Animator Jimmy Murakami, 77, creating film about Hiroshima
Aug. 11, 2010
by Taiki Yomura, Staff Writer
The noted filmmaker Jimmy Murakami is putting his passion into developing a new feature animated film entitled "Morning of 100 Suns," which may be his last work. He said that the nuclear weapons held by the many nuclear powers, with their far greater destructive force than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, have the capacity to annihilate the whole world and the tragedy of Hiroshima must be made known. In his new film, he is seeking to depict how the people of Hiroshima have been affected by the bombing.
Mr. Murakami decided to create the film when he visited Hiroshima to attend the Hiroshima International Animation Festival as a judge in 2004 and toured Peace Memorial Museum. At the museum he saw photos, including those of severely burned children and the rubble of Hiroshima, that so shocked him his eyes filled with tears. He also lost a cousin to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Mr. Murakami was born in California. After Japan instigated war with the United States during World War II, he and his family were forced to live in an internment camp for four years because they were Japanese-American. He was there from the age of 8 to the age of 12. His sister died at the camp. With the fate of his family decided only by a piece of government paper, he became distrustful of the U.S. government.
In 1986, Mr. Murakami directed the antinuclear animated film "When the Wind Blows," which is set in England. It is the story of a British couple who fled to a bomb shelter, following government instructions, but died in a nuclear bombing.
The filmmaker is concerned about current conditions in the world, where many countries, not only the United States and Russia but also such nations as India and Pakistan, hold nuclear arms. He warned that we must be aware of the danger of relying on a handful of people in government to make decisions involving life and death, the main theme of his new film. Through his film, he hopes that people will understand the horrific consequences of war and nuclear weapons.
Mr. Murakami is in Hiroshima at the invitation of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival until August 11. On August 10, he visited Peace Memorial Museum. He hopes to present his new film at the next festival in Hiroshima. He now lives in Dublin, Ireland with his wife.
(Originally published on August 11, 2010)
The noted filmmaker Jimmy Murakami is putting his passion into developing a new feature animated film entitled "Morning of 100 Suns," which may be his last work. He said that the nuclear weapons held by the many nuclear powers, with their far greater destructive force than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, have the capacity to annihilate the whole world and the tragedy of Hiroshima must be made known. In his new film, he is seeking to depict how the people of Hiroshima have been affected by the bombing.
Mr. Murakami decided to create the film when he visited Hiroshima to attend the Hiroshima International Animation Festival as a judge in 2004 and toured Peace Memorial Museum. At the museum he saw photos, including those of severely burned children and the rubble of Hiroshima, that so shocked him his eyes filled with tears. He also lost a cousin to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Mr. Murakami was born in California. After Japan instigated war with the United States during World War II, he and his family were forced to live in an internment camp for four years because they were Japanese-American. He was there from the age of 8 to the age of 12. His sister died at the camp. With the fate of his family decided only by a piece of government paper, he became distrustful of the U.S. government.
In 1986, Mr. Murakami directed the antinuclear animated film "When the Wind Blows," which is set in England. It is the story of a British couple who fled to a bomb shelter, following government instructions, but died in a nuclear bombing.
The filmmaker is concerned about current conditions in the world, where many countries, not only the United States and Russia but also such nations as India and Pakistan, hold nuclear arms. He warned that we must be aware of the danger of relying on a handful of people in government to make decisions involving life and death, the main theme of his new film. Through his film, he hopes that people will understand the horrific consequences of war and nuclear weapons.
Mr. Murakami is in Hiroshima at the invitation of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival until August 11. On August 10, he visited Peace Memorial Museum. He hopes to present his new film at the next festival in Hiroshima. He now lives in Dublin, Ireland with his wife.
(Originally published on August 11, 2010)
