Kikuraku, staff member of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum who organized 34 library exhibits, retires
Mar. 25, 2024
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Senior Staff Writer
A staff member of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Hiroshima’s Naka Ward) is retiring at the end of March when she reaches retirement age. Shinobu Kikuraku, 65, Minami Ward, started working at the museum as a temporary employee in 1990, and has since planned and held 34 special exhibits of material related to the atomic bombing. She unearthed many materials related to the Atomic Bomb Dome (Naka Ward) and conveyed the history of Hiroshima before and after the war, as well as the atomic bombing of the city, from various perspectives. After her retirement, she will continue to distribute information about the A-bombed buildings as a member of the citizens’ group.
Ms. Kikuraku studied architectural history in graduate school at Hiroshima University, and joined the museum as a temporary staff member in 1990. When former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev visited Hiroshima in 1992, Ms. Kikuraku accompanied his wife, Raisa, on a tour of the museum, which became one of her most memorable moments. “Mrs. Gorbachev had tears in her eyes when she saw the picture of the children whose hair had fallen out. This experience made me realize how important it is to display the exhibits in a way that will resonate with many people.”
In 1999, after spending her days performing miscellaneous duties, she was assigned to the museum’s library, where atomic bomb-related books are available to the public. In 2006, she organized a library exhibit featuring Fumiyo Kono, a manga artist known for works such as Yunagi no Machi, Sakura no Kuni (Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms), a manga story depicting the scars of the atomic bombing, with copies of her original drawings. It evoked a response, and she began planning a library exhibit at the pace of two per year.
The exhibits she was involved in have varied in theme, including those of the former Taishoya kimono shop (now the Rest House), whose building was exposed to the atomic bomb; an exhibit on poet and atomic bomb survivor Sankichi Toge; and one for Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen), a manga story about Hiroshima after the bombing. She has also studied Jan Letzel, a Czech architect who designed the Hiroshima Commercial Exhibition Hall (now the Atomic Bomb Dome), for many years by communicating with his family in his country. Her research was used for the library exhibit "The A-Bomb Dome: 100 Years of Memories" in 2015.
“When I started working, Yoshitaka Kawamoto, who experienced the atomic bombing in his first year of junior high school, was the director of the museum. Now that the number of A-bomb survivors has decreased enormously, the material has become more and more important,” Ms. Kikuraku said, hoping her younger colleague will continue to collect and exhibit materials. She will continue the activities of the citizens' group that wishes to preserve the former Army Clothing Depot, of which she is a founding member, and unearth the memoirs written by the survivors.
(Originally published on March 25, 2024)
A staff member of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Hiroshima’s Naka Ward) is retiring at the end of March when she reaches retirement age. Shinobu Kikuraku, 65, Minami Ward, started working at the museum as a temporary employee in 1990, and has since planned and held 34 special exhibits of material related to the atomic bombing. She unearthed many materials related to the Atomic Bomb Dome (Naka Ward) and conveyed the history of Hiroshima before and after the war, as well as the atomic bombing of the city, from various perspectives. After her retirement, she will continue to distribute information about the A-bombed buildings as a member of the citizens’ group.
Ms. Kikuraku studied architectural history in graduate school at Hiroshima University, and joined the museum as a temporary staff member in 1990. When former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev visited Hiroshima in 1992, Ms. Kikuraku accompanied his wife, Raisa, on a tour of the museum, which became one of her most memorable moments. “Mrs. Gorbachev had tears in her eyes when she saw the picture of the children whose hair had fallen out. This experience made me realize how important it is to display the exhibits in a way that will resonate with many people.”
In 1999, after spending her days performing miscellaneous duties, she was assigned to the museum’s library, where atomic bomb-related books are available to the public. In 2006, she organized a library exhibit featuring Fumiyo Kono, a manga artist known for works such as Yunagi no Machi, Sakura no Kuni (Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms), a manga story depicting the scars of the atomic bombing, with copies of her original drawings. It evoked a response, and she began planning a library exhibit at the pace of two per year.
The exhibits she was involved in have varied in theme, including those of the former Taishoya kimono shop (now the Rest House), whose building was exposed to the atomic bomb; an exhibit on poet and atomic bomb survivor Sankichi Toge; and one for Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen), a manga story about Hiroshima after the bombing. She has also studied Jan Letzel, a Czech architect who designed the Hiroshima Commercial Exhibition Hall (now the Atomic Bomb Dome), for many years by communicating with his family in his country. Her research was used for the library exhibit "The A-Bomb Dome: 100 Years of Memories" in 2015.
“When I started working, Yoshitaka Kawamoto, who experienced the atomic bombing in his first year of junior high school, was the director of the museum. Now that the number of A-bomb survivors has decreased enormously, the material has become more and more important,” Ms. Kikuraku said, hoping her younger colleague will continue to collect and exhibit materials. She will continue the activities of the citizens' group that wishes to preserve the former Army Clothing Depot, of which she is a founding member, and unearth the memoirs written by the survivors.
(Originally published on March 25, 2024)
