[Exhibition Report] Tokyo Photographic Art Museum "80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing: Hiroshima 1945"

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Tokyo Photographic Art Museum I visited the "80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing: Hiroshima 1945" exhibition. Here are my thoughts.

▶︎ Conclusion

Unlike the usual exhibitions at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, this was a valuable opportunity to "know" and "learn." This was mainly because the "power of photography" and the detailed captions allowed me to concretely understand the facts regarding the atomic bombing. I hope that by taking new actions, visitors can help create a future with even one more smile. The exhibition is open until August 17th, so go early!

▶︎ "80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing: Hiroshima 1945" Impressions

✔️ Knowing the past to create the future

As I get older, I find myself becoming more interested in history. Perhaps this is because as I face my own death (lifespan), my interest in how to live the rest of my life is increasing.

▼ Books about history, etc., that left an impression on me

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is also a place I want to visit someday. I went on a school trip, but I only remember the teacher getting angry because my classmates were making peace signs in photos inside the museum.

✔️ Already 80 years since then

This year marks the 80th year since the atomic bombing. In the near future, there will be no living witnesses left. Therefore, various organizations are focusing on passing on memories. However, the impact changes significantly depending on whether the person themselves tells the story or someone else does. I pray that the same history will not be repeated.

✔️ The meaning of taking "photos" and the meaning of preserving them

Such tragic history has an aspect that can be passed on to future generations precisely because photos were taken. No matter how well a writer expresses it in words, it often cannot beat a single picture. In that sense, I thought the "power of photography" was a great invention that contributed not only to art but also to education and other fields.

✔️ The pain of conveying, the readiness to receive

Photos of destroyed buildings convey the situation concretely. Even more than that, photos with people in them pierced my heart directly.

At the time, it is said that photographers found it painful to press the shutter. The exhibition conveyed the photographers' anguish, with comments like, "Even if it was an order, isn't it too cruel?", "Our eyes would meet when I took the shot," and "If you put yourself in the shoes of the person being photographed, you wouldn't want to expose such a tragic scene."

Also, I have seen the anime "In This Corner of the World" at a movie theater.

While I think anime has its own merits, I gasped when I saw the photos of victims and corpses lined up in this exhibition. In particular, the photos of full-body burns were highly shocking.

In addition to the heat rays and blast, there was also damage caused by radiation. Due to radiation exposure, people suffered from hair loss, bleeding from the tooth roots, and purple spots appearing all over their bodies and faces, and many died while delirious. At the time, this was called "atomic bomb disease".

✔️ An exhibition to "know" and "think"

I felt this was an exhibition for "knowing" and "thinking". Holding such a socially significant exhibition at a public institution like the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum is of great importance.

In this exhibition, I made sure to read the captions thoroughly before looking at the photos. In addition to the impact of the photos, knowing the background information was also important to me.

Although I feel shocked when looking at the photos, they don't feel very real. However, I can think about "what would happen if this situation occurred now?"

For example, even when we hear the word "refugee," it is hard to feel it close to home. However, among those affected by the atomic bomb, there were surely people who became internally displaced persons (refugees). Thinking about it that way makes refugees and internally displaced persons feel much closer.

Throughout the exhibition, there was no strong ideological message, and I received a neutral impression. After seeing these, what we think and what we do for the future is up to us.

✔️ Hope in the young perspective

I was surprised by the number of visitors inside the venue. Among them, it was impressive that there were so many young people. What motivated them to visit this exhibition? (I have nothing but respect for them!) I definitely wouldn't have gone when I was their age.

Also, there were many foreigners at the venue. I was impressed that everything was written in both Japanese and English, including complicated place names in the captions. I was a little curious about how the foreign visitors felt while viewing this exhibition.

✔️ Photography allowed, but...

Inside the exhibition room, photography of individual works was not allowed. This is a format I have seen occasionally in recent exhibitions. According to the reception staff, since photos of victims are also included, they are refraining from allowing detailed photography (this is apparently the intention of the Chugoku Shimbun).

The exhibition "Luigi Ghirri: The Marvellous Landscape" currently being held on the second floor of the same museum also had a "no photography of individual works" policy. Do the reasons for the restrictions change depending on the exhibition? They don't want people to take photos actively, but there is a need for visitors to take them, so it might be a compromise.

✔️ Other

Inside the venue, two videos were playing. While the one from the NHK collection had English subtitles, the one from the National Film Archive did not. Since these are important materials that should be conveyed to people other than the Japanese, I thought English subtitles were necessary.

In addition to introducing the photographers, every caption notes the distance in "meters" from the hypocenter, which was a unique feature of this exhibition.

Among them, the photo of the lost children's shelter was heartbreaking. It pained my heart to think, what if my own child had become lost in such a tragic situation?

▶︎ Summary

What did you think? As the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing, this was a valuable opportunity to learn and think about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The approximately 160 photographs and their accompanying detailed captions were very informative. As the number of people who directly experienced the atomic bomb decreases, we must cherish such opportunities and work to create a better future. The exhibition runs until August 17th, so please visit soon!

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