Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims registers photo of Ikuo Hirayama
Mar. 2, 2017
by Kanako Noda, Staff Writer
On March 1, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, located in Naka Ward, announced that it had registered a photo of Ikuo Hirayama, a Japanese-style painter and native of Setoda Town in the city of Onomichi. Mr. Hirayama died in 2009 at the age of 79. His photo is exhibited in the hall.
On August 6, 1945, Mr. Hirayama was a student at the former Shudo Junior High School and experienced the atomic bombing while working as a mobilized student at a lumber yard of the former Hiroshima Army Ordnance Supply Depot (now part of Minami Ward). He painted his famous early work Bukkyo Denrai (The Transmission of Buddhism) while battling an A-bomb illness.
The photo was donated by his brother, Sukenari Hirayama, 74, the curator of the Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art and resident of Onomichi, and it was registered on February 20. Sukunari said, “In his paintings, Ikuo incorporated his desire that the devastation caused by the atomic bombing not be repeated. I want many people to see his photo as well as the photos of many people who lost their lives to the atomic bomb.” Along with the photo, he donated Watashi no Michi, Setouchi no Shiosai ni Hagukumarete (My Way, Nurtured by the Sound of the Seto Inland Sea), a book which summarizes Mr. Hirayama’s recollections, first published in a series of articles in the Chugoku Shimbun.
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims collects and exhibits the names and photos of A-bomb victims and accounts of A-bomb survivors. As of February 28, 2017, the names and photos of 21,583 people have been registered at the hall.
(Originally published on March 2, 2017)
On March 1, the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, located in Naka Ward, announced that it had registered a photo of Ikuo Hirayama, a Japanese-style painter and native of Setoda Town in the city of Onomichi. Mr. Hirayama died in 2009 at the age of 79. His photo is exhibited in the hall.
On August 6, 1945, Mr. Hirayama was a student at the former Shudo Junior High School and experienced the atomic bombing while working as a mobilized student at a lumber yard of the former Hiroshima Army Ordnance Supply Depot (now part of Minami Ward). He painted his famous early work Bukkyo Denrai (The Transmission of Buddhism) while battling an A-bomb illness.
The photo was donated by his brother, Sukenari Hirayama, 74, the curator of the Hirayama Ikuo Museum of Art and resident of Onomichi, and it was registered on February 20. Sukunari said, “In his paintings, Ikuo incorporated his desire that the devastation caused by the atomic bombing not be repeated. I want many people to see his photo as well as the photos of many people who lost their lives to the atomic bomb.” Along with the photo, he donated Watashi no Michi, Setouchi no Shiosai ni Hagukumarete (My Way, Nurtured by the Sound of the Seto Inland Sea), a book which summarizes Mr. Hirayama’s recollections, first published in a series of articles in the Chugoku Shimbun.
The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims collects and exhibits the names and photos of A-bomb victims and accounts of A-bomb survivors. As of February 28, 2017, the names and photos of 21,583 people have been registered at the hall.
(Originally published on March 2, 2017)
