The Sophian

Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: News

This week in the Campus Center Nolen Arts Lounge, students can see enormous photographs of the iconic mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb, panoramic views of devastation and, perhaps most disturbing, close-up shots of men, women and small children who were in the close vicinity of the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Sazanami, a Smith student organization dedicated to spreading awareness of Japanese culture, has put on this exhibit in order to publicize the effect the atomic bomb had on Japanese life, especially on the still-living victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The exhibit concludes tomorrow with a video conference at 7:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Carroll Room with Yoshiyuki Modo, who lived only a mile away from the center of the explosion in Hiroshima.

"It's very important for people to understand the repercussions of atomic bombs. This exhibit shows that normal people are the victims when these kinds of things happen," Sazanami Co-President Corinna Kasiman '12 said.

"It's very important that people understand that this kind of attack should never happen again."

Due to the strong nature of the images and ideas presented, perhaps it is no surprise that the launch of the exhibition last Friday was a very emotionally charged event.

It featured a showing of "A Mother's Prayer," a 10-minute documentary of a mother living in Nagasaki who watched her daughter, suffering from multiple wounds, die before her eyes. Many students, moved by the piece, needed to take a break before returning to the rest of the exhibit.

"It was a lot more graphic than what I heard," Kasiman said. "The narration contributed to the intensity as well. However, I do think that it's important that people saw it. You don't see pictures of horror like the nuclear bombs, which is way worse than other images of war."

The Nolen exhibit features a collection of posters, DVDs, books and other media produced by the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims.

This organization, founded by the Japanese government, aims to share the testimony of atomic bomb survivors with people worldwide. Its larger goal has been to encourage viewers to reflect on the great damage the atomic bomb wreaks against human life, so that the bomb would never be used again.

Smith student Naho Hashimoto '10J helped bring the exhibit to Smith. Hashimoto had heard about the exhibit and approached the Sazanami group to see if they would be interested in sponsoring the event.

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