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Pictures made by children in post-war Hiroshima to be displayed in U.S. museum next spring

by Rie Nii, Staff Writer

Next spring, pictures made by children in Hiroshima soon after the end of World War II will be exhibited in the United States for the first time in about 60 years. The pictures were originally sent to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1953. The exhibition will be held at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, located in the the state of Maine, and will display the pictures as it conveys the lives of children in post-war Hiroshima. The museum is now seeking the people who created these pictures.

Forty-four pictures have been held by Barbara Kates-Garnick in Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Garnick is the niece of Chuzo Tamotsu, a Japanese artist who was living in Santa Fe at the time and pursued an exchange between children in Santa Fe and Hiroshima through art. The exhibition at the museum was prompted by the fact that Mark Garnick, Ms. Garnick’s husband, is a graduate of Bowdoin College.

A number of the pictures depict events that appear to be school performances, including scenes showing plays, songs, and choral singing. Some pictures also have titles to describe the performance, such as “The Mysterious Pear Tree” or “The Ungrateful Person.” In addition, some children drew landscapes featuring buses, ships, and trees, among other images.

The name of the child, the grade, and the school are written on each picture, in English, but some of these labels are difficult to decipher. The pictures were sent from 16 elementary schools in Hiroshima including Funairi Elementary School, Eba Elementary School, and Honkawa Elementary School.

Anne Collins Goodyear, the co-director of the museum, said that she was intrigued by the details of the children’s school life and their performances, and she eagerly seeks more information about the pictures.

Yukiyo Kawano, 41, an artist living in Oregon, was asked to help search for those who created the pictures when she pays a visit home to Hiroshima.

The names of the children, written in Japanese Katakana, and their schools are posted on the Hiroshima Peace Media Center website (https://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/blog/?p=59088). For inquiries, please contact the Hiroshima Peace Media Center at 082-236-2801.

(Originally published on May 16, 2016)

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