In cooperation with Hiroshima Municipal Motomachi Senior High School Creative Expression Course, this Foundation organizes the creation of A-bomb paintings, in which students work with hibakusha to depict scenes that remain deeply in hibakusha's memories.
　We are pleased to announce the completion of nine paintings that five hibakusha and nine students have been working on since last school year. Since 2007, more than 160 students have created 191 special paintings, which have become a valuable asset to convey the reality of the atomic bombing.
　On July 3, 2023, a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the paintings was held at Motomachi High School. In attendance were five hibakusha, the nine students who created the paintings, and other students in the Creative Expression Course, as well as staffs of this Foundation and Motomachi High School.
　Ms. Junko Yamase, a hibakusha, and third-year student Mitsuki Kimura created a work entitled "A mother holding her baby, blood spurting from her arm, screaming ‘Help!’"
　According to Ms. Yamase, shortly after the bombing, a woman who lived next door and worked at a pharmacy, with a baby in her arms and blood spurting from her arms, went out on the street in front of her house to ask for help. However, no one was able to help her, and everyone in the neighborhood was in a state of panic. Later, Ms. Yamase's brother, who happened to be at home, stopped the bleeding.
　Unable to forget the sight of the woman who kept screaming, Ms. Yamase decided to use it as the subject of the painting. She thanked Ms. Kimura, who painted the picture, saying, "This picture conveys the tragedy of war to future generations."
　Ms. Kimura found it difficult to express the three elements of "a screaming face", "gushing blood", and "holding a baby in her arms". She made her own screaming face many times to develop her image of the scene. She also worked with Ms. Yamase over the phone and by e-mail until three days before the completion of the painting regarding details such as the amount of blood spurting and how it was spurting, as well as the color of the blood. She also said, "I tried to convey to people viewing the painting what it was actually like at the time and to create a work that would resonate in their hearts."
　Ms. Kimura concluded her speech at the completion ceremony by saying, "I hope that through this painting, as many young people as possible will learn about the tragedy of war and be inspired to think about how fortunate we are to have peace, which is something we can never take for granted."
　The A-bomb paintings completed through the sincere efforts of the hibakusha and students will be used in talks by hibakusha to provide a concrete understanding of the A-bomb experience, and the paintings will also be loaned out and image data provided to citizens and the media to continue to help pass on the reality of the atomic bombing to future generations.