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
Tōge Sankichi, Give me back father…
1media/toge-father-poem_thumb.jpg2020-06-10T21:35:30+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca6992Tōge Sankichi’s famous “Give me back father Give me back mother . . .” poem (1951) appears with the title “Preface” (Jo) in Atom Bomb Poetry Collection.plain2020-06-14T22:17:18+00:001951The Association for Preservation of Literary Materials of HiroshimaphotographMax Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69
This page is referenced by:
12020-05-26T15:13:16+00:00Give Me Back Father2plain2020-06-14T15:10:00+00:00Poet Tōge Sankichi’s most famous poem in Atom Bomb Poetry Collection does not use the words “atom bomb.” The first stanza of this poem reads: ‘Give me back father Give me back mother / Give me back the old people / Give me back the children (Chichi o kaese haha o kaese / toshiyori o kaese / kodomo o kaese). In the second and third stanzas, the speaker demands the return of humanity and enduring peace—presumably an ideal of peace that existed in the pre-nuclear age. Although the city did not experience air war until the morning of August 6, 1945, Hiroshima and all of its residents had experienced the extreme demands of Total War during the years that lead up to that day. The power of Tōge’s poem lies in the urgency and emotion evoked by the straightforward use of apostrophe, repetition and economical language. The themes of loss and separation would have resonated with many readers so soon after the World War.