Photos of six people who took photos of Hiroshima in aftermath of A-bombing are registered at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall
Feb. 23, 2022
by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer
On February 22, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims, located in the city’s Naka Ward, announced it had newly registered the photos of six people who took photos of the horrific conditions in the city and the mushroom cloud in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. The photos are available for viewing in the hall, and the six people will be featured in a special exhibition scheduled to open in March.
Among the six were members of the military news team, a mobilized student, and a photo studio owner, who took photos of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing though they became victims of the atomic bombing or lost their family. While the hall was conducting a survey of the special exhibition, it received a donation of photos from the bereaved families and registered the photos during July and December of last year.
Mitsugi Kishida, then 29, was a member of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Chugoku District Military Headquarters news team. The day after the bombing, he took photos of the ruined Hondori shopping street, where his home-cum-photo studio had once stood. In addition, the hall also registered the photos of Yoshita Kishimoto, then 43, Goro Oda, then 32, Masaru Kuroishi, then 33, Masami Oki, then 31, and Toshio Fukada, then 16.
In the special exhibition “Trembling gaze—words left by photographers,” a 30-minute video that conveys the exposure to the atomic bombing and internal struggle of the photographers, including Yoshito Matsushige, former staff photographer at the Chugoku Shimbun (who died in 2005 at the age of 92), will be shown, and photographic panels and about 30 accounts will also be shown. A staff member of the hall said, “I want this exhibition to be an opportunity to learn more about the people who left photos despite experiencing the atomic bombing.” The Hall is temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus until March 6, but once it reopens, the special exhibition will be held.
(Originally published on February 23, 2022)
On February 22, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims, located in the city’s Naka Ward, announced it had newly registered the photos of six people who took photos of the horrific conditions in the city and the mushroom cloud in the aftermath of the atomic bombing. The photos are available for viewing in the hall, and the six people will be featured in a special exhibition scheduled to open in March.
Among the six were members of the military news team, a mobilized student, and a photo studio owner, who took photos of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing though they became victims of the atomic bombing or lost their family. While the hall was conducting a survey of the special exhibition, it received a donation of photos from the bereaved families and registered the photos during July and December of last year.
Mitsugi Kishida, then 29, was a member of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Chugoku District Military Headquarters news team. The day after the bombing, he took photos of the ruined Hondori shopping street, where his home-cum-photo studio had once stood. In addition, the hall also registered the photos of Yoshita Kishimoto, then 43, Goro Oda, then 32, Masaru Kuroishi, then 33, Masami Oki, then 31, and Toshio Fukada, then 16.
In the special exhibition “Trembling gaze—words left by photographers,” a 30-minute video that conveys the exposure to the atomic bombing and internal struggle of the photographers, including Yoshito Matsushige, former staff photographer at the Chugoku Shimbun (who died in 2005 at the age of 92), will be shown, and photographic panels and about 30 accounts will also be shown. A staff member of the hall said, “I want this exhibition to be an opportunity to learn more about the people who left photos despite experiencing the atomic bombing.” The Hall is temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus until March 6, but once it reopens, the special exhibition will be held.
(Originally published on February 23, 2022)
