60 years later, former Hiroshima high school students’ paintings return from U.K. to reunite with creators
Nov. 10, 2016
by Minako Okuda, Staff Writer
Twenty watercolor paintings, created by students at Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School in Naka Ward, Hiroshima in the 1950s, have come back to the school from the United Kingdom, where the paintings were originally sent. On November 9, the school returned two paintings to two of the graduates, who were identified as the creators.
Kyoko Kuranaga, 77, a clinical psychotherapist and resident of Higashi Ward, painted a picture of the Memorial Cathedral for World Peace in Naka Ward, which opened in 1954. Junko Kayashige, 77, a former art teacher and A-bomb survivor living in Nishi Ward, depicted the area near the Aioi Bridge in Naka Ward, where many makeshift homes once stood. They were classmates at the school, and created the paintings as homework for their art class when they were in their second year of high school.
Ms. Kuranaga looked back on the days of the city’s reconstruction after the atomic bombing and said, “I thought the beautiful concrete building of the church symbolized a new start.” Ms. Kayashige said that she was inspired by the street where shacks stood side by side and went there several times to sketch the scene.
According to the school, the paintings were in the possession of a man who was formerly an art teacher in Manchester, the United Kingdom. It is believed that the late Takuo Matsumoto, who was the head of the school at the end of the war, sent the students’ paintings to people involved in education in the United Kingdom as part of a cultural exchange.
Because the paper was specially treated to prevent deterioration, the brushwork of the students, as they painted such things as the A-bomb Dome in Naka Ward, a temple, and a work of flower arrangement, remains vivid.
In the summer of 2015, which marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing, the former art teacher held an exhibition of the paintings in London, and offered to return them to the school via a Japan-U.K. exchange group and the City of Hiroshima. The paintings were then brought back to the school in July.
On this day, Ms. Kayashige received her painting from Akiko Minato, the president of the school, and said with pleasure, “The painting has brought back memories of my schooldays when I was wondering if I should choose art or social welfare for my future career.” Ms. Kuranaga said, “Children’s paintings of little value have been well preserved for almost 60 years. This is a precious thing, I think, because it shows the warmhearted feelings people have for the A-bombed city.”
As for the other 18 paintings, the school will make use of them for peace education while continuing to look for the painters whose names are written on the back.
(Originally published on November 10, 2016)
Twenty watercolor paintings, created by students at Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School in Naka Ward, Hiroshima in the 1950s, have come back to the school from the United Kingdom, where the paintings were originally sent. On November 9, the school returned two paintings to two of the graduates, who were identified as the creators.
Kyoko Kuranaga, 77, a clinical psychotherapist and resident of Higashi Ward, painted a picture of the Memorial Cathedral for World Peace in Naka Ward, which opened in 1954. Junko Kayashige, 77, a former art teacher and A-bomb survivor living in Nishi Ward, depicted the area near the Aioi Bridge in Naka Ward, where many makeshift homes once stood. They were classmates at the school, and created the paintings as homework for their art class when they were in their second year of high school.
Ms. Kuranaga looked back on the days of the city’s reconstruction after the atomic bombing and said, “I thought the beautiful concrete building of the church symbolized a new start.” Ms. Kayashige said that she was inspired by the street where shacks stood side by side and went there several times to sketch the scene.
According to the school, the paintings were in the possession of a man who was formerly an art teacher in Manchester, the United Kingdom. It is believed that the late Takuo Matsumoto, who was the head of the school at the end of the war, sent the students’ paintings to people involved in education in the United Kingdom as part of a cultural exchange.
Because the paper was specially treated to prevent deterioration, the brushwork of the students, as they painted such things as the A-bomb Dome in Naka Ward, a temple, and a work of flower arrangement, remains vivid.
In the summer of 2015, which marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing, the former art teacher held an exhibition of the paintings in London, and offered to return them to the school via a Japan-U.K. exchange group and the City of Hiroshima. The paintings were then brought back to the school in July.
On this day, Ms. Kayashige received her painting from Akiko Minato, the president of the school, and said with pleasure, “The painting has brought back memories of my schooldays when I was wondering if I should choose art or social welfare for my future career.” Ms. Kuranaga said, “Children’s paintings of little value have been well preserved for almost 60 years. This is a precious thing, I think, because it shows the warmhearted feelings people have for the A-bombed city.”
As for the other 18 paintings, the school will make use of them for peace education while continuing to look for the painters whose names are written on the back.
(Originally published on November 10, 2016)
