Muse No.27: Japanese Citizens Network of Museums for Peace
Newsletter: October 2012
The Editorial Office: Daisuke Miyahara at Peace Aichi
2-820 Yomogidai, Meitoku, Nagoya City, Aichi 465-0091
Tel/Fax: 052-602-4222

http://www.peace-aichi.com/

Editor: Kazuyo Yamane, Masahiko Yamabe, Ikuro Anzai
Illustrator: Erico Tasaki
Translators: Yoshiko Tanigawa, Dale Angles, Terumi Imai, Hisako Masuda,
Tanya S. Maus, Atsuko Takeda, Yuriko Taki & Kazuyo Yamane

Shiga Peace Museum: Shiga
Handing Down Materials and Memories
Our museum offers opportunities to share feelings
and wishes of people who experienced the war
through their stories and materials of the time. We
also offer various study programs to deepen
yearnings for peace and help people find what
they can do for peace. We hope to involve a wide
range of people in our activities, build ties witheach other, and together take further actions forpeace today and in the future.
erico

Shiga Peace Museum:
431 Shimonakano-cho, Higashi-Omi City, Shiga,
527-0157, Japan
Tel:0749-46-0300 Fax:0749-46-0350
E-mail: heiwa@pref.shiga.lg.jp

Applications for the Tanzan Ishibashi Peace Prize
have closed at the end of September. This prize
was established in an attempt to raise public
interest, especially of young people, in Tanzan
Ishibashi and world peace. Students and ordinary
citizens nationwide were invited to submit papers.
The selection process is now underway with anovelist Magoroku Ide as the chairperson of theselection committee. The winner will beannounced in December.
The exhibition “The 15 Years’ War Reflected inMaterials of the Time” has closed at the end of
August, and the exhibition “Tanzan Ishibashi andthe 40th Anniversary of the Normalization ofJapan-China Diplomatic Relations” is now being
held. Japan and China has been bolstering theirties while facing a host of challenges. On the 40th
anniversary of diplomatic normalization, theexhibition offers an opportunity to think backactivities and historic role of Tanzan Ishibashi,
who was committed to the restoration of
diplomatic ties between the two countries. His
achievements include the signing of a joint
declaration with Zhou Enlai. The exhibition will
be held until the end of April next year.

“Yamanashi Peace Harbor” Commemorates its
5th Anniversary
Tamotsu Asakawa, Yamanashi Peace Museum
It has been five years since the Yamanashi Peace
Museum (Tanzan Ishibashi Memorial Museum)
was opened in Kofu City in May 2007,
accommodating people’s wishes to hand down thememories of the war. During these years, we held
10 special exhibitions along with permanent
exhibitions concerning the war experiences in
Kofu and philosophy of a journalist and politician
Tanzan Ishibashi. These exhibitions attracted morethan 8,200 visitors in total. We also held morethan 60 lectures and symposiums which werecovered by the media widely.
Commemorating its 5th anniversary, a special
lecture by an author and major business leader
Takashi Tsujii was given on 24 June.
In the lecture titled “The Role of Japan Today,”
Mr. Tsujii maintained that Japan should
demonstrate to the world its people-centered
reconstruction in the wake of the Great East Japan
Earthquake, as well as display the uniqueness of
its Constitution. The event was highly successful
attracting 150 audiences. Also, thecommemorative booklet “History of Kofu
Regiment and Memories of Battlefields” is now
available (JPY 300).

Daigo Fukuryu M aru (Lucky Dragon)
Exhibition Hall: Daigo Fukuryu Maru Peace
Association
Kazuya Yasuda
Following the end of World War II, the U.S.
conducted numerous nuclear-weapons tests at

1

Bikini Atollin the Marshall Islands. The inhabitants ofRongelap Atoll, who had been exposed toradiation in the Castle Bravo test on March 1,
1954, are returning home for the first time since
they were forced to abandon the islands in 1985.
The U.S. has carried out the decontamination
operations on the main island of Rongelap since
the latter half of the 1990s, has built about 50
houses, and now recommends the islanders toreturn declaring the area clean and safe. Although
the recommendation is not mandatory, the U.S.
warns that further compensation will beterminated if the islanders choose not to return.
The exhibition “A Long Way Home: The MarshallIslands Now” will be held from 2 October 2012 to
24 March 2013. The exhibition will trace thepaths of the inhabitants of Rongelap Atoll who
were deprived of their health, land, and lives by
the man-made nuclear disaster, as well as present
the voices and expressions of the islanders who
are now forced to make their choices 60 years
after the commencement of the nuclear tests.

Kyoto Museum for World Peace in April, 2012.
We celebrated the 20th anniversary on May 19th.
A commemorated book called The History of
Kyoto Museum for World Peace: Past, Present
and Future was published then. We are planningto hold an academic symposium for peace on
November 30th as well as students’ peace forum.
We are also making a plan of our peace museum
for the future. I would like to introduce someprojects and exhibitions here as follows:
As for special exhibitions, we held one called“Radiation and Human Future” from May 15 toJuly 27. Professor Ikuro Anzai gave a lecture on
radiation literacy on July 10 and Mr. Naomi
Toyota, a photo journalist, gave a lecture on
contaminated areas with radiation from Iraq to
Fukushima.
As for a mini-exhibition, students made one on
their volunteer work for victims of the big
earthquake from April 20 to May 20. There wasalso an exhibition on their works for peace called
Happy Factory which is introduced in other article.
There was also a picture story for children
before World War II from July 21 to August 26.
A lecture is given to citizens for free on Saturday.
Mr. Yutaka Honjou of Ritumeikan Uji highschool gave a lecture on peace education.
Professor Anzai gave a lecture on the concept ofpeace and peace education: the 20-year history of
Kyoto Museum for World Peace. There was also
the 32nd war exhibition for peace from July 31 toAugust 6 which was held by joint efforts ofcitizens organizations.
On 21 September 2012 (International Day of
Peace), the director and the honorary director of
our museum jointly announced a statement about
the recent Sino-Japanese difficulty triggered by
the disputes over the Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands
as introduced below.

Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace(wam)
Eriko Ikeda, President
The 10th special exhibition titled “The Military
Never Protects Women - The Japanese Military
Comfort Woman Stations in Okinawa and Sexual
Violence by the U.S. Army” was started from
June 23 in Tokyo and Okinawa for celebrating the40th anniversary since the return of Okinawa toJapan. The exhibition explores the history of
Okinawa and reality of the military comfort
woman station from women’s view points, andreveals continued sexual violence by the U.S.
soldiers and struggle of women in Okinawa. There
were huge reactions from the visitors, since the
comfort women issue has been untouched fornearly a half-century, and this was the first time
to show the survey results accumulated since the1990s with the display of relevant materials.

Toward the Renewal of Cordial Sino-Japanese
Relations─ The view of the Kyoto Museum for World Peaceon recent bilateral tensions ─As widely reported in the media, triggered bydisputes over the so-called Senkaku or Diaoyu
islands, the friendship between Japan and China isunder serious threat.
Territorial issues must be resolved with the utmost
care. Rationality must prevail in the steps taken,
which must be based on the detailed historical factsof the relationship between China and Japan. If
either country takes abrupt unilateral political action
without respecting the sincere and steady efforts tobuild consensus based on processes appropriate andacceptable to both nations, the confrontation may
further intensify. This will only serve to make theparties to the conflict more aggressive, with apropensity to violence that will make the dispute
harder to resolve.
Since the restoration of diplomatic relations between
Japan and China 40 years ago, many
non-governmental groups have made strenuous
efforts to preserve and strengthen this rapprochement.
As globalization progresses, solidarity beyond

There were also a large number of visitors to“The Exhibition of Okinawa” held at the wam inTokyo. This is not only because people areinterested in the hot topics such as the comfort
women issue between Korea and Japan and thedeployment of Osprey, the U.S. military's aircraft,to Okinawa, but also because people were more
impressed by a large number of the comfort
woman station existed in Japan and the repeatedtragedy of sexual assault by the U.S. soldiers in
Okinawa. The relevant seminar and video
presentation will be held in this autumn.
Kyoto Museum for World Peace: Kyoto
Maki Torii: Chief of the Educational &Cultural
SectionProfessor Monte Cassim became the 4th director of2

titled “Journey to Kanto”, the place Makimura
read in his poem, will be held from September 1
to 7.

borders has also been established in the fields of
economic and cultural relations as well as academic
exchange. Ritsumeikan University has beenpromoting a number of study abroad projects such as
the “Campus Asia Program” and creating new
research exchange paradigms between the twocountries. Now is the time to act wisely if a gravesituation, that can damage the many friendly
relations fostered by the work of countless citizens inboth China and Japan, is to be avoided.
Based on its fundamental aim of a commitment to“face the past in good faith”, the Kyoto Museum forWorld Peace at Ritsumeikan University displays
exhibits that reflect on Japan’s war responsibility
during the so-called “Fifteen Year War” and has
built a warm, enduring relationship with the“Nanjing Massacre Museum” in Nanjing, China. In
order to promote peace and friendship in Asia, thegovernment and people of Japan must honestly face
the historical fact of the nation’s past aggression andthe toll of Japanese militarism, and work to chart a
fresh course of mutual understanding with allaffected lands and their peoples.
In conclusion, we at the Kyoto Museum for World
Peace remain seriously concerned by the sudden
deterioration in Sino-Japanese relations triggered by
the current territorial dispute. We fervently hope thatthe bilateral dialogue to mitigate the confrontation
will be tenaciously pursued with a focus on building
international peace. We further hope that thisconversation will help inaugurate a New Asia, where
future generations can foster active exchanges
throughout the region in an atmosphere of peace,friendship and profound mutual respect.
Monte Cassim, Director, and Ikuro Anzai, Director
Emeritus, Kyoto Museum for World Peace,
Ritsumeikan University

Oka Masaharu Memorial
MuseumYasutoshi Takazane, President

NagasakiPeace

The major activities in the first half of the year 2012
are as follows.
・ The 64th and 65th edition of “NISHIZAKA
DAYORI” were issued in January and April.
・ Among the series of public lecture on “Theearly modern history of Japan”, the 5th, 6th
and 7th lectures were held from January to
March.
・ The request for retracting the inappropriate
comment on the Nanking Massacre made by
Takashi Kawamura, the mayor of Nagoya city,
was submitted in March.
・ The museum received NPO subsidy from theKyusyu Labor Bank in April.
・ Five participants were selected from themembers for the program of visiting Nanjing,
China.
http://www.d3.dion.ne.jp/~okakinen/
NPO Chukiren Peace Memorial
Nobuo Serizawa, Secretariat and President
At the end of March, Head of Fushun War Criminals
Management Centre in China came to Japan to visit
the memorial, and meet and talk with the repatriatesfrom China.
Chukiren Study Group was established in China andthe symposium will be held in this autumn. In Japan,
also, Chukiren Study Group was set up as an internalorganization of the memorial with the participationof scholars and members of the memorial. The
council was held on quarterly basis along with thelectures given by external experts.

Grass Roots House Peace Museum: Kochi
Kana Nakauchi, Secretariat
The exhibition titled “Peace Wave 2012 in Kochi”
is currently held. Other events held this year
include “Peace Action, Gathering for UNICEF” on
June 23, “The 30th Peace Tanabata Festival” from
July 2 to 31, “The 34th Exhibition to Consider
War and Peace” from July 3 to 8, and otherfestivals on film, music, and arts for peace.

Dr. Petra of Free University of Berlin in Germany
came to Japan to visit the museum for his study on
the Chukiren. The outcomes of the study publishedin German were donated to the memorial.

Among the three major themes for the exhibitionof the museum, “wrongdoing”, “damage” and“protest”, the exhibition of Ko Makimura isrepresenting the theme “protest”. He was ananti-war poet in Kochi who devoted his life to thelabor campaigns and protested against theinvasion of Japan to China. He was arrested anddied after the torture by the police at the age of
26.

There are a number of items donated by the war
victims’ family members, which are currently under
the preparation work for display. The memorial
supports NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) by
providing materials from our collections.
※ “Chukiren” is a network of repatriates from China

Himeyuri Peace Memorial Museum
Akiko Nakada (Curator)

This year marks the 100th anniversary since Ko
Makimura was born. The 13th edition of Grass
Roots House booklet titled “To meet Ko
Makimura...” was published in May and thecelebration party was held in June. The exhibition

On the June 23 memorial day, we showed for the
first time the anime, “Himeyuri,” which had been3Grandchildren–. From July 6th to 10th, in addition
to the members of the Sendai War Damage,
Reconstruction and Peace Conveyance Committee,
the residents of Sendai who experienced war also
told their stories. On the 7th and the 8th, events
such as “The Music of the Reposed Souls” Vol.
16, the 15th “Twinkling Star Concert” along with astorytelling entitled “Women in Showa Period
War History according to Songs and Stories”
sponsored by the Executive Committee and Peace
Osaka were held.
Tel:022-263-6931 Fax:022-262-5465
http://www.stks.city.sendai.jp/hito/WebPages/sisetu/sensai/index.html

in progress for some time. We had used various
methods to teach about the experiences of theBattle of Okinawa at the museum before, but we
had difficulty reaching children for many years.
We wanted to produce something that could reachthe children. During summer vacation (8/1-15) we
showed the anime in concert with a talk about thewartime experiences of the original Himeyuri
students, and not only did the children respond,
but the adults who also attended were also able tomore deeply understand these experiences. In
addition, on June 23, the collection, “The
Himeyuri Students who survived — from Camp toHome,” was published. This collection describes
the experiences of those Himeyuri students who
survived the Battle of Okinawa and who weretaken in by the American army and held briefly
until they could return to their families. It was
unimaginable for those Himeyuri students who
survived the Battle of Okinawa to be taken in by
the American military. The memoirs of the young
women who survived reveal the difficulties theyencountered and the mental scars they carried withthem.

Sendai City Museum of History and Folkore
We opened our exhibit, “War and the Common
People’s Living,” on July 21st, to be open until
September 17. It focuses on Sendai as the military
capital before the war, and is based on all of thewars from the late 19th century to the end ofWorld War. It also includes exhibits on theJapanese conscription system and American
Military Occupation. It’s an exhibit that considers
the wars that occurred in Senzai and how theyaffected the lives of the civilians.
Other related events include: 1. Let’s Read
Wartime Materials (7/28, 9/8, 9/9); 2. The lecture
for children, storybook reading of “The Story of
the Blue-Eyed Doll” (7/22); 3. Walking among the
Tsujigaoka War Ruins (8/14, 8/15); 4. Lecture on
The Wartime Regime’s Progress into NortheasternJapan Policy.
Tel:022-295-3956 Fax ： 022-257-6401
http://www.city.sendai.jp/kyouiku/rekimin/

Citizens’ Network News

Fukushima Museum: Aizuwakamatsu CityAs the “Point Exhibit,” an exhibit regarding“Balloon Bombs” was displayed between
7/14-8/31. The main contents of the exhibit was
the lower half of a balloon bomb made fromwashi(Japanese paper). The balloon was provided
by an individual whose father returned to his
worksite, the Kureha Chemical Company, after
demobilization and helped dispose of the balloons.
According to the 50-year history of the Kureha
Company, the Sagami Naval Arsenal Factory,
within the Kureha Chemical Factory, produced
small balloons made of glued washi that were
sprayed with polyvinyl alcohol. This half of theballoon is thought to be part of one of the small
balloon types that were eventually discontinued by
the navy. In addition, we also displayed materials
related to the army’s use of balloon bombs. The
army’s balloon bombs were sent up from Iwaki
City, Nokoso ward. These balloons contained
cloth bags filled with sand in order to adjust thealtitude. The balloon that is exhibited wasintended to be disposed of, and it seems that thedonor’s father used it as a tool bag. The balloon
bomb in the exhibit was initially in the collectionof a private individuals, but because of theindividual’s donation it has now become part of

Sendai City Memorial on War Damage andRecoveryThe 2012 War Reconstruction Exhibit was opened
from July 6 to 16. This exhibit is open every year,
and demonstrates the damage done during the
Sendai City air-raids that occurred on and around
July 10. This year, in addition to photographs of
the air-raids damage and reconstruction, theexhibit also had on display everyday items fromwar life and other real-life items. In particular,
two valuable items, a picture of pre-war Sendai
from the sky, and a map of the American base
“CAMP SENDAI” were also on display.
Additionally, Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University
Curator’s Course Project is created from the pointof view of current women students and looks at
the life of the students during the times of war.
As part of the course, the students worked hard toadvance the project to an exhibit. Furthermore, theSendai City Air Raid Victim Name Board
Committee donated a plaque that contains the fullnames of many victims of war, which was also on
display.
On June 30th, we held a performance of The
Sendai Air Raids –Messages to our4the museum’s exhibit and collection.
Tel ： 0242-28-6000 Fax ： 0242-28-5986
http://www.general-museum.fks.ed.jp/

Tokyo Air Raid Exhibit:Sumida Ward
With the tragic historical circumstances engravedin our hearts, and looking to the future with thehopes that such a tragedy may never occur again,
the City of Tokyo created an exhibit on the firstfloor of the Edo-Tokyo Museum from March 7-11
that included artifacts from individuals who losttheir lives in the aerial bombings, photographs ofTokyo during and after the aerial bombings, andother images and drawings that attest to theimpact of the aerial bombings. Other exhibits
were also displayed on the second floor.

Peace Museum of Saitama : HigashimatsuyamaCity
For the 2011 Theme Exhibit III, we held theexhibit “UNESCO and World Peace andHappiness” from 2/25-5/13. This is the 5th theme
exhibit in which we introduce the various
international contributions to peace made by Japanfollowing the war. In the exhibit we focus on theactivities of the special UN agency, UNESCO
within Japan, our prefecture, and at the grass roots
level. The exhibit focused on three areas: “Whatis UNESCO?”; “UNESCO in Japan,” and“UNESCO in Saitama.” From March 17 to May
13, 2012 we held the exhibit from our collections,“Sugoroku(a Japanese backgammon): Children
Dream of the Future.” As children played
Sugoroku, they gained an increased understandingof how they wanted to imagine the future. As thewar intensified, Sugoroku also became a way toreflect upon the world. After the war, Sugoroku
gradually began to fade away. For this exhibit, wehave drawn from our collections to focus on
Sugoroku from Taisho to wartime Showa to reveal
the changing world and how children perceived it.
We also created a catalog for the exhibit items.
From 7/14-9/2/12, we held the exhibit, “A YoungGirl’s View of War During Summer 1945.” For
this exhibit, we created a virtual young girl fromthe archival materials in our collection andshowed how the war must have looked from achild’s perspective. Along with the exhibit, on
August 12, we also invited individuals who
experienced the war to speak and reflect upon war
and peace, and Mieko Uchiyama gave a talkentitled, “Children During War.”
Tel:0493-35-4111 Fax ： 0493-35-4112
http://homepage3.nifty.com/saitamapeacemuseum/

Tokyo Reconstruction Memorial Hall:Sumida
Ward
The Tokyo Municipal Memorial Association helda spring Buddhist memorial service on March 10
to remember those who were killed during theaerial bombings of Tokyo and the Great Kanto
Earthquake in the Yokoami Park Tokyo Memorial
Hall. In addition to this Buddhist service, aspecial “Panel of Wartime Photographs” by
Ishikawa Koyo was created on the second floor of
the Reconstruction Memorial Museum fromFebruary 28 to March 18 so that the tragedy of
war may cease and the preciousness of peace be
preserved.
Tel:03-3622-1208
http://www.tokyoireikyoukai.or.jp/kinenkan.html
The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War
Damage:Koto Ward
In regard to the photographs taken by the Toho
Company, which were donated to the Center in
2011, we prioritized those related to aerial
bombings and during 2011 we researched their
historical significance and clarified their historicalsignificance within the body of the Toho
Company materials. We also realized that suchphotographs are vital records of the air raids inregard to the damages inflicted upon the Ebara
residence, the Takaido Fourth National School, theFutaba Women’s High School, Jochi University,
Keio University, and Sengakuji. In addition, thesephotographs document the mobilization of juniorhigh and university students to clean up the burnt
remains, efforts to reconstruct roads, the creationof barracks, barbers, florists, and funerals amidst
the burnt ruins, the seeing off of soldiers fromfactories in ruins, as well as the documentation ofdamages within China and Hong Kong. Moreover,such photographs provide new evidence that theUnited States targeted, without discrimination,
non-military facilities from the very beginning of
the air raids. In addition to documenting the air
raids, these images were also intended to be usedas propaganda outside of Japan. Finally, it has
been thought that Toho’s photographs were only
mass produced for propaganda purposes or thatthey were falsified; however, many of these newimages are of high quality, and we were able toverify that they were created by the Toho
photographic division.

Warabi Municipal Museum: Saitama
The 23rd Peace Memorial Exhibit, “Let’s NeverForget: Life During and After War,” was heldfrom July 28 to September 30. So that we may
never have to experience the tragedy of war again,
we wanted to communicate the experiences andmemories of war and consider the preciousness ofpeace through photographs of Warabi during andafter the war. In the exhibit, we included the
beginning of the 15-year war, national
mobilization, life under wartime policies, thedamages to Warabi from the aerial bombings,
violence in the aftermath of war, the draft, the airforce, relics from aerial bombings, as well as
relics and documents from the immediate
aftermath of war. We also created flyers and acatalogue.
Tel:048-432-2477
http://www.city.warabi.saitama.jp/hp/menu0000002
00/hpg000000120.htm
5After reorganizing and analyzing our museum’s
collections of the Japan Photo Corporation
National Defense photographs and National
Defense photographs published in newspapers,
these images also confirmed that validity of such
images. We have created a special exhibit in orderto report these results. In addition, as part of theexhibit we also published the report, “TheIndiscriminate Air Raids of the United States
Military,” as a catalogue on February 18, 2012. In
the overview of the special exhibit, not only did
we include a list of the Toho air raid photographs
and Japan Photo Corporation National Defense
photographs, but we also included Inoue Yuko’s,“The History of the Toho Company and theHistorical Value of its Records;” Yamabe
Masahiko’s “The Historical Significance of the
Toho Company air raid photographs and the
National Defense Documentary Photographs;”
Koyama Ryo’s, “Air Raid Damage Photographs
Taken by the Toho Company Photographic
Division that were Donated to The Center of theTokyo Raids and War Damage” and Ishibashi
Seishi’s “About the Nihon Photo Corporation
National Defense Photographs.” This special
exhibit ran from February 18 to April 8 as the 10th
Annual Special Exhibit, “The Indiscriminate Air
Raids of the American Military as Recorded by
the Toho Company.” At the 2/18 opening lecture,
Inoue Yuko, Yamabe Masahiko, and Koyama Ryo
each gave lectures. Yamabe’s “The HistoricalSignificance of the Toho Company air raid
photographs and the National Defense
Documentary Photographs” was also included in
the No. 15-4 (March 2012) issue of News Letterof the Institute of Politics and Economy which
introduced the findings of the donated Toho
Company photographs. The Toho Company air
raid photographs were also included in the NHK
special report, “The Unpublished Photographs of
the Tokyo Air Raid” and were published inAugust 8, 2012 by Shinchosh with Yamabe as theauthor. In addition, on August 24, 2012, a DVDof the March 18, 2012 NHK special, “The 583
Unpublished Photographs of the Tokyo Air Raid”
was produced with an explanation by Yamabe.
Issue 98 (June 2012) of the Study on Politics andEconomy also included Yamabe’s “‘Museums for
Peace’ & ‘War Exhibitions for Peace’ in NHK
Archives” This issue presents Yamabe’s findings
regarding the NHK archive trial research,“Historical Research into the Reporting andAwareness of the Air Raids.” On March 10, the“10th Anniversary of the Air Raid Center’s Telling
the Story of the Tokyo Air Raids” was held: Prof.
Ikuro Anzai gave a lecture, Ms Inaba Kikuko
described her experience of the air raid, and afilm was shown that documented 10-year historyof the Air Raid Center. On March 24, 2012, inorder to commemorate the tenth anniversary of theCenter, the play, “Shinde mo buresto wo,” washeld at the Hikifune Cultural Center. From
8/15-19, the event, “Let’s Come, See, and Listen
about the Tokyo Air Raids: For Parents andChildren,” was held and stories and kamishibai

related to the experiences of air raid victims andchildren sent to the countryside were read.
Tel ： 03-5857-5631 Fax ： 03-5683-3326
http://www.tokyo-sensai.net/
Korai Museum: Tokyo,Shinjuku Ward
A special exhibition on Japan’s colonization of
Korea and Koreans in Japan was held from April
4 to August 26. There are about 600,000
Koreans living in Japan. Issues of Korean lifeand rights in Japan were exhibited.
Tel ＆ FAX:03-5272-3510
http://www.40net.jp/~kourai/
Katushika Shibamata Tora-san Museum:Tokyo
An exhibition of “My experience on August 15(when Japan was defeated)” was held from March
3 to 25. Cartoonists and writers who went
through World War II expressed their memory ofAugust 15.
Tel ： 03-3657-3455 Fax ： 03-3657-3418
http://www.katsushika-kanko.com/tora/m/Midori Library: Tokyo,Sumida Ward
An exhibition on air raids and evacuation washeld from March 3 to 25. Photos taken by US
military before the air raids, paintings on the air
raids on Tokyo, an old map, photos of evacuationof children and so forth were exhibited. There
was also an exhibition from March 3 to 25 on
writers such as Katsumoto Saotome who wrote the
air raids on Tokyo. There was a symposium on
the time during Wolrd War II such as Mr. Hiroshi
Kuroki’s talk on the air raids shown in news films.
Tel ： 03-3631-4621 Fax:03-3631-4660
http://www.city.sumida.lg.jp/sisetu_info/library/ann
ai/midori.html
Hibiya Library ＆ Museum: Tokyo,Chiyoda
Ward
An exhibition on the history of recovery in Tokyo
was held from July 17 to September 2. It waspossible to learn the history of towns in Tokyo
such as the recovery from the earthquake and war
damages, the change of townscape in Tokyo
before and after the Olympic in Tokyo. A
pictorial record was published.
Tel:03-3502-3340
http://hibiyal.jp/hibiya/museum.html
Toshima Historical Museum: Tokyo
An exhibition on US air raids on Toshima washeld from April 13 to June 16 from various
viewpoints: the day when Toshima was air raided,
the US materials on the air raids on April 13,
citizens’ record of the air raids and the paintings
on the air raids of Tokyo. A leaflet was produced.
There was an exhibition on Toichiryo Fujimoto,an artist influenced by French paintings, and also
6

on children’s evacuation from July 21 to October
7.
A journal of Life and Culture No. 21 waspublished on March 30 and it includes Tetsuo
Aoki’s article on children’s evacuation during
World War II.
A lecture on peace and war museums was given
by Mr. Masahiko Yamabe on March 4 and 11th.
The participants visited the Center for Tokyo Air
Raids and War Damage and related areas in Kotoward.
Tel:03-3980-2351 Fax ： 03-3980-5271
http://www.city.toshima.lg.jp/bunka/shiryokan/

http://www.city.tachikawa.lg.jp/cms-sypher/www/section/detail.jsp?id=154
Parthenon Tama Historical Museum: TokyoA special history exhibition “Children fromdowntown ― Evacuee schoolchildren in Tama at
the war time” was held from July 13th toNovember 12th in 2012. Temples in Tama area
was used as evacuation shelters for the school
children from downtown Tokyo such as
Shinagawa Yamanaka national school. It displayed
how those children experienced the life withsuffer like homesick, hunger, skin trouble, andfire bombing. Original pictures painted by theevacuees reserved in Shinawaga History Archive.
Tel: 042-375-1414
http://www.parthenon.or.jp/rekishi/

Nakano Historical Museum: Tokyo
An exhibition about “Kikuo Nakajima － theauthor of Hinomaru Hatanosuke － and thechildren lived in Nakano” was held from July 21st
to September 2nd in 2012. A cartoonist Kikuo
Nakajima was a school teacher and sent
newsletters to the children who evacuated to thecountryside. His cartoons, pictures drawn by thechildren as well as the newsletters were displayed.
A talk meeting by Noritaka Ishii who was one ofhis students was also held.
Tel:03-3319-9221 Fax:03-3319-9119
http://www.city.tokyo-nakano.lg.jp/dept/407000/d0
05773.html

Jindai Botanical Garden:Tokyo,Chofu CityA special exhibition “Plants survived disasters –encouraging people and telling the history ofdisasters” was held from July 31st to August 12th.
Lots of plants survived after the catastrophes suchas the Great Kanto Earthquake, Tokyo Air-raid,
A-bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, theGreat Hanshin and Awaji Earthquake and theGreat East Japan Earthquake. They encouraged
people and gave hope to live beyond the agony.
The relationship between people and plants was
focused in the exhibition.
Tel:0424-83-2300
http://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/park/format/index045.
html

Waseda University Archives: Tokyo. Shinjuku
Ward
A special exhibition “Eizo Matusi, a heroic
baseball player of Waseda University died at age
24 in the battle field”, which was postponed due
to Eastern Japan Great Earthquake and was heldfrom March 21st to April 21st in 2012. In the war
time, there was a young student who was atalented and heroic baseball player in Waseda
University. However, he was killed at the battle
field. His last words , his helmet with a bucket
hole, letters sent to his brothers were displayed tocommemorate his short life with glory and torecall the reality of war. A guide book was
published.
Tel:03-5286-1814 Fax:03-5286-1815
http://www.waseda.jp/archives/

Hachioji City Historical Museum: Tokyo
An annual summer exhibition was held from July
6th to August 31st. Its title was “What the
movement of mobilization of the national spirit
was like for the citizens”. To let the visitors
imagine how the government tried to embroil
ordinary citizens in the all-out war, about thirtyreal materials such as propaganda posters andfliers published between 1937 and 1944 weredisplayed. Lecture meetings by the volunteer war
time story tellers were also organized on August
14th, 15th and 16th.
Tel:042-622-8939 Fax:042-627-5919
http://www.city.hachioji.tokyo.jp/shisetsu/28254/02
8261.html

Tachikawa Folk Historical Museum: TokyoA special exhibition “A record about my homeand Tama district during and after the war” washeld from July 10th to October 22nd. This isorganized to commemorate the 20th anniversary of
being a City of Peace Declaration, which
promised never repeat war again according to asevere experience of U.S. air raids. By exhibiting
the war-related materials donated by the citizens,
it aimed to confirm the importance of peace. The
contents were as follows: old Tachikawa city,
soldiers, life during the war time, Tachikawa air
raids and after the war
There is a guidance leaflet with the lists of thereal materials.
Tel:042-525-0860 Fax ： 042-525-1236

The Folk Museum of Higashimurayama: TokyoA special exhibition “Record of Higashimurayama
during the war time” was held from April 28th toJuly 8th. Then mayor’s diary, military-related
documents and so forth were shown to giveholistic picture of the war time history in the city.
A pictorial record of this exhibition was published.
In May and June, lectures by those who
experienced the war time life were also given.
Tel:042-396-3800
http://www.city.higashimurayama.tokyo.jp/tanoshi
mi/rekishi/furusato/index.html
7Fussa Local Material HallCity:TokyoA special exhibition “War Record exhibition for
Peace” was held between July 14th and September
9th. It focused on the history between the
Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War
by displaying daily life utensils and military
letters during the war time.
Tel:042-530-1120
http://www.museum.fussa.tokyo.jp/

Tel: 044-433-0171 Fax: 044-433-0232
http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/25/25heiwa/home/hei
wahome/City of Yokohama Municipal Archives
Reference Room : Kanagawa
The exhibition of “City of Occupation: Departureof Postwar Yokohama” was held at the Yokohama
City Central Library from July 18 to September
17, 2012. After the war, Yokohama used to be amain hub of the U.S. occupation forces which
took over most of the city area destroyed by air
raids. In the midst of the constraint, people in
Yokohama were striving for reconstructing thecity. The coexistence of the city of U.S. forces
and Japanese way of life featured postwar
Yokohama. This year marks the 60th anniversaryof the end of the occupation, and the exhibition
aimed at reminding people again of the postwar
period through photos taken by both theoccupation forces and Japanese people.
On August 18, 2012, a slide show and two
lectures related to the exhibition theme were heldat the library.
Tel: 045-251-3260 Fax: 045-251-7321
http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/somu/org/housei/sisi/

Mitaka Education Center: Tokyo
An exhibition “War remnants dug out from theearth” was held from March 8th to September 28th.
During the war time, since there were war-related
facilities in the area such as an aviation research
center and a military airport, the city was attacked
by dozens of U.S. Grumman bombers in February1945 and four of the Japanese soldiers lost theirlives. They experienced several more air-raids.
The excavation project to dig out the remnants ofthe damaged military facilities has been conducted
and some of the segments of Japanese airplane
and the bombs dropped by the U.S. were
unearthed. They were displayed at the exhibition
along with the photos at that time.
Tel:0422-45-1151 （ ext.： 3315 ）http://www.education.ne.jp/kyoiku-center-mi/Musashimurayama City Museum:Tokyo
The small exhibition, “War material inMusashimurayama", was held from March 10
through 20, 2012. The display of it included
materials on the war and the city’s record ofdamage brought by the air-raid after the GreatTokyo Air Raids, which showed how the city andthe people’s living were at the time. This is thesecond exhibition following the one held in 2011.
Tel: 042-560-6620 Fax: 042-569-2762
http://www.city.musashimurayama.lg.jp/shiryoukan/index.html

NYK Maritime Museum: Yokohama City
The special exhibition, “Japan-US Exchange Shipand Its Era” was held from August 11 to
December 9, 2012. During the Pacific War, allmerchant vessels were controlled by the nation.
Passenger ships were used by the army and navy,
and some of them were remodeled into aircraft
carriers. Nihon Yusen, a maritime company, wasin charge of the operation of exchange ships thatwere used in exchanging people left behind intheir “hostile countries” at ports in neutral
countries in accordance with international law ofwar. When the war began, not only diplomats but
also many people including journalists, expatriate
personnel of companies, scholars and students
were living in the enemy countries. The exchange
ships made historical journey that securely
brought the people back to their countries fromthe severed enemy territories, relying on few
neutral nations. Many Japanese intellectuals who
represented the postwar era were also on board
the ships. Centering on the vessels, the exhibition
introduced the humanitarian assistance thatmaritime companies involved, along with thehistorical background where merchant vessels
were engulfed into the war.
Tel: 045-641-4362 Fax: 045-211-1929
http://www.nyk.com/rekishi/

Kawasaki City Peace Museum: Kanagawa
The exhibition of “Kawasaki Great Air Raids: We
had air raids” was held from March 10 to May 6,
2012. It showed the museum-owned photo panels
and the materials of the Great Air Raids and othermaterials of air raids from the other facilities. The
opening event was provided with children’s
presentations on what they have learned about
peace, talks on war experience and a screening ofan animation movie “Garasu no Usagi”.
The special exhibition “Atomic Bomb and Battleof Okinawa” was held from 1 through 26 August,
2012, commemorating the 30th anniversary of thedeclaration of nuclear-free and peaceful city andthe 20th anniversary of foundation of the museum.
The exhibition focusing on atomic bomb andOkinawa included the photos capturing damage in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, materials and photos ofthe battle of Okinawa and the Star Lily Corps. A
public meeting on peace was held on August 11,
2012, accompanied with the exhibition.

Nagano Prefectural Museum of History:
Chikuma City
The spring exhibition, “Trace of Three of Ohinata:
Manchu Immigration from Nagano” was heldfrom May 26 through July 16, 2012. After the8

Soviet Union participated into the war and Japanwas defeated in August in 1945, Manchu colonists
were forced to escape from there and also many
emigrants from Ohinata village became victims.
The village was the vanguard of emigration to
Manchuria. From Minami-Saku County in Nagano
to Manchuria, and then to Karuizawa Town in
Nagano, the exhibition explored footsteps of thepioneers and provided their sentiments. Exhibition
catalog is available. Relating to the exhibition, alecture was thrown on May 27, 2012 and threewitnesses were given on June 2, 16 and July 7.
A summer exhibition, “War and Propaganda in
Posters in Achi Village” was held from July 28
through September 2, 2012. The exhibition
showed 70 posters back in the time of national
mobilization to examine how they were made, andwhat their roles were toward the war. An
accompanying lecture was given on August 18,
2012. Consecutive 5 lectures related to the two
exhibitions, “War in Showa Era and Nagano” washeld from June 30 to August 25.
Tel: 026-274-2000 Fax: 026-274-3996
http://www.npmh.net/

Homeland and People Beaten by Arms” was heldfrom January 27 through May 27, 2012, where
photos and artifacts such as traditional costumes
were on display.
The exhibition “War from Sky” was held from
June 8 through October 28, 2012. It explored thehistory of air raids through 17 panels made by thePeace Aichi and let the visitors rethink about“What aerial bombings brought about.” Paintings
by witness of Shizuoka Air Raid, mementos of thevictims of the air raids and other new materials
were on display.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/shizuoka-heiwa/
Tel&Fax: 054-271-9004
Musee Fujieda ― Fujieda Municipal Museumof History & Fujieda Municipal Museum of
Literature : Shizuoka
The 103rd exhibition “Wartime Living and Play”
was held from June 9 through July 16, 2012. It
themed on “Prayer for Peace” and was to passdown the experience and memory of war to thenext generation. The displayed Fujieda-relatedmaterials included wartime commodities, soldiers’
belongings and children’s textbooks, toys andKamishibai (picture show cards). A corner forexperiencing the wartime living was also provided.
The museum had not held an exhibition related to
war since 1989 and this time was the 2nd.
On June 24, 2012, a tasting event of wartime
meals was held in front of the museum and two
lectures were given on June 17 and July 1 at astudy room.
From June 9 through July 16, 2012, Museum of
Literature held the exhibition of “Prayer for
Peace: Paintings of Hirano Ryosai,”commemorating the first anniversary of his death.
He was an antiwar artist from Fujieda City.
Tel:054-645-1100 Fax:054-644-8514
http://www.city.fujieda.shizuoka.jp/kyodomuse_ind
ex.htmlMatsumoto City Museum: Nagano
From 4 through 31 August, 2012, “War andPeace” exhibitions were held in four facilities
including the museum. Some events including a
lecture and a concert were given relating to them.
Tel: 0263-32-0133
http://www.matsu-haku.com/maruhaku/index.html
Ibigawa History Folklore Museum: Gifu
The exhibition, “War and Life in Hometown” washeld from July 17 through September 2, 2012. It
was to remind people of war impact on living andpreciousness of peace through displaying ofvarious commodities and letters sent to battle
fields during the Japanese-Russo War and thePacific War.
Tel: 0585-22-5373
http://www1.town.ibigawa.lg.jp/cms/contents_detai
l.php?co=kak&frmId=1300

Sakuragaoka Museum: Aichi,Toyokawa City
The exhibition of “Toyokawa Naval Shipyard”
was held from July 21 through August 31, 2012.
This annual summer exhibition is to let people
know the shadow of the war existed also in
Toyokawa. It included donated materials on the
shipyard, paintings of war experience and display
materials telling the wartime living.
Tel: 0533-85-3775 Fax: 0533-85-3776
http://www.city.toyokawa.lg.jp/enjoy/sakuragaoka
mseum.html

Yanaizu Folklore Museum (Branch of Gifu City
Museum of History): Gifu
“Wartime Posters ― Soldiers and Families” washeld from July 18 through September 2, 2012.
The wartime posters used to encourage people tobecome strong soldiers and to support injured
soldiers and their families. The exhibition focusedon the posters related to soldiers and their families
to think of the people’s feelings brought bylooking at the posters in those days.
Tel: 058 ‐ 270 ‐ 1080
http://www.city.gifu.lg.jp/c/40120461/40120461.ht
ml

Yokkaichi Municipal Museum: Mie
The study support exhibition, “Yokkaichi Air Raidand Wartime Living” was held from June 15
through September 2, 2012. Aiming at supporting
peace studies, the exhibition showed the materials
on the theme, models of a bomb shelter and afirebomb and photo panels to comprehensively
show war experience.

Shizuoka Peace Centre: Shizuoka City
The exhibition “Afghanistan Now ― Glorious
9Tel: 059-355-2700
http://www.city.yokkaichi.mie.jp/museum/teacher Mari Ohashi was held from April 28
through August 28, 2012. Another exhibition of
the record of evacuation from the war was held at
the same time, and it included pupil’s pictures
drawn during the evacuation.
Tel: 075-366-0033 Fax: 075-213-3181
http://kyo-gakurehaku.jp/

Asai Museam of History and Folklore:
Shiga,Nagahama City
The 10th exhibition commemorating the war end,
“Feelings toward Hometown and Family” washeld from July 28 through September 2, 2012. It
included more than 150 materials such as letters
between families and soldiers, draft cards andfarewell note of military nurses.
Tel: 0749-74-0101 Fax: 0749-74-0101
http://www.city.nagahama.shiga.jp/section/azaireki
min/

Nantan City Museum of Culture and Hiyoshi
Historical Museum: Kyoto“The War and Nantan City: Pass on the Message
through the Generations” was held from July 14
to September 17, 2012 in both Nantan City
Museum of Culture and Hiyoshi HistoricalMuseum in Nantan City. This exhibition was
designed to make the visitors look at the war on a
personal level and think about the war, in which
Japan participated, through the items that tell us
about how the things were during the war, hoping
to pass on the message of peace to the later
generations. The exhibit consists of the four
sections: Soldiers leaving for the battlefront, Lifeat the home-front, Life of children, Scars left by
the war. Child evacuation was only displayed in
Hiyoshi Historical Museum. Nantan City Museumof Culture participated in this exhibit for the firsttime, while this was Hiyoshi Historical Museum’s
second exhibition.
On a related note, the workshop “Wartime dietand stories” was held at a thatched house in the
Hiyoshi Historical Museum on August 11, 2012.
Hiyoshi Historical Museum
Tel&Fax: 0771-72-1130
http://www.be.city.nantan.kyoto.jp/hiyoshi-shiryokan/Nantan City Museum of Culture
Tel ： 0771-68-0081 Fax ： 0771-63-2983
http://www.be.city.nantan.kyoto.jp/hakubutukan/

Otsu City Museum of History: Shiga
The 98th small exhibition, “Record of Internmentin Siberia” was held from July 10 through August19, 2012. After the war, many were interned in
Siberia as prisoners of the Soviet military. The
exhibition gave us an opportunity to rethink theimportance of peace through written memories by
ex-detainees from Otsu and the materials that havebeing carefully kept by them.
Tel: 077-521-2100
http://www.rekihaku.otsu.shiga.jp/
Ritto History Museum: Shiga
The special exhibition, “Cornerstone of Peace2012 ― Portrayed War” was held from July 28
through September 2, 2012. In the wake ofdeclaring Ritto a peace city, the museum hasorganized the annual exhibitions themed war andpeace since 1991. The exhibition is to reconsider
peace from the viewpoint of a local area by
reproducing the post-modern war history andwartime living. It focused on the drawings ofsoldiers and scenery of battlefields in Luzon, thePhilippines, by a Japanese-style painter from Ritto,
Nishida Keisen, and his fellow artists. The
descriptions of the displayed works were available
on our website (Japanese only).
Tel: 077-554-2733 Fax: 077-554-2755
http://www2.city.ritto.shiga.jp/hakubutsukan/

Muko City Museum:Kyoto
The exhibition “War in our lives” was held from
August 11 to September 9, 2012. The museum
displays the materials related to the war every
summer. This year, the archived materials such as
military postcards, thousand-stitch belt, andchildren’s magazines published during the war,
which were donated from the citizens, weredisplayed. The aim of the exhibition was to reflect
on the war that affected our lives through thesematerials and think about peace.
Tel:075-931-1182
http://www.city.muko.kyoto.jp/shisetsu/shiryokan.html

Ohyamazaki-cho Museum of History: Kyoto“The 14th Cornerstone for Peace” was held from
7 through 26 August, 2012. It was aimed at giving
an opportunity to talk preciousness of peace,
displaying the materials relating to Oyamazaki
before and during the war with detailed captions,along with newly contributed school textbooks.
Tel: 075-952-6288
http://www.town.oyamazaki.kyoto.jp/soshiki_view.
php?so_cd1=40&so_cd2=135&so_cd3=0&so_cd4=0&so_cd5=0

Peace Osaka (Osaka International Peace
Center) : Osaka City
The exhibition “Peace Osaka Collection” was heldfrom January 15 to July 17, 2012 in the special
exhibition room. Peace Osaka celebrated its 20th
anniversary on September 17, 2011. With the 10
years of its predecessor “Osaka Prefecture Peace
Memorial Hall”, it has many materials donated by

Kyoto Municipal Museum of School History:
Kyoto
The exhibition focusing on an elementary school
10the citizens of Osaka for the last 30 years, which
speak to people’s hearts. This exhibit featured theitems from the tumultuous time in the earlyShowa era to the air raids when the war wasnearing its end, hoping to give visitors a chance
to reflect on the war time and think about themeaning of peace. The paintings resulted from theSiberian labor camp experiences by Keiichi Endoand related documents, paintings by Ken’ichi Ota
when he joined an army, paintings by Hiroshi
Yano of Osaka Air Raids and after the war, andair raid pictures from Mainichi Shimbun weredisplayed.
“Peace Osaka Collection II” is being held from
August 1 to December 25, 2012, in the special
exhibit room on the first floor. The purpose of theexhibit is the same as previous one, and exhibited
were about 80 pictures and paintings, such as air
raid panorama painting and paintings of joining anarmy, and about 70 items that were actually usedduring the war, such as ho-an-ko, a safe thathoused a photograph of the emperor and a copy of
the Imperial Rescript on Education, and a piece ofa One Ton bomb.
Its 20th anniversary event and Osaka Air Raid
peace memorial event “Never forget Osaka Air
Raid” was held on March 4, 2012 in the lecturehall. Hajime Domoto and Hiroshi Yano talked
about their experiences to pass on to the next
generations.
A peace memorial event for the end of the war
memorial day “Examining ‘War’ and ‘Peace’ bylectures and songs” was held on August 4, 2012
in the lecture hall. The first part was a keynote
lecture by Mr. Monte Cassim, director of Kyoto
Museum for World Peace, and the discussion
between Mr. Cassim and Mr. Shohei Mozu, aboard member of this center, on the relationshipbetween Sri Lanka and Japan and its implication
for peace. The second part, moderated by Mr.
Mozu, was songs by Ms. Kako Takahashi andpiano by Ms. Yuko Takahashi.
The second memorial event for the end of the war
memorial day “Never forget Hiroshima:
Testimony and picture-card show “Barefoot Gen”
was held on August 5, 2012 in the lecture hall.
Ms. Shizuko Takagi talked about when she was
exposed to the atomic bomb when she was 17
years old, and Ms. Mikan Aozora performed thepicture-card show.
A war victim memorial peace concert was held on
August 15, 2012 in the lecture hall and in
Toki-no-Niwa garden, middle school students
presented their essays “Pledge for Peace”, andthere was also a candle vigil. People renewed
their vow for peace in Toki-no-niwa on August15.
Tel:06-6947-7208 FAX:06-6943-6080
http://www.peace-osaka.or.jp/

1972, and also efforts for taking Okinawa back by
Okinawans and people in Osaka. The exhibition
showed Okinawa under the US military rule, themovement of taking Okinawa back in Osaka, asecret promise on nuclear weapons between the
United States and Japan and Okinawa after taking
it back to Japan. A lecture on the history of theissue on US military bases in Okinawa was given
by Mr. Toru Aketagawa on May 12, 2012.
Tel:06-6561-5891 FAX:06-6561-5995
http://www.liberty.or.jp/
Sakai City Peace and Human Rights Museum:Osaka
A poster exhibition on the atomic bombing washeld from July 1 to Sep. 29 to commemorate thatthe number of Mayors for Peace became over
5000 in the world. Posters were made to promote
the movement to abolish nuclear weapons and it
was planned to exhibit peace posters on August 6
and 9 in the world. Sakai City also made an
exhibition on such posters so that citizens willlearn the result of the atomic bombing.
Tel:072-270-8150 Fax:072-270-8159
http://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/city/info/_jinken/
Suita Peace Memorial Center : Osaka
An exhibition on war and zoo was held from
August 1 to 15. Also exhibited were the atomic
bombing, US air raids of Suita City and Osaka
City. The Memorial Center was moved to Senri
New Town Plaza on September 3.
Tel:06-6876-7793 Fax:06-6873-7796
http://www.city.suita.osaka.jp/home/soshiki/div-jin
ken/jinken/event/_56229.html
Minoo City Museum of Folk: Osaka
An exhibition on life during World War II washeld from August 3 to September 3. The purpose
is to convey the misery of the war and thepreciousness of peace to future generations. An
emphasis was put on people who worried aboutsoldiers under the threat of US air raids sufferingfrom the shortage of food and clothes. Manymaterials were donated by citizens.
The
exhibition was held hoping that the present peace
will continue to exist and there will be no war in
the world.
Tel:072-723-2235 Fax:072-724-9694
http://www.city.minoh.lg.jp/kyoudo/kikakutenji.ht
mlHimeji Historical Peace Center: Hyogo
An exhibition on women who went through thewar was held from January 7 to March 25. Manymaterials related to the Pacific War were donatedby citizens. People had to suffer from theshortage of basic things. They were forced towork at munitions factories and US air raids andthey had to live on rations. Women were forced
to support the war by making amulets, write

Osaka Human Rights Museum: Osaka City
There was an exhibition on Okinawa that was
returned from the US rule to Japan 40 years ago:
May 15, 1972. Introduced was the history of
Okinawa before and after returning to Japan in11

letters to encourage soldiers and so forth. They
had to survive when there was severe shortage offood. Articles are related to cooking, how tomake good use of old clothes, how to save money
for the country, rations, women working formunitions factories and so forth.
There was also a lecture on US air raids on
Himeji on Feb. 11, 2012.
There was an
exhibition on children and war from April 14 to
July 8. Children’s life at school and home andsome changes of their favorite play were dealt
with.
Ms. Maki Komada, an actress, read a story on US
air raid on Himeji on May 5. Mr. Takamasa
Houken talked about his war experience on June24.
Anti-nuclear exhibition for peace was held from
July 14 to August 31. Himeji City declared itself
nuclear free on March 6 in 1985 and such ananti-nuclear exhibition for peace has been held
every year since then.
There was a peace concert by children’s chorus on
August 12.
Ms. Noriko Nakamoto of the
Association of Atomic Bomb Survivors in Himeji
talked about her experiences on August 15.
Tel:079-291-2525 Fax:079-291-2526
http://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/heiwasiryo/

Records of Nagasaki” was held from August 22 to
26. Nara City declared itself nuclear free in
December, 1985 and they have had various peace
projects every year since then.
Tel:0742-30-1510 Fax:0742-35-7160
http://www.museum.city.nara.nara.jp/
Wakayama Castle Tower: Wakayama City
There was an exhibition on Wakayama Castle
before and after US air raids from July 1 to Sep.
2. Wakayama Castle was designated as nationaltreasure in 1935, but it was burnt down by US air
raids on July 9, 1945. It was reconstructed in
1958. Not only photos of Wakayama Castle but
also burnt tiles were exhibited.
Tel:073-422-8979
http://www.city.wakayama.wakayama.jp/menu_1/g
yousei/wakayama_siro/osiro/osiro.html
Wakayama City Museum: Wakayama
There was an exhibition on Wakayama during
World War II from August 7 to September 30.
We should not forget that we fought with many
countries during World War II. There are lessons
to learn so that we will never have such misery of
war in the future. There was an exhibition suchas training against air raids, children books and soforth. US air raids on Wakayama and educational
materials during the war were also exhibited.
Tel:073-423-0003 Fax:073-432-9040
http://www.wakayama-city-museum.jp/

Nara Prefectural Library and Information
Center: Nara City
There was an exhibition on “the Red Cross: theHistory and Development” at the War Experience
Library from January 4 to March 22. There are
precious records by nurses who worked during the
war between Japan and China and the Pacific War.
The history of the Red Cross in the world andJapan was introduced. In Japan there was Seinan
war in 1877 and it led to the birth of Japan Red
Cross.
Nurses’ personal accounts were exhibited from
April 1 to June 28. The second exhibition washeld from June 30 to Sep. 27. A memorandum in
Singapore and so forth were shown.
Tel: 0742-34-2111 Fax: 0742-34-2777
http://www.library.pref.nara.jp/sentai/kikaku.html

Nichinan Town Art Museum: Tottori
There was an exhibition on cartoonists’ record of
war from July 21 to August 26. 94 cartoonists’
124 cartoons were exhibited to show the misery of
war and the change after August 15 when the war
was ended.
Tel:0859-77-1113 Fax:0859-77-1115
http://culture.town.nichinan.tottori.jp/bijyutukan/bij
yutukan.top.html.htm
Okayama City Virtual Museum: Okayama
The 35th exhibition on US air raids on Okayama
was held from June 15 to July 16. Over 1700
people were killed by the air raids and about 63%
of houses were burnt down. Such an exhibition
started in 1978 and materials such as melted glass,photos and so forth were exhibited.
There was also a lecture by a survivor of the US
air raid. There was also a peace concert on June16.
Tel:086-898-3000 Fax:086-898-3003
http://www.city.okayama.jp/okayama-city-museum/index.html

Suiheisha Museum: Nara
There was an exhibition on the movement of
Suiheisha and the 90-year history to liberate theburaku from May 2 to August 31. The buraku
people were discriminated against and Suiheisha,an organization to liberate them was founded in
1922 in Kyoto. The present situation of thediscrimination against the buraku, their struggle
against the discrimination, the history of the
movement against discrimination in the world was
also shown.
Tel:0745-62-5588 Fax:0745-64-2288
http://www1.mahoroba.ne.jp/~suihei/

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum:
Hiroshima
There was a photo exhibition on effects of theatomic bomb from February 3 to July 9. It is

Nara City Museum of Art: Nara
An exhibition of “The Atomic Bomb and War:12

estimated that about 140,000 people were killedby the end of 1945. What happened to such
victims? 108 photos, 43 materials and 2 films
were exhibited.
There was also an exhibition on reports on theatomic bombing from March 1 to 30. It was the
only official report made by the Japanese
government.
An exhibition on Motomachi town has been heldfrom July 13 to December 12.
Tel:082-241-4004 Fax:082-542-7941
http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/

food was like during the war.
Tel ＆ Fax ： 0877-33-3343
http://tkamada.web.fc2.com/shiryokan/kikaku/inde
xkikaku.htm
Iizuka City Historical Material Museum:
Fukuoka
An exhibition on life during World War II washeld from August 2 to 29. Materials used during
the war were exhibited so that visitors would be
able to think of the misery of the war and theimportance of peace. People’s life and soldiers’
life was introduced.
Tel ＆ Fax ： 0948-25-2930
http://www.city.iizuka.lg.jp/rekishi/index.htm

Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall:
Hiroshima
There has been an exhibition on memory thatshould not be forgotten from Jan. 2 to Dec. 28.
An emphasis was put on family and it is possible
to imagine what it was like to lose precious
family through records by atomic bomb survivors’
record. Many people regret that they could notsave family members because of fire after theatomic bombing.
Tel:082-543-6271 Fax:082-543-6273
http://www.hiro-tsuitokinenkan.go.jp/

Miike Playing Card Memorial Museum:
Fukuoka,Omuta City
There was an exhibition on life during World War
II from July 3 to Sep. 23. Because of theshortage of materials during the war, people’s life
was not easy because they had to live on rations.
This was a good chance to think of peace.
Tel ＆ Fax ： 0944-53-8780
http://三池カルタ・歴史.com/

Human Rights and Peace Museum Fukuyama
City : Hiroshima
There was an exhibition on Hiroshima andNagasaki from August 1 to 31. An emphasis was
put not only the destruction of life but also
communities and culture.
Tel:084-924-6789
http://www.city.fukuyama.hiroshima.jp/jinkenheiw
ashiryoukan/

Fukuoka City Museum: Fukuoka
An exhibition on life during World War II washeld from June 5 to August 12. There was US
air raids in Fukuoka and materials on the war time
were exhibited with an emphasis on soldiers’
letters to home as well as letters written bychildren to soldiers.
Tel ： 092-845-5011 Fax:092-845-5019
http://museum.city.fukuoka.jp/

Tokushima Prefectural Museum: Tokushima
City
An exhibition on war was held from July 10 to
October 8.
An emphasis was put on the
Russo-Japanese War and the Asia Pacific War sothat visitors would be able to think the horror of
war and the preciousness of peace.
Tel: 088-668-3636 Fax: 088-668-7197
http://www.museum.tokushima-ec.ed.jp

Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum: Fukuoka
There used be a big military city in Chikuzencho
in the past. However, the air field was destroyed
by US air raids in March, 1945 and many people
were killed. The exhibition was made so that
visitors would learn lessons from the past andconvey the preciousness of peace.
Tachiarai Peace Memorial: 417-3 Chikuzencho,
Asakuragun, Fukuoka Prefecture
Tel: 0946-23-1227
http://tachiarai-heiwa.jp/

Takamatsu Civic Culture Center : Peace
Memorial: Kagawa
An exhibition on medical goods used before andduring World War II was held from December 20,
2011 to March 11, 2012. The center and thePeace Memorial were closed on March 11, 2012
because the facilities were getting old.

Nagaski Atomic Bomb Museum: Nagasaki
An exhibition on the atomic bombed trees washeld from March 28 to June 20. Not only
humans but also trees were destroyed by theatomic bombing. Photos of the atomic bombed
trees in the past and present are exhibited so that
visitors would be able to feel some messages fromplants.
Tel:095-844-1231 Fax:095-846-5170
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/peace/japane
se/abm/index.html

Museum of theTown of Tadotsu: Kagawa
There was a war exhibition from August 1 to 31,
2012: panels of the Atomic Bomb and Human
Beings, children evacuation in Tadotsu town andso forth. There was also a lecture on life andfood during the war. Visitors could taste what
13

Nagasaki Peace Museum: Nagasaki City
An exhibition on a weather map on August 9
when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagaski
was held from July 24 to August 12. The
weather forecast was prohibited from Dec. 8, 1941
to August 22, 1945 by the military. It was notpossible for people to know the weather forecast
for three years and eight months. The weather isdeeply related to the atomic bombing on Nagasaki.
The US pilot was planning to drop the atomic
bomb on Kokura, but he had to give it up becauseof clouds. There were also clouds in Nagasaki,
but the pilot found rift in clouds and dropped theatomic bomb.
Tel:095-818-4247 Fax:095-827-7878
http://www.nagasakips.com/

the war from August 7 to September 2. Their lifethat was influenced by the war was shown.
Tel ： 0996-20-2344 Fax ： 0996-20-2848
http://rekishi.satsumasendai.jp/index2.htm
Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum:
Itoman City
Ten picture books were displayed to show thebattle in Okinawa from June 18 to August 5.
They were also read aloud on July 1 in 2012.
Children messages for peace were exhibited from
June 23 to July 6 at the museum while it was
shown at Yaeyama branch museum from July 12
to 22. It was followed by an exhibition at Nago
City, Uruma City and the prefectural hall.
A peace project for the 40th anniversary of
Okinawa returned to Japan was held in Itoman
City, Nago City, uruma City, Naha City
Miyakojima, Ishigaki City aiming at conveying
lessons of the battle in Okinawa to future
generations for building eternal peace.
The first exhibition on children was held from
June 13 to July 16 in order to learn their life
during the battle in Okinawa.
Tel:098-997-3844 Fax:098-997-3947
http://www.peace-museum.pref.okinawa.jp/

Iki City Ikikoku Museum: Nagasaki
An exhibition of “My August 15” (the day when
World War II ended) was held from July 13 toAugust 5. Jun Ishiko, one of the founders of the
Association of August 15 gave a lecture.
Tel:0920-45-2731 Fax:0920-45-2749
http://www.iki-haku.jp/
Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture:
Nagasaki City
An exhibition of “My August 15” (the day when
World War II ended) was held from August 8 to
Sep. 2. Memory of the end of the war was
shown by 127 writers and cartoonists of the
Association of August 15 through illustration andletters with pictures
Tel: 095-818-8366 Fax:095-818-8407
http://www.nmhc.jp/

Tsushima Maru Memorial Museum: Naha city,
Okinawa
The 18th special exhibition on evacuated childrenin Tokyo for 600 days was held from August 18
to 25.
Tel:098-941-3515 Fax:098-863-3683
http://www.tsushimamaru.or.jp/
Ginowan Museum: Okinawa
A photo exhibition on the battle on Okinawa with
an emphasis on Ginowan bay was held from June
13 to June 1 in order to think of war and peace.
Tel ： 098-870-9317 Fax ： 098-870-9316
http://www.city.ginowan.okinawa.jp/2556/2562/25
63/2564/1419.html

Nagasaki City Museumof History andFolkore : Nagasaki
An exhibition on life during the war was heldfrom June 21 to Aug. 26 in order to think of the
preciousness of peace. People’s life was poor
because of the shortage of necessary things and it
was compared with the present rich life using
about 150 articles such as picture stories, oldmoney, stamps, textbooks and so forth.
TelL ＆Ｆ ax:095-847-9245
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/siryoukan/

Nago Museum: Okinawa
An exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversaryof Okinawa returned to Japan was held from June
8 to 24. Photos, pictures and eyewitness on thebattle on Okinawa were introduced. A soldiers’swater bottle, an injector and so forth were
exhibited.
As a related event, over 60
participants including high school students andteachers visited war remains on June 9.
Tel ： 0980-53-1342 Fax ： 0980-53-1362
http://www.city.nago.okinawa.jp/4/3282.html

Oita Prefectural Museum History: Usa City
An exhibition on Usa Navy Air Force and War in
Oita was held from July 13 to Sep. 17. There aremany war remains such as military facilities.
Materials on Usa Navy Air Force and the war in
Oita were shown so that visitors could reconsider
war memory and peace in the community.
Tel ： 0978-37-2100 、 Fax ： 0978-37-2101
http://kyouiku.oita-ed.jp/rekisihakubutukan-b/
Sendai History Museum: Kagoshima
There was an exhibition on people’s life during14

www.philipp-sonntag.de
Since 1877 the building at Olbrichtplace in
Dresden has been used in turns as arsenal, andas an armament museum. After a major renovation
it has been re-opened 14th of October 2011 as
MHM (Military Historical Museum) of theBundeswehr (the German Federal Armed Forces).
Official goals of MHM are both, education ofsoldiers, and information of the public. It
represents a deliberate attempt, to present the
military history within an overall societal context.
In the official concept, violence is seen as a lastresort, and bad impacts of military actions aredescribed in their horrible details. The innovationof viewpoints is underlined by the architecture as
designed by Libeskind, including a huge black
wedge, breaking up the old dignified building.
(1) Limit war, broaden peace
The MHM definitely cannot be understood as a
traditional “peace museum”, which would
oppose war in every form. Rather it does reveal
essential features of a “museum for peace”.
For instance there are numerous pictures showing
the wounds inflicted by use of weapons, including
horrible physical and mental injuries. Furthermore
beyond immediate warfare destructions, also
several ensuing consequences for economy andsociety are included. MHM does reveal
divergences between goals before war, and results
thereafter. What will be the effect of the MHM?
We might ask, for whom in society would a“peace museum” or a “museum for peace” be themost urgent education? The answer might include
societal obstacles to peace, like Cold Warriors and“hot soldiers”. Another answer would focus on
future oriented key persons. Optimal impact thenmight be upon modern soldiers in democratic
structures, and upon schoolchildren. It shall be aneffective feature of this MHM, that young and oldsoldiers shall use it extensively, as outlined intheir standard education programs. And alreadyduring the first days after opening of the museum,
many children, especially school classes, havebeen at the MHM. Modern viewpoints might nothave been possible, if the current German army
had recently fought major wars, in a militaristic
context. Instead, recently all intense warfare has
been avoided politically, because since 1945 theGerman society is alert against almost any
involvements in war. Even relatively low military
expenditures and low numbers of deadsoldiers are considered with suspicion. It is before
this background, that within MHM both
purpose and impact of military weapons havebeen put into the overall societal context. The
outcome is an unusually large museum, quite
unthinkable of course for any “peace museum”:
62 million euro have been spent, in order tocomprise weapons since 1300 all the way until
now, incl uding recent experiences fromAfghanistan.
Where the MHM does investigate weapons, it ismostly focussed on German armies before
the Bundeswehr, and on their excessive warfare
history. The few military actions of theInternational NewsThe Sun Yat Sen Museum: Malaysia
The Sun Yat Sen Museum is a beautifully- preserved
house museum in the multicultural George Town world
heritage site. This historical house has a permanent
exhibition on Sun Yat Sen’s early revolutionary period in
Penang when he planned a historic uprising of the China
Revolution of 1911.
The Sun Yat Sen Museum
120 Armenian Street
George Town World Heritage Site
10200 Penang, Malaysia
Email: sunyatsenpenang@gmail.com
Website: www.sunyatsenpenang.com
The Children's PEACE Center: USA
The Children's PEACE Center
is a fun,interactive, hands-on traveling "Field Trip"museum for children in Elementary grades K-5th.
Utilizing puppets, games, puzzles, crafts,
computers, role plays, challenging discussions andteamwork activities, children are empowered tomake better life choices, learn steps to conflict
resolution, emotion management, and encouraged
to develop better character traits and accept
responsibility for their actions.
The Children's PEACE Center is delighted to bepart of the first annual Acworth Art Fest. The
Peace Mobile will be available for visitors to viewand try our programs first hand. Be sure to visit
us across the railroad tracks in "Acworth
Commons" parking lot.
We recently held our own Art Contest in honor of
Earth Day. We invited local students to submit
their own art work with the theme "Be Earthwise".
Their submissions will be on display at our
location across the Railroad tracks in "Acworth
Commons" parking lot. Winners of our contest
have their art work displayed front and center on
our wall calendar, which will be available at theevent for a donation to help send children topeace camps this summer.
Children's PEACE Center: P.O. Box 379, Acworth,
GA 30101 USA
info@childrenspeacecenter.org
http://childrenspeacecenter.homestead.com/
Military Historical Museum
Bundeswehr ： Germany(German Federal Armed Forces)
in Dresden, Germany
www.mhmbw.deWritten by Philipp Sonntag

of

the

15

Bundeswehr itself are reported in a comparatively
positive way, as for instance the support ofevacuations in Albania 1997 by the “heroes ofTirana”, while coincidental effects of collateral
damage, such as destruction of hospitals, schools,
churches etc. are treated rather as a minor matter.
(2) Nuclear armament as utmost menace
MHM does present several items related tonuclear weapons, like the “Honest John” and“Pershing” rockets as carriers, and it mentions the
manifold public protests against the detailed
preparation of atomic warfare in Germany. Given
the courage of MHM, to display medical andfurther impacts of old as well as contemporary
weapons in realistic form, there is one striking
renunciation: the well documented impact of
nuclear weapons is avoided almost completely.
There is even a statement, in the catalogue (page113), that the MHM has thought about the issue,
but then decided intentionally to leave out“nuclear mushroom clouds”, and detailed impacts.
The argument is based on the difficulty that a
nuclear disaster would be hard to describe in arealistic way – rather art than science might
display the message. Accordingly, there is an art
presentation, which intentionally does include thevisitors: The exhibit “Hiroshima Thank You
Instrument” of Ingo Guenther, an object of art,
does apply a flash light right upon the visitors,
whom their own shadows on a wall shallremember of the according shadows in Hiroshima,
where persons had screened the wall behind themfrom the extremely intense nuclear flashlight.
MHM clearly argues that the atomic bomb is thegreatest menace to life. It does show some details,
like an incense burner that had gone out of shapedue to radiation of the atomic
bomb in Hiroshima, an item on loan from theHiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. MHM
describes the change in public perception andsense, for instance by displaying a toy with aclown right on top of an “atom rocket”, a toy
from 1955 which of course is perceived
nowadays as weird and “macabre”.
The broad spectrum of MHM is again evident, ascivil defence measures as prepared for warfare aredescribed. On the one hand, the fact that there canonly be limited options for“protection” in view of nuclear warfare ismentioned. On the other hand, what is missing isa damage assessment, where the dramatic
vulnerability of the German society against impactof even very small parts of the nuclear arsenal
would be made clear in some detail. For
example: The common expectancy during Cold
War was a broad tank attack from the Soviet side,
and a “necessity” to stop them with nuclear
bombs. But, in a realistic scenario, already justone very first and single atom bomb, detonated ona bridge near the border between East and West
Germany, might have endangered Wolfsburg by aradioactive cloud, a large town known for theirproduction of Volkswagen. Already a few percentof the atomic arsenal at hand of military forces
could have destroyed Germany beyond societal

repair (in contrast to the recovery after WorldWar II). A detailed demonstration of nuclear
warfare scenarios would have made a major
impression for the visitors, and thus would havecontributed more to awareness for peace, much
like the American film “The Day After”. Distinct
from nuclear warfare, many other aspects havebeen included at MHM and well prepared for thevisitors. For instance the firestorm of February1945 in Dresden is vivid in the remembrances ofthe local people, and that of course is included –while leaving out those firestorms, which would
be inflicted by atomic bombs.
(3) Driving a wedge between habits of war
Architecture has been considered as essential.
Already the first impression shall be inspiring:Architect Libeskind had designed a huge black
insert, added to the old dignified building. The
triangle with its “deconstructivistic” form shallremind of the bomber formation of the Royal Air
Force, attacking Dresden February 1945. The form
is directed immediately at the point in town,
where the check mark had been set for theorientation of the bombing. The firestorm had
destroyed Dresden completely. Thus the black
wedge shall be a constant reminder of warfare
impact: As a symbol it does cleave the old,
traditional view of weapons and violence. In thelight-colored, old building there are numerous old
weapons, as had been used through the last sevencenturies. These parts do include the historicalenvironment, the common celebration of military
traditions, but always immediately related torealistic presentation of contemporary weapon
impacts, often inflicted exactly by those weapons
worn by soldiers in glorifying poses. Still
unavoidably, within the MHM altogether, several
exhibits documenting former centuries will be afeast for weapon fetishists, for instance inconnection with the reconstruction of the first
German submarine, built in 1850. Quite different,
within the black wedge area, the systematic
inclusion of all kinds of aspects regarding
weapons and warfare has been put to theforeground: It includes the interdependence ofmilitary tools with societal features, such as
government, administration, law, culture, art,
economy, science, technology, and social issues.
The intended result is a cultural history ofviolence, in all its causes, intentions and impacts.
It took a deliberate attempt to create such a
military policy, guided by democratic power. The
MHM has been designed to promote this as a due
and urgent step towards a more peaceful mankind.
Nevertheless upcoming history will have to go along way with new sufferings. MHM shows, howsince 1999 the number of fugitive persons as aconsequence of warfare is lower than the number
due to other reasons, as hunger or environmental
impact. Mere absence of war will not be feasible
until there are major steps to solve urgent societal
necessities. MHM mentions Wangari Muta
Maathai in Kenya as an example for progress
towards peace: She did win the Peace Nobel Pricefor her engagement in sustained environmental
16

improvement and basic women’s rights.
(4) Obedience to what?
For ages, soldiers have been made submissive.
Any and every refusal of obedience has been
considered as a crime. Now round the corner ofthe MHM there is a street named the“Stauffenberg Allee”, in remembrance of Graf
Stauffenberg, the leader of the famous attack on
Hitler July 20th, 1944. If that attack had beensuccessful, millions of war victims might
have been avoided. Later, in 1950 when the“Inner Guidance”, was introduced by Wolf Graf
von Baudissin, a new policy was established: Amodern soldier shall be much more autonomous,
also more self-consistent as a democrat, than everbefore. As a result, today amodern soldier must be able to check situations
fast and to act immediately on “well educatedown intuition”.
At the MHM, on one hand obedience is stressed
as important for coordination of soldiers, but on
the other hand it has gotten a new name, a more
precise connotation, named “gewissenhafter
Gehorsam” (a kind of conscientious, assiduous,
attentive, painstaking form of obedience): The
soldier shall recognize, when an order evidently iswrong, unlawful oragainst moral basics. The MHM includes suchmodern aspects, while it does not directly
apply this wisdom regarding future dangers, likeatomic warfare. It does mention public
protests against nuclear armament.
(5) Victims of what?
Absence of peace causes victims under various
circumstances. As far as non-nuclear disasters andhorrors are concerned, MHM does not hesitate tooutline both causes and consequences. For
instance, it reports in detail the fact that during
World War II soldiers in many different cases
contributed to murder, especially of Jewish people.
MHM explains how “Wehrmacht, SS, and police”
were involved, and how a coordinated system oflaw and administration led to an unprecedented
violation of human rights, and altogether to massmurder of people throughout Europe. Pogroms
like in Lemberg, concentration camps like in
Maijdanek and the “industrial form” of massmurder are explained. MHM does realisticallyreport the unique calamity, as intentionally causedby the Nazis. As quite different MHM reports theoverall context and impact of other innumerable
inhuman military practices over centuries, wheremost consequences had rather not been intended.
Weapons had been tools built to win a war, but
mostly not built as tools for mass murder.
The issue has to include impacts on the own
soldiers. A typical example are off odors,
displaying to visitors the offensive smell ofdeathly men and animals, as has been experienced
in trenches and dugouts, as had been sufferedespecially by soldiers during World War I.
Another example, from times of Napoleonic
warfare: Shoes were manufactured thriftily in just
one standardized form for both the right and leftfoot , thus soldiers, who had to walk thousandsof miles, got harming and painful foot ailments. A
limited, but powerful impulse towards peace The
MHM does leave out essential issues, such as
atomic warfare, weapons export, outer space, andcyber warfare. Nevertheless, weapons andviolence are shown and explained in a realistic
way, and within a societal awareness regarding
the horrors of war, and the merits of peace. Thus
MHM has been built to influence both soldiersand the broad public in a direction toward
stepwise establishment of peace. It definitely has
left the tradition of mere military glorification. So
far it is a rare occurrence, that a museum
established by the military might be called, andmight even work in the direction of a museum forpeace. Explanations of the presented items are in
German and English. The catalogue of the MHM
so far is only at hand in German, but an English
catalogue is in preparation. The catalogue ends
with a statement, that “soldiers alone” can neither
prevent nor solve the conflicts. Rather recognitionof basic human needs, including dignity andfreedom, are mentioned as a precondition forpeace. Global networking is required.
Consequentially a robe of the judge at theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) in Den Haag isshown by MHM, as a forward-looking item.
Offering for Having Exhibition of Sri Lanka
Drawing
Hello, my name is Yumi Kayama,
Ritsumeikan University Student in Japan. I
actually heard of you and the peace museum from
Professor Kazuyo Yamane, and am actually very
interested in you and your museum study because
I have been working on an interesting project
between Sri Lanka and Japan as introduced below.
The project is related to peace museum. I am
going to introduce you the project and if you
interested in it, please E-mail me here;
happyfactory.since2011@gmail.com
or Professor
Yamane. Thank you.
About My Project Team, “Happy Factory”
Our team is called Happy Factory, stared in 2011by Kayama Yumi (Ritsumeikan University) andNakabayashi Ryota (graduated from Kokugakuin
University in 2011) .
Our purpose is to make two-way relationshipbetween Japan and Sri Lanka. We found that Sri
Lanka and Japan sadly have only one-way
relationship. For instance, even though Sri Lanka
knows Japan well by getting educational andmedical support by some Japanese, lots ofJapanese do not know such fact and even where
Sri Lanka is. This is a problem because suchone-way relationship would bring no improvement.
Since Happy Factory found such a problem, we
made the Painting Exchange Project to have directinteraction between two counties by actuallyseeing, feeling and touching the real drawing by
local children. The key point is the “drawing”,
because gender, age and language don’t matter.
We believe that drawing is the world common
language.
17

Exhibition Project
After Tohoku-earthquake occurs in Japan, Happy
Factory got lots of messages (E-mail) from Sri
Lanka, caring about Japanese. Since that, Happy
Factory offered Sri Lanka children to makepaintings and message for Japanesae, especially
victims of Tsunami. Sri Lanka actually has
experience of tsunami in 2004. At that time, Sri
Lanka was like Japan in 2011, the towns weredestroyed by tsunami. However they recover thesituation with having Japanese help. According tothis fact, Sri Lanka children decided to express
their experiences onto the drawing and messages.
Around 200 paintings and messages were sentfrom Sri Lanka to the Happy Factory. Happy
Factory started to have an exhibition with thatdrawings. Since Yumi belongs to the Ritsumeikan
University, Ritsumeikan Peace Museum gave
Happy Factory an opportunity to have an
exhibition in August, 2011 and in April, 2012.
Moreover, in the second exhibition, we had Sri
Lanka Priests and Ritsumeikan President as ourguest and had discussion on it. We also brought
those Sri Lanka pictures to Uji (Kyoto),
Kesennuma and Minami Sanriku (Miyagi) , andFukushima(Fukushima) to spread messages from
Sri Lanka.

building houses.
- Some paintings have Japanese nuclear power
stations in it.
- The rest are the pictures of tsunami disaster
which Sri Lanka children actually experienced
in 2004. They are dark and negative pictures.
The May 18 Memorial Foundation
Mihoko Yamamoto, international intern
The May Memorial Foundation was established by
victims and bereaved families by the Gwangju
Democratic Uprising (Gwangju Massacre)occurred in May 1980 in Gwangju, the Republicof Korea. The roots of massacre go back to
President Park Jeong-Hui’s assassination and thecoup d’etat by Chun Doo-Hwan’s troop right after
that. Jeollado province which holds Gwangju isknown as the birth place of President Kim
Dae-Jung and they have many pro-democracy
protests historically. Although the uprising wasunder control after 10 days, we, the May 18
Memorial Foundation, have worked for rightfulrecognition as a democratic uprising organized by
students and Gwangju citizens instead of a riot.
Also, we aim to contribute to real democracy andhuman rights in the world. The foundation isformed by three teams; Culture & Education,
Solidarity, Archive & Research. We host Gwangju
Asia Forum, Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
Award, and a workshop for high school students
with the laureate in every May. Besides that, weorganize an educational program for teachers, apoem contest, Grant for Democracy and Human
Rights Projects for domestic and international
NGOs. Our volunteer guides who take tocommemoration sites are available in both English
and Japanese. Until November 2012, 9th Gwangju
Biennale opens. This is also a commemoration
event among others held at the former base andthe exhibition place was donated for free by the
Korean Gov. Gwangju has dedicated todemocratization, and it would welcome anyone
with active energy for social change.

Suggestion And Offering
We now think about having exhibition overseas
because earthquake and tsunami is not the only
problem in Sri Lanka and Japan but every place inthe earth. This is definitely a world problem. Also,
having such relationship like Japan and Sri Lanka
is very significant for developing world peace. If
you are interested in our project as exhibition,please E-mail me here;
happyfactory.since2011@gmail.com or Professor
Yamane. I would love to have an exhibition
overseas. Thank you.
About the Drawings
There are about 200 pictures.
- 17 of them are the pictures of messages forJapanese victims and are very bright andpositive. Also each of those has messages (1-2sentences).
- 3 of them are the pictures of recovering fromthe Tsunami damage by having camps andWebsite: http://eng.518.org/index.es?sid=a5
The May 18 Memorial Foundation
5・18 Memorial Culture Hall 1F
152 Naebangro, Seo-gu
Gwangju 502-859
Republic of Korea
Tel: (82)62-360-0518 /Fax: (82)62-360-0519
518org@gmail.com
Bainbridge Island Japanese American
Memorial ： Wash. USA
Nidoto Nai Yoni, translated as "Let It Not Happen
Again" is the motto and mission of the Bainbridge
Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial.
The Memorial is located on the site of the former
Eagledale ferry dock on Bainbridge Island,
Washington, on March 30, 1942, two hundred
twenty – seven men, women and children — two –18

thirds of them American citizens — were forcibly
removed from their homes, rounded up by US
Army soldiers armed with rifles fixed withbayonets and boarded a ferry to Seattle.
The Memorial is administered by the Bainbridge
Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
Association (BIJAEMA).
BIJAC Contact Information
Email: info@bijac.org
Mail: BIJAC, 1298 Grow Avenue Northwest,
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Phone: 206-842-4772
Fax: 206-842-5649
http://www.bijac.org/index.php?p=MEMORIALIntrod
uctionAward from the Friends of the United Nations, theMuseum of Tolerance (MOT) is a human rights
laboratory and educational center dedicated tochallenging visitors to understand the Holocaust in
both historic and contemporary contexts andconfront all forms of prejudice and discriminationin our world today. The genesis of the MOT-the
first of its kind in the world-came from theleadership of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, aninternationally recognized and acclaimed Jewish
human rights organization named in honor of
famed Nazi hunter, the late Simon Wiesenthal.
Museum of Tolerance
Simon Wiesenthal Plaza
9786 West Pico Blvd (southeast corner of Pico
Boulevard and Roxbury Drive)
Los Angeles, CA 90035
http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/c.tmL6KfNV
LtH/b.4865931/k.C069/Visit.htm

The Japanese American National Museum
The mission of the Japanese American National
Museum is to promote understanding andappreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural
diversity by sharing the Japanese American
experience.
We share the story of Japanese Americans
because we honor our nation’s diversity. We
believe in the importance of remembering ourhistory to better guard against the prejudice thatthreatens liberty and equality in a democraticsociety. We strive as a world-class museum toprovide a voice for Japanese Americans and aforum that enables all people to explore their own
heritage and culture.
We promote continual exploration of the meaningand value of ethnicity in our country throughprograms that preserve individual dignity,
strengthen our communities, and increase respectamong all people. We believe that our work willtransform lives, create a more just America and,ultimately, a better world.
JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
100 North Central Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90012
phone: 213.625.0414
fax: 213.625.1770
http://www.janm.org/

Suquamish Museum
Our mission is to collect, protect, educate, andpreserve the history and culture of the Puget
Sound Salish Tribes with an emphasis on the
Suquamish Tribe. In order to do this theSuquamish Museum must provide exhibits thatallow the visitors from all age levels tounderstand the culture and history from the viewof the First Peoples of the Puget Sound and theSuquamish Tribe, through the use of oral history,
photography, artifacts, replication and audio/visual
productions. With the assistance of Tribal elders,scholars and other museum professionals, theSuquamish Museum will strive to meet all of theabove goals, and provide visitors with a newunderstanding of the Native Peoples of the Puget
Sound and the Suquamish Tribe.
http://www.suquamish.nsn.us/Museum.aspx
Suquamish Museum
6861 NE South Street
Suquamish, WA 98392(360) 394-8499

Terminal Island Japanese Memorial: San Pedro,
California, USA
The Terminal Island Japanese Memorial wasdedicated in 2002 at a site along Fish Harbor
across from Southwest Marine. Created throughthe efforts of the Terminal Islanders Club, thememorial serves as a reminder of the island’s
former Japanese-American community, theirevacuation and forced removal in 1942, and theonce-thriving fishing village at Terminal Island.
Terminal Island Japanese Memorial
1124 South Seaside Avenue
http://lac.laconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagen
ame=terminal_island_memorial

Publications
Popoki’s Friendship Story:
Our Peace Journey Born out of the Great EasternJapan Earthquake(Text & Illustrations: Ronni Alexander, A5 size,
64 pages, color, English/Japanese, Epic, 2012).
On 11 March 2011, the day the huge earthquake,tsunami and nuclear accident rocked Japan, people
the world over were shocked. As a person who
specializes in Peace Studies and as one who
experienced the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake,
I really wanted to do something to help. I decided
to do something as part of the Popoki Peace

The Museum of Tolerance
Recipient of the Global Peace and Tolerance
19

Project, a group I started in 2006 using the cat
Popoki to help us to feel, express and create peace.
In beginning work in the disaster area, I wanted
particularly to emphasize the following. The
project should be multi-directional, promoteawareness of local (disaster area) as well as global
situations, encourage participation by all, besustainable, inexpensive and use Popoki’s
methodology (emphasizing use of senses,
creativity, emotions, etc.). I drew a large Popoki
on a long cloth (45cm x 5m) and took the clothand colored markers to Tohoku where I invited
people in evacuation centers and other places todraw freely. Using key words such as ‘life’ and‘connection,’ the project has continued in Kobe,
Osaka, the Czech Republic, Guam, and manyother places, too. In realized that each drawing isa story expressing joy, sorrow, desire, interests,
and sometimes they are stories that are not, or
cannot be expressed in words.
Our journey with the cloth that began after theearthquake has become a collective peace journey,
and now we are connected by more than 60
meters of ‘stories.’ This book, the record of thatjourney, was written so that we do not forget the
many important stories we encountered on theway, and so we can look forward toward
tomorrow.

Scientific and Social Aspectsof the Fukushima Nuclear Disasterauthored by
Ikuro Anzai(Director, Anzai Science and Peace Office)translated by Stephen Suloway

October 2012

from the author
While we consider what can be done on a practicallevel to reduce the health risks of radiation, people
everywhere also need to think about why a nuclear
energy policy that makes economic development
more important than safety has prevailed in Japan.
And we Japanese, as the sovereign masters of ourcountry, need to take action to determine what our
national energy policy should be in the future.

Important

Message

Muse Newsletter has been sent abroad for free,
but we hope that you will read it on line on thewebsite of the Japanese Citizens’ Network ofMuseums forPeace: http://www.tokyo-sensai.net/. Thisis because of the lack of fund for printing andpostage. Thank you for your understanding andwe hope that you will continue to enjoy reading
Muse newsletter in the future.

Scientific and Social Aspects of the Fukushima
Nuclear Disaster(authored by Ikuro Anzai and translated into
English by Stephen Suloway. Published by
Anzai Science & Peace Office)20