Popular Protest in Postwar Japan: The Antiwar Art of Shikoku GorōMain MenuOverviewThis exhibit explores the vibrant grassroots artistic culture of Hiroshima, known as the atomic bombed city. From 1949 through the 1990s, local artist Shikoku Gorō advanced a bold and democratic vision for cultural life by bringing poetry to the streets & mobilizing visual arts to represent the vitality, beauty, and complexity of Hiroshima. The exhibit explores a set of influential books, along with other examples of socially committed art. Shikoku and his circles of collaborators illuminated pathways to civic engagement for the citizens of Hiroshima—hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors), vets, & younger generations.Atomic Bomb Poetry CollectionThe Angry JizoHiroshima SketchesAnn Sherif99c9850c7ffbc663daa16feec7b9f1dd71ca3e2e
Postcard to Tōge
1media/angry-man-postcard_thumb.jpg2019-08-23T15:20:43+00:00Maxwell Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69131Shikoku’s postcard to Tōge, nd.plain2019-08-23T15:20:43+00:00Maxwell Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69
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12019-08-23T16:17:09+00:00Shikoku Gorō6plain14032019-10-28T15:30:55+00:00This hand-illustrated postcard from Shikoku to Tōge reveals their shared ideals & method: “August is the season of flames/Eyes of sadness and rage/ we sing of peace at the top of our voices. . .” In the 1963 play Rivers, a character named Tōge explains the Our Poems’ approach to activism: “Even with the Press Code in force, literature has various methods at its disposal. By using all of these methods to let the people know about the truth [of nuclear weapons], we can help the peace movement grow. Hibakusha tend not to speak up; we ask people to sign the peace petition but they are afraid. Many are hesitant to speak up on their own. All quite understandable. But once they understand that others do empathize with them, they muster courage” and raise their voices.
