On Sunday, July 26, seven students from the Yasuhide Kunimoto Laboratory, who specialize in painting in Department of Fine Arts and Media Sciences at Faculty of Art and Design, donated works created as part of the "Atomic Bomb Survivor Experience Painting Project," in which they interviewed atomic bomb survivors about the scenes and circumstances they experienced at the time and depicted them in paintings, to the Fukuoka City Association of Atomic Bomb Victims at the Fukuoka City Welfare Plaza.
This project began in 2022 when the Fukuoka City Atomic Bomb Victims Association (Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City) requested that we "create paintings that capture the feelings and experiences of atomic bomb survivors that cannot be fully conveyed through words, photographs, or documents." We have already donated 10 paintings to them. This year, seven students who shared this sentiment met with atomic bomb survivors in January 2026 to hear their stories and decide on the scenes and directions to depict. After confirming the composition and color scheme of the paintings, they completed three paintings (53cm x 45.5cm).
The atomic bomb survivor, who had only seen the preliminary sketch in March, saw the completed work for the first time and, with a choked voice, said, "I'm glad that my memories of that time have been expressed in this artwork. Just like in this painting, there were sacrifices made within the current world peace."
The students who created the paintings reflected on their activities, saying, "When we actually listened to the stories, it was completely different from what we had initially imagined about the time of the bombing. We would be happy if many people could see this painting and if it could become a tool for passing on history," and "Through this experience, we directly felt the sorrow of the atomic bomb (hibaku).We want to convey the feelings of the atomic bomb survivors to future generations through our artwork."
The donated artwork will be displayed at the "81st Anniversary of the Atomic Bomb Exhibition," which will be held at the Fukuoka Citizens' Welfare Plaza from August 6th (Thursday), and will also be used as explanatory material during testimony activities. Please stop by.
[Department of Fine Arts and Media Sciences]
