Registration with “Memory of the World” of Hiroshima A-bombing photos, bolstered by Japan government’s recommendation, to be decided by UNESCO in spring 2025
Nov. 29, 2023
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Senior Staff Writer
On November 28, Japan’s national government made the decision to recommend the “Visual archive of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945” for listing with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s “Memory of the World” International Register, an application filed jointly by the Hiroshima City government and five media organizations including the Chugoku Shimbun. If the application for listing is approved, the materials will be the first related to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima ever to be added to the register. With the listing, the materials would enhance communication between Hiroshima and other parts of Japan as well as the rest of the world about the horror of nuclear weapons. UNESCO’s Executive Board is expected to make the determination whether to list the collection of materials by the spring of 2025.
The collection of materials consists of 1,532 photographs and two films related to the atomic bombing taken by 27 people and two organizations, including citizens who were directly affected by the atomic bombing and photojournalists, during the period from August 6, 1945, until the end of December that same year. Many representative A-bombing photos are included in the collection, including one that captures the suffering of citizens on the day of the atomic bombing by the U.S. military taken by the late Yoshito Matsushige, a former staff photographer for the Chugoku Shimbun.
The films comprise news footage released on September 22, 1945, and a documentary film shot by cinematographers accompanying a scientific team conducting a survey in September and October of the same year. Both films were produced by Nippon Eigasha, a company exclusively responsible for the production of news footage during the war.
In August this year, the Hiroshima City government, the Chugoku Shimbun, the Asahi Shimbun, and the Mainichi Newspapers—the organizations engaged in preservation and utilization of the photos and films—jointly applied for registration of the collection of materials to Japan’s Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a candidate for UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” designation. Based on opinions from a screening committee in Japan following the application, the two films were added, rendering RCC Broadcasting and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) joint applicants. The government formally made the decision to recommend the material to UNESCO because, it said, “The collection is documentary heritage of great significance to the world, and the relevant government ministries and agencies will work closely together and do what is necessary to achieve registration.”
UNESCO adds new items to the registry every two years, with member nations having the ability to recommend up to two items. This year, five applications were submitted to the Japanese screening process. The other item receiving government recommendation was “The Three Buddhist Scripture Collections of Zojoji Temple,” materials related to Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan’s Edo Era (1603–1868). The Tokugawa materials had been recommended by the government in 2021 but were not granted approval for registration by the 2023 UNESCO Executive Board. Nominations for the two recommended items will be submitted to UNESCO by the end of this month. Experts in archival materials will be charged with handling the international screening process.
As for other A-bombing materials, the city government and the civic group Association for Preservation of Literary Materials of Hiroshima jointly applied for autographed manuscripts and pocket notebooks of four A-bomb literary authors, including poet Sankichi Toge, to be listed in the “Memory of the World” register. In addition, the city and the surviving family of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died of radiation-induced leukemia 10 years after the atomic bombing, joined to make an application for the listing of her belongings, including paper cranes she had folded while ill.
by Yohei Yamamoto and Koji Higuchi, Staff Writers
On November 28, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in response to a question from the media at his official residence, said, “We will make every effort toward registration of the materials by the spring of 2025.” That exchange related to the “Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945” and the other item the government decided to recommend for registration with the UNESCO “Memory of the World” International Register.
With respect to the A-bombing materials, Mr. Kishida said, “I understand it is an important collection photographed by citizens directly affected by the bombing as well as by photojournalists.” He added, “Both items represent documentary heritage that is deserving of listing on the register.”
Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa touched on the application at a press conference held the same day. She stressed that, as the number of A-bomb survivors continues to decline, listing on the register would be an important element in declaring the importance of peace, and that preservation was vital as a memory of the world. Expressing her stance on the initiative, she added, “We will make every effort to carry on the wishes of those who desperately documented the event, ensuring that as many people as possible understand the reality of the atomic bombing.”
What really happened? Role of primary source material
Joint statement from nominators — The photographs and films in this collection accurately record what happened in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Amid the continued aging of the A-bomb survivors, the role of the photos and films grows ever more important as primary source material to convey the human tragedy resulting from the war and use of the nuclear weapon. We hope that by receiving global recognition, this collection of materials can help drive initiatives by governments and people in all countries to ensure that the tragedy is never repeated.
With the decision by the Japanese government to recommend the collection of materials, we have taken a step forward toward listing with the UNESCO “Memory of the World.” In consideration of the significance of the materials, we will continue our work of utilizing the photos and films in exhibits at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and on the websites of the media organizations, along with steps for their adequate preservation.
Keywords
Memory of the World
This is the generic name of initiatives that UNESCO began in 1992 with an aim to raise awareness of important archival materials among people around the world and promote their preservation and utilization. In 1995, as a representative initiative, a program was launched to globally register documents of great significance in human history. After a change was made to the system in 2021, application for registration is now only possible through the government institutions of UNESCO member nations. Member nations have the opportunity to oppose such applications and, in that case, screening is suspended until a consensus among members is reached. As of June 2023, 494 items have been listed in the register, including The Diary of Anne Frank and the autograph score of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
(Originally published on November 29, 2023)
On November 28, Japan’s national government made the decision to recommend the “Visual archive of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945” for listing with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s “Memory of the World” International Register, an application filed jointly by the Hiroshima City government and five media organizations including the Chugoku Shimbun. If the application for listing is approved, the materials will be the first related to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima ever to be added to the register. With the listing, the materials would enhance communication between Hiroshima and other parts of Japan as well as the rest of the world about the horror of nuclear weapons. UNESCO’s Executive Board is expected to make the determination whether to list the collection of materials by the spring of 2025.
The collection of materials consists of 1,532 photographs and two films related to the atomic bombing taken by 27 people and two organizations, including citizens who were directly affected by the atomic bombing and photojournalists, during the period from August 6, 1945, until the end of December that same year. Many representative A-bombing photos are included in the collection, including one that captures the suffering of citizens on the day of the atomic bombing by the U.S. military taken by the late Yoshito Matsushige, a former staff photographer for the Chugoku Shimbun.
The films comprise news footage released on September 22, 1945, and a documentary film shot by cinematographers accompanying a scientific team conducting a survey in September and October of the same year. Both films were produced by Nippon Eigasha, a company exclusively responsible for the production of news footage during the war.
In August this year, the Hiroshima City government, the Chugoku Shimbun, the Asahi Shimbun, and the Mainichi Newspapers—the organizations engaged in preservation and utilization of the photos and films—jointly applied for registration of the collection of materials to Japan’s Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a candidate for UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” designation. Based on opinions from a screening committee in Japan following the application, the two films were added, rendering RCC Broadcasting and the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) joint applicants. The government formally made the decision to recommend the material to UNESCO because, it said, “The collection is documentary heritage of great significance to the world, and the relevant government ministries and agencies will work closely together and do what is necessary to achieve registration.”
UNESCO adds new items to the registry every two years, with member nations having the ability to recommend up to two items. This year, five applications were submitted to the Japanese screening process. The other item receiving government recommendation was “The Three Buddhist Scripture Collections of Zojoji Temple,” materials related to Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan’s Edo Era (1603–1868). The Tokugawa materials had been recommended by the government in 2021 but were not granted approval for registration by the 2023 UNESCO Executive Board. Nominations for the two recommended items will be submitted to UNESCO by the end of this month. Experts in archival materials will be charged with handling the international screening process.
As for other A-bombing materials, the city government and the civic group Association for Preservation of Literary Materials of Hiroshima jointly applied for autographed manuscripts and pocket notebooks of four A-bomb literary authors, including poet Sankichi Toge, to be listed in the “Memory of the World” register. In addition, the city and the surviving family of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died of radiation-induced leukemia 10 years after the atomic bombing, joined to make an application for the listing of her belongings, including paper cranes she had folded while ill.
Japan prime minister: “We will make every effort toward registration”
by Yohei Yamamoto and Koji Higuchi, Staff Writers
On November 28, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in response to a question from the media at his official residence, said, “We will make every effort toward registration of the materials by the spring of 2025.” That exchange related to the “Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945” and the other item the government decided to recommend for registration with the UNESCO “Memory of the World” International Register.
With respect to the A-bombing materials, Mr. Kishida said, “I understand it is an important collection photographed by citizens directly affected by the bombing as well as by photojournalists.” He added, “Both items represent documentary heritage that is deserving of listing on the register.”
Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa touched on the application at a press conference held the same day. She stressed that, as the number of A-bomb survivors continues to decline, listing on the register would be an important element in declaring the importance of peace, and that preservation was vital as a memory of the world. Expressing her stance on the initiative, she added, “We will make every effort to carry on the wishes of those who desperately documented the event, ensuring that as many people as possible understand the reality of the atomic bombing.”
What really happened? Role of primary source material
Joint statement from nominators — The photographs and films in this collection accurately record what happened in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Amid the continued aging of the A-bomb survivors, the role of the photos and films grows ever more important as primary source material to convey the human tragedy resulting from the war and use of the nuclear weapon. We hope that by receiving global recognition, this collection of materials can help drive initiatives by governments and people in all countries to ensure that the tragedy is never repeated.
With the decision by the Japanese government to recommend the collection of materials, we have taken a step forward toward listing with the UNESCO “Memory of the World.” In consideration of the significance of the materials, we will continue our work of utilizing the photos and films in exhibits at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and on the websites of the media organizations, along with steps for their adequate preservation.
Keywords
Memory of the World
This is the generic name of initiatives that UNESCO began in 1992 with an aim to raise awareness of important archival materials among people around the world and promote their preservation and utilization. In 1995, as a representative initiative, a program was launched to globally register documents of great significance in human history. After a change was made to the system in 2021, application for registration is now only possible through the government institutions of UNESCO member nations. Member nations have the opportunity to oppose such applications and, in that case, screening is suspended until a consensus among members is reached. As of June 2023, 494 items have been listed in the register, including The Diary of Anne Frank and the autograph score of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
(Originally published on November 29, 2023)
