×

News

Touring exhibition of photos depicting Hiroshima under reconstruction to be held in Hiroshima

by Yuki Kuwata, Staff Writer

A touring exhibition of photos by the late Tokuichi Odan, a former junior high school teacher who photographed the reconstruction of the city of Hiroshima and passed away in 2008 at the age of 96, will be held in eight wards in the city from February 17 to March 22. The City of Hiroshima, which has received the donation of his roughly 400,000 negatives and prints, is organizing the exhibition. For each ward, photos of 10 to 30 locations, including those depicting those local areas, will be carefully selected and displayed.

Between 1954 and around 2002, Mr. Odan engaged in fixed-point views of Hiroshima on its path toward reconstruction by making the rounds of the city and the surrounding areas on foot and by bicycle and taking photos from the same fixed points several times.

In the touring exhibition, such photos as those depicting the neighborhood of the A-bomb Dome, the surrounding area of the Hiroshima Bus Center soon after the center opened, the commercial and industrial center where reclamation and construction of factories were underway, and the south exit of JR Hiroshima station with an elevated bridge for pedestrians will be exhibited. For each venue, photos that have captured the transformation of the local areas will be on display.

The negatives and prints left by Mr. Odan were donated to the city by Mr. Odan's oldest son Noriyuki, 68. Noriyuki Odan is looking forward to the exhibition, saying, "My father would be happy that many people will be looking at his photos." The Cultural Promotion Division of the city explained, "As the shooting locations, dates, and times of these photos have also been recorded, these photos serve as valuable resources, too.” The division is also digitalizing these photos.

The schedule of the exhibition is as follows:

February 17-24: Aster Plaza in Naka Ward
February 24-28: Higashi Ward Community Cultural Center
March 3-7: Nishi Ward Community Cultural Center
March 4-9: Aki Ward Community Cultural Center
March 10-14: Saeki Ward Community Cultural Center
March 11-16: Asaminami Ward Community Cultural Center
March 18-22: Asakita Ward Community Cultural Center and Minami Ward Community Cultural Center

(Originally published on January 27, 2010)

Archives