“Japan 1945 -- Images from the Trunk : War, Peace and Buddhism”

“Japan 1945 -- Images from the Trunk : War, Peace and Buddhism” 

When the boy brought his dead younger brother to a cremation pyre, I could see that the Japan Armed Forces impacted on such a young child. I think that an American child cannot do such a thing very much. The boy did not show his emotions, standing at attention and did not shed tears. I wanted to approach and solace him, but I was not able to do that either. If I had done such a thing, I would have destroyed the boy’s determined intentions to endure his suffering and lament. I was just standing there because I had no choice.    【Joe O’ Donnell】

Period: Jun. 9, – Oct. 8, 2018                      

Place: Kyoto HBS Museum

Hours Open     [ Weekdays ]         From 10.00 am to 4.00 pm

[ weekends. Holidays ] From 10.00 am to 5.00 pm

Days closed    Monday, and Days of Exhibit change.

Entrance Fee   Free

Organized by Kyoto HBS Museum　

Powered by Honmon Butsuryu-Shu(HBS)

Sponsored by Kyoto Prefecture / Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education / Kyoto City / Kyoto city Board of Education / The Kyoto Shimbun Co. Ltd. / Kyoto Broadcasting System Co. Ltd. / FM-Kyoto @ Station /

Supported by Shogakukan Inc. / KIMIKO O’ DONNELL / Embassy of the Republic of San Marino in Japan / Ohara Tetsuo editorial office / RINPOOSYA / Jayewardene Family / J.R. Jayewardene Centre / Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum / Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum / Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University / (INPO)

Half century later,

I finally unlocked the old trunk packed with haunting recollections...

 

In 1945, a young US soldier, Joe O'Donnell, photographed Japan burned down by the atomic bomb, such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with his camera. After returning his own country, he put 300 negatives into the trunk and sealed them with a detestable memory of war.

“In order to live, I wanted to forget everything.”

However, 43 years later, while constantly continuing conflicts and terrorism in the world, and nuclear war are going to be repeated again, he decided to hand his experience down to the next generation and unlocked the trunk.

On New Year 's Day 2018, The news received from Europe was widely reported.

『Pope Francis is having cards printed and instructed to distribute showing a 1945 photo of victims of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki along with the words "the fruit of war" be written in the back of the card along with his signature "Franciscus."』(CNN)

In 2015, the exhibition, " Japan 1945 -- Images from the Trunk : War, Peace and Buddhism " was held at Kyoto HBS Museum and produced a great sensation. By a strange chance, when association in Honor of the Tensho Keno Shisetsu sent the Pope various articles, they also sent the Pope a leaflet and a book of the exhibition, " Japan 1945 -- Images from the Trunk : War, Peace and Buddhism ". The Pope’s instruction on New Year 's Day 2018 may be related to the leaflet and the book.

Nowadays, Power and influence of this photo is attracting attention again.

" Japan 1945 -- Images from the Trunk : War, Peace and Buddhism " will be held.

We would like to stand and think of something in front of the boy’s photo while pursuing Mr. O'Donnell's transition.

Then, we hope that you feel Buddhist spiritual desire for peace beyond the difference of religion.

-Joe O’Donnell-

 

Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA in May 1922. After graduating from Johnstown High School in Pennsylvania in June 1941, he worked as a darkroom officer at Johnstown Daily Tribune Company and he am applied to the United States Marine Corps in December of that year.

As a military camera operator from February 1942, he studied development techniques at the Massachusetts Esche University in Boston and received training in aerial photography domestically in Pensacola, Florida and so on.

In September 1945, as an occupation army photographer he was given the task of recording the damage situation of Japanese cities such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki and others due to air raids and landed in Japan shortly after the war.

After that, he photographed various parts of Japan (Hiroshima, Nagasaki etc.) that became scorched for 7 months to make military record pictures.

In March 1946, he returned home and was discharged. He took the film that I took with my private camera to his house and put the tragic miserable pictures that he was not able to see into the trunk.

The photo exhibition planned at the Smithsonian museum was held in the summer of 1995. However, exhibitions except Enola Gay’s were forced to cease due to voices of domestic soldiers in the United States, tone of the media, etc.

On August 9, 2007, the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, he passed away at the age of 86 at Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The same photo exhibition was held in August the same year at World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in Nagasaki. A photograph of "a boy standing on cremation pyre" was donated to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.

“Japan 1945 -- Images from the Trunk : War, Peace and Buddhism”

Hours Open     [ Weekdays ]        From 10.00 am to 4.00 pm

[ weekends. Holidays ] From 10.00 am to 5.00 pm

Days closed    Monday, and Days of Exhibit change.

Entrance Fee   Free