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
May Day Placards 1950
1media/may-day-placards_thumb.jpg2019-08-21T21:12:14+00:00Maxwell Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69131Our Poems Circle members holding placards on May Day, 1950plain2019-08-21T21:12:14+00:00Maxwell Mitchell5fec7a6574d32fe574c01ba927cd57c749ceca69
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12019-08-20T18:40:46+00:00Members of Our Poems Circle8plain2020-05-19T13:49:54+00:00The young Our Poems members in this photograph show their optimism for the new Japan, as they march on May Day 1950 for justice and democracy. Despite their cheerful faces, they had already faced significant challenges during wartime and Occupation. Hayashi Sachiko lost her parents and only sibling in the atom bombing. Three members were recently fired from their jobs during the purge of Leftists. Shikoku Gorō survived the army but then spent 3 years in a POW camp in the Soviet Union. Why did these young people believe that Our Poems poetry & journal could contribute to making Japan a more just society?
