The work "At school after the atomic bombing," by Osamu Nagai is scheduled to be displayed at the exhibition. (From the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum collection)

       TOKYO -- An exhibition of paintings of the Hiroshima atomic bombing by high school students, who interviewed A-bomb survivors about their experiences and created the pictures based on these stories, will open in Tokyo on Aug. 8.

       This year's exhibition, the third of its kind, will be held at the Pearl Room gallery on the first floor of the Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan building in the Yurakucho area of Chiyoda Ward, and will run until Aug. 14.

       Since 2007, students studying art at Hiroshima Municipal Motomachi Senior High School have been creating artworks depicting scenes from after the atomic bombing, based on the testimonies of A-bomb survivors, or hibakusha. The program has already produced more than 170 works, which are being used on various occasions to convey the damage caused by the bombing.

       The school's activities have been documented in a nonfiction book for children, featured on TV programs, and even adapted for the stage as "Ano natsu no e" (The pictures of that summer) by Tokyo-based theater company Seinen Gekijo in 2015, which has been performed for audiences in many locations.

       The work "Flash" by Kanae Awatani is scheduled to be displayed at the exhibition. (From the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum collection)

       Opportunities to see these artworks in the Tokyo metropolitan area are limited, and more than 500 people visited the exhibition in 2019 and 2020 combined. This year, about 30 works including new pieces will be exhibited.

       Takayuki Okoshi, secretary-general of the exhibition executive committee, said, "Due to the coronavirus pandemic, school trips and other tours to Hiroshima have been canceled one after another. The A-bomb survivors, who are getting older, have fewer opportunities to tell their stories directly to people, and they feel that they must tell their stories to the younger generation and preserve them, even in the form of pictures. The students have responded to that sentiment, and the number of works produced has been increasing."

       The exhibition is open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (from 1:00 p.m. on the first day and until 5:00 p.m. on the last day) and admission is 500 yen (free for elementary school students and younger). For inquiries, contact Takayuki Okoshi at 090-2754-5652 (in Japanese).

       (Japanese original by Jun Ida, The Mainichi Staff Writer)

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