Citizens’ group “Learning from Floyd Schmoe” adds English translation to picture book to communicate Mr. Schmoe’s work worldwide
Mar. 23, 2020
by Kyoko Niiyama, Staff Writer
A revised edition of the picture book Mr. Schmoe Came to Hiroshima, which introduces the life of American pacifist Floyd Schmoe (1895-2001), has been published with an English translation. Mr. Schmoe is known for having built houses in Hiroshima for citizens who had lost their homes in the atomic bombing. The citizens’ group “Learning from Floyd Schmoe” published the book independently.
The book tells the story of Mr. Schmoe, shocked upon learning of the damage caused by the atomic bombing, begins preparations on his own based on his determination to build homes for the people of Hiroshima. At the end of the story, people are able to contemplate peace in the homes built with the cooperation of people from various countries.
The group first published the Japanese-language version of the story in 2016, an effort led by the late Yoko Imada, the group’s former director. Taking over the wishes of Ms. Imada, who died in 2017 after an illness, the group’s six members, including Hiroko Nishimura, current director, produced the revised edition with Japanese and English texts written side by side. The group’s aim was to inform people around the world of the work of Mr. Schmoe, who was said to have interacted compassionately with citizens regardless of nationality. The group added four photographs to the revised book, such as one featuring Mr. Schmoe at work.
Mr. Schmoe visited Hiroshima from the United States, the nation that dropped the atomic bomb, in 1949. At that time, the city was in the midst of reconstruction and recovery. Together with young people who sympathized with his efforts, he constructed the “Hiroshima Houses,” a total of 21 houses in the Eba-nihonmatsu district (now part of Naka Ward) and other locations. One of those houses, originally used as a community center, is now maintained as the Schmoe House, an exhibition facility affiliated with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. “Through the picture book, we want to share with many people Mr. Schmoe’s idea that peace should be ‘created by everyone together,’” said Ms. Nishimura.
The A4-sized book consists of 32 pages and is priced at 1,300 yen. It can be purchased at the Museum Shop in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in the city’s Naka Ward, and at the Hiroshima City Ebayama Museum of Meteorology, located near the Schmoe House. For further information, please send an email to the following address: figjam.fs@gmail.com
(Originally published on March 23, 2020)
A revised edition of the picture book Mr. Schmoe Came to Hiroshima, which introduces the life of American pacifist Floyd Schmoe (1895-2001), has been published with an English translation. Mr. Schmoe is known for having built houses in Hiroshima for citizens who had lost their homes in the atomic bombing. The citizens’ group “Learning from Floyd Schmoe” published the book independently.
The book tells the story of Mr. Schmoe, shocked upon learning of the damage caused by the atomic bombing, begins preparations on his own based on his determination to build homes for the people of Hiroshima. At the end of the story, people are able to contemplate peace in the homes built with the cooperation of people from various countries.
The group first published the Japanese-language version of the story in 2016, an effort led by the late Yoko Imada, the group’s former director. Taking over the wishes of Ms. Imada, who died in 2017 after an illness, the group’s six members, including Hiroko Nishimura, current director, produced the revised edition with Japanese and English texts written side by side. The group’s aim was to inform people around the world of the work of Mr. Schmoe, who was said to have interacted compassionately with citizens regardless of nationality. The group added four photographs to the revised book, such as one featuring Mr. Schmoe at work.
Mr. Schmoe visited Hiroshima from the United States, the nation that dropped the atomic bomb, in 1949. At that time, the city was in the midst of reconstruction and recovery. Together with young people who sympathized with his efforts, he constructed the “Hiroshima Houses,” a total of 21 houses in the Eba-nihonmatsu district (now part of Naka Ward) and other locations. One of those houses, originally used as a community center, is now maintained as the Schmoe House, an exhibition facility affiliated with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. “Through the picture book, we want to share with many people Mr. Schmoe’s idea that peace should be ‘created by everyone together,’” said Ms. Nishimura.
The A4-sized book consists of 32 pages and is priced at 1,300 yen. It can be purchased at the Museum Shop in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in the city’s Naka Ward, and at the Hiroshima City Ebayama Museum of Meteorology, located near the Schmoe House. For further information, please send an email to the following address: figjam.fs@gmail.com
(Originally published on March 23, 2020)
