are hibakusha or not, Japanese or American. . . “
1media/centotaph_peace_park_thumb.jpg2020-06-10T21:35:13+00:00Cenotaph Peace Park2Cenotaph in the Peace Park, Hiroshima. Watercolor and Ink on paper, ND.(Hiroshima Sketches, p.--)media/centotaph_peace_park.jpgplain2020-06-14T16:27:16+00:00photograph