Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum creates new catalog with many photos of victims’ artifacts
Jan. 23, 2021
by Yumi Kanazaki
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in the city’s centrally located Naka Ward, has created a catalog titled Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Collection Catalogue―Carrying the Legacy of Hiroshima, which covers the museum’s permanent exhibits, part of the full-scale renovation work done in April 2019. This is a complete change of the museum’s catalog since The Spirit of Hiroshima: An Introduction to the Atomic Bomb Tragedy was published in 1999.
With a decision that damage caused by the atomic bombing is conveyed through displays of authentic artifacts, the catalog has many photos of victims’ artifacts. A photo of “School uniform removed with scissors,” taken by the photographer, Tsuneo Enari, 84, is featured on the cover of the catalog. “A sense of loss” is conveyed through the void of the uniform, which stuck to the victim’s burned skin and had to be cut with scissors to be removed.
The story develops in chronological order from Chapter 1, which depicts the history of “Hiroshima, the military city” and people’s lives during the war, to Chapter 6, which explains peace activities after the war and wishes of A-bomb survivors. The catalog also has a detailed chronological table and memorial monument map in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
The Chugoku Shimbun cooperated with the museum in supplying photographs and contributing columns. Among the personal belongings, photos including “A tricycle and steel helmet” and “A dress” were taken by a photographer Hiroshi Takahashi. Four news reporters, including Jumpei Fujimura, contributed columns such as “A town buried beneath the Peace Memorial Park,” and “An untold story about the establishment of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.”
Yukimi Dohi, a curator at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, said, “We have incorporated information that is useful for people who want to take some action while looking at the exhibits.” Shuichi Kato, deputy director of the museum, said, “I want the visitors to become interested in the history of Hiroshima and the A-bomb survivors that reach to the present day and deepen their knowledge.”
The A4-size catalog contains 134 pages. An English version was also created, and the prices of both Japanese and English versions are 1,500 yen. The museum is temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but once it reopens, the catalogs will be sold at the Museum Shop on the first floor of the east building.
(Originally published on January 23, 2021)
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in the city’s centrally located Naka Ward, has created a catalog titled Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum Collection Catalogue―Carrying the Legacy of Hiroshima, which covers the museum’s permanent exhibits, part of the full-scale renovation work done in April 2019. This is a complete change of the museum’s catalog since The Spirit of Hiroshima: An Introduction to the Atomic Bomb Tragedy was published in 1999.
With a decision that damage caused by the atomic bombing is conveyed through displays of authentic artifacts, the catalog has many photos of victims’ artifacts. A photo of “School uniform removed with scissors,” taken by the photographer, Tsuneo Enari, 84, is featured on the cover of the catalog. “A sense of loss” is conveyed through the void of the uniform, which stuck to the victim’s burned skin and had to be cut with scissors to be removed.
The story develops in chronological order from Chapter 1, which depicts the history of “Hiroshima, the military city” and people’s lives during the war, to Chapter 6, which explains peace activities after the war and wishes of A-bomb survivors. The catalog also has a detailed chronological table and memorial monument map in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
The Chugoku Shimbun cooperated with the museum in supplying photographs and contributing columns. Among the personal belongings, photos including “A tricycle and steel helmet” and “A dress” were taken by a photographer Hiroshi Takahashi. Four news reporters, including Jumpei Fujimura, contributed columns such as “A town buried beneath the Peace Memorial Park,” and “An untold story about the establishment of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.”
Yukimi Dohi, a curator at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, said, “We have incorporated information that is useful for people who want to take some action while looking at the exhibits.” Shuichi Kato, deputy director of the museum, said, “I want the visitors to become interested in the history of Hiroshima and the A-bomb survivors that reach to the present day and deepen their knowledge.”
The A4-size catalog contains 134 pages. An English version was also created, and the prices of both Japanese and English versions are 1,500 yen. The museum is temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but once it reopens, the catalogs will be sold at the Museum Shop on the first floor of the east building.
(Originally published on January 23, 2021)
