Global tour of the Marukis’ visual account of A-bomb tragedies
In the early 1950s, Iri Maruki (1901–1995), born and raised in Hiroshima, and Toshi Maruki (1912–2000), born and raised in Hokkaido, toured around not only Japan, but also abroad, to hold art exhibitions of The Hiroshima Panels, a visual testament to the A-bomb experience.
The exhibitions were held in European countries, including those in the Communist bloc, as well as China, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, from 1954 to 1964. In addition, the Marukis’ exhibition toured the cities in the United States in 1970 and 1971. Even after the 1970s, international exhibitions continued.
The LinguaHiroshima database contains publication information for 25 catalogs on the Marukis’ exhibitions. These catalogs are in 11 different languages, which provides an important clue to tracing the route of their educational exhibition abroad. Further examination of the catalogs from the LinguaHiroshima database will provide more details about the valuable visual account of the A-bomb tragedies that the Marukis’ exhibition revealed to the world.
Database—Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A Multilingual Bibliography
https://www.linguahiroshima.com/
Dower, John W., John Junkerman. The Hiroshima Murals: The Art of Iri Maruki and Toshi Maruki. Tokyo, Kodansha International, 1985.