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 San!
12020-05-26T15:13:40+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca6993plain2020-07-28T22:26:33+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69The Angry JizoOn the top half of the spread, Shikoku’s poem “Tōge san!” expresses sadness over the sudden loss of Our Poem’s mentor, who worked “with a passion that couldn’t be contained in your weak body.” The speaker pledges to “carry on your many efforts/ crying out in the spirit of Hiroshima people with painful keloids/singing the hopes of people of the world who wish for peace.” This printed version of the poem in a 1970 book by Shikoku is paired with sketches similar to those in the first edition of Atomic Bomb Poetry. Shikoku originally composed this poem to be read at the memorial gathering for Tōge after his unexpected death in 1953. Just as Tsuchiya Kiyoshi’s play Rivers about Our Poems circle held deep meaning to audiences in turbulent times, “Tōge san!” resonated with Shikoku and readers during the Vietnam War.
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12020-05-26T15:13:16+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69Legacies of Atom Bomb Poetry & Our Poems CircleMax Mitchell5plain25742020-06-14T15:36:09+00:00Max Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69
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1media/toge-poem-read_thumb.jpg2020-06-10T21:35:31+00:00Toge San!3Shikoku Gorō’s poem “Tōge san!” with images similar to those in the first edition of Atomic Bomb Poetry, in Shikoku Gorō shigashū: Boshizō (Hiroshima: Hiroshima Shijinkaigi, 1970).media/toge-poem-read.jpgplain2020-07-28T22:28:05+00:00Shikoku Hikaruphotograph