Hiroshima Scroll, by Shuka Takahashi, 1945
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- Box 2
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A painted scroll (69"x16") in the form of an illustrated letter, sent to Dr. Hachiya by his friend, artist Shuka Takahashi, five weeks after the bombing of Hiroshima. Marked on gasenshi, Chinese drawing paper that has the elongated form of a kakemono scroll. The image is a metaphorical representation of the moment of the bomb blast: an angry god of wind is releasing air from a huge sack. At the bottom, the city of Hiroshima burns amidst a haze of smoke and fire. Takahashi's picture includes tiny details -- fallen telephone poles, ruined houses, and running figures -- dwarfed by the devestation of the great pikadon (flashboom). Takahashi's text in the scroll's center expresses sadness at the state of the city and relief that his friend is alive.
Description excerpted and abridged from The Physician's Art: Representations of Art and Medicine, by Julie V. Hansen and Suzanne Porter (Durham, 1999).
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