Postwar exchange between Hiroshima schoolchildren and U.S. church turned into picture story show
Apr. 4, 2016
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
A set of drawings for a picture story show titled “48 Colors of Dreams: Children Bloom in the Ruins of Hiroshima,” which depicts an exchange between Honkawa Elementary School, located in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, and a church in the United States at the time of postwar reconstruction, has been created by citizens of Japan and the United States. Copies of the illustrations for the picture story show and a DVD with recorded narration will be donated to all elementary schools in Hiroshima, conveying the importance of friendship beyond national borders. On March 9, a presentation of the show was held at Honkawa Elementary School.
The show is based on a true story: Children at Honkawa Elementary School sent drawings and works of calligraphy to express their gratitude for school supplies that had been sent from a church in the United States in 1948. In 2010, some of these drawings were returned to the school. Following the publication of a book on this subject by Shizumi Shigeto Manale, a performance artist from the city of Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture who now resides in the United States, Ms. Shigeto and some former students from the elementary school conceived the idea for the picture story show in 2012.
The illustrations that make up the show depict 19 scenes, including students studying in a school building that had lost all its window panes because of the atomic bombing as well as the arrival of the school supplies from abroad. The illustrations were made by an acquaintance of Ms. Shigeto, who is studying painting at a graduate school in the United States. The DVD runs 28 minutes and 300 copies will be made and sold for 1,500 yen each.
After the presentation, Toshimi Ishida, 74, one of the former students of Honkawa Elementary School who drew pictures to express thanks for the school supplies, said, “I hope that the picture story show will be used for peace education.” Those involved in the project are also planning to create an English version for use in the United States. To purchase the picture story show and DVD, contact Toshikuni Sera at 0829-32-8478.
(Originally published on March 10, 2016)
A set of drawings for a picture story show titled “48 Colors of Dreams: Children Bloom in the Ruins of Hiroshima,” which depicts an exchange between Honkawa Elementary School, located in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, and a church in the United States at the time of postwar reconstruction, has been created by citizens of Japan and the United States. Copies of the illustrations for the picture story show and a DVD with recorded narration will be donated to all elementary schools in Hiroshima, conveying the importance of friendship beyond national borders. On March 9, a presentation of the show was held at Honkawa Elementary School.
The show is based on a true story: Children at Honkawa Elementary School sent drawings and works of calligraphy to express their gratitude for school supplies that had been sent from a church in the United States in 1948. In 2010, some of these drawings were returned to the school. Following the publication of a book on this subject by Shizumi Shigeto Manale, a performance artist from the city of Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture who now resides in the United States, Ms. Shigeto and some former students from the elementary school conceived the idea for the picture story show in 2012.
The illustrations that make up the show depict 19 scenes, including students studying in a school building that had lost all its window panes because of the atomic bombing as well as the arrival of the school supplies from abroad. The illustrations were made by an acquaintance of Ms. Shigeto, who is studying painting at a graduate school in the United States. The DVD runs 28 minutes and 300 copies will be made and sold for 1,500 yen each.
After the presentation, Toshimi Ishida, 74, one of the former students of Honkawa Elementary School who drew pictures to express thanks for the school supplies, said, “I hope that the picture story show will be used for peace education.” Those involved in the project are also planning to create an English version for use in the United States. To purchase the picture story show and DVD, contact Toshikuni Sera at 0829-32-8478.
(Originally published on March 10, 2016)
