Workshop in Kobe, Japan
2001
Kanokodai Elementary School
2001
Kanokodai Elementary School
Sorrow
When do people feel sorrow? There is nothing more sorrowful than losing their family and someone they loved. War take their lives in a moment. It was difficult to express such sorrow but we made a picture of black tears pouring on the tragic scenery of Hiroshima to symbolize it.
Anger
Every day we saw news such as terror in the United States and bombing in Afghanistan. We knew internal wars and conflicts happened in many places of the world. A part of the painting was filled with such news collected for two weeks and the terrible scene of suffering from an atomic bomb was added on it.
Hope
After the war, Horoshima and Nagasaki were reconstructed. Did the survivors see the light of hope? An oleanders is the first flower which opened in Hiroshima after the tragedy. People should throw away their weapons in our beautiful earth, where a new bud comes out and it grows to flower.
Harmony
It is difficult to realize 'peace' in our peaceful daily life. People are smiling, babies are born and the earth keeps its beauty. This is peace. We want to draw the natural beauty of the earth and animals filling our gentle heart with many flowers. If all the nations are cooperated, the world would become harmonious.
Fly
Let's fly a white bird, which is a symbol of peace, with many people hand in hand as we are going toward the future. I want to add a rainbow after rain in the beautiful nature of our earth, where the bird is flying up into the sky. The beautiful ocean, towns and forests were completed.
Messages of students
I mean staying friendly with others without war by 'peace.' For example, the moment of peace is when people look up the sky without worrying and find beautiful stars. A baby can sleep well listening to Mother's lullaby in the night. This is the moment of peace. Children in Guernica suffered from the sudden bombing. Afghan children don't know the meaning of peace. I never forgive such torture to innocent people. (Aoki)
When I saw Picasso's Guernica, I could not understand it at all. After my teacher's explanation, I gazed and gazed on it and then realized it was a picture against war showing the scenes of killing people. I myself drew a scene of peace. I was surprised to see my friends were working so hard for our peace painting. (Ikeda)
When I was a fourth grader, I studied people's life in the war time. As a fifth grader, I studied the brutalities of Okinawa battle. As a sixth grader, I studied Afghanistan. I was so shocked to know the fact that one of four Afghan children dies. Then we tried our best to complete KIDS' GUERNICA, which had 181 students' strong wish for peace. The painting was beyond my expectation. I realized that we could achieve something which one could not do alone if we worked together.
Children:
Megimi Iida, Kana Inoue, Hinako Aoki, Kaneyoshi Inokuma, Shun Asai,
Yutarou Izumi, Kouhei Ueda, Reimi Asaga, Atushi Imoto, Takayuki Aragane,
Megumi Imai, Shiori Ueda, Kyouhei Iiyama, Mika Otubo, Mutumi Iida,
Yuuta Iwata, Masahiro Ozono, Youko Ikeda, Nana Omae, Tkuma Izumi,
Hiroe Umemoto, Atuko Onishi, Kyousuke Enoki, Syouta Kagotani, Minami Ichida,
Yuhei Urano, Taku Omoto, Yurino Kataoka, Mariko Kaji, Jyunpei Inabashi,
Yuuki Osiro, Daisuke Oyanagi, Yuriko Kawanishi, Saki Kaneko, Takeshi Imamura,
Akihiro Ota, Ryouta Kihara, Kazuhiro Kannbayasi, Takuya Kondou, Saya Iwaki,
Ayaka Onaka, Ayana Kusaka, Yuuki Kido, Jyunpei Shioyama, Yusuke Ueji,
Masasi Okamoto, Yoshiaki Goto, Daiki Kobayashi, Masashi Suzuki, Akiko Ueno,
Seiya Ogawa, Jin Sakakibara, Masataka Sato, Aya Takahashi, Yousuke Oara,
Eriko Otiai, Haruka Sawamoto, Takayuki Shirai, Yusuke Nakagawa, Makoto Obata,
Tosihumi Oteki, Bunpei Simoji, Yu Sugimura, Go Nakajyou, Sayumi Kagawa,
Marina Kawaguti, Satiko Suetugu, Atomu Takano, Yuuma Nakahara, Erika Kiku,
Taketugu Komatsu, Haruka Sugauti, Ryousuke Takahashi, Kazuyuki Nakamae, Shyougo Kitada,
Naoto Sakanisi, Yousuke Sumiyosi, Yuji Takagi, Takanori Nakayama, Aya Konishi,
Ayumi Simizu, Miho Takahashi, Azusa Chuma, Tomoyo Nishihara, Syunsuke Sato,
Sinya Sugawa, Yukari Takino, Ayako Tubota, Yuuki Nishimura, Yuri Sugahara,
Yosihiro Seki, Saeko Takenaka, Yukako Nakazawa, Hiroaki Hamada, Yasuyuki Suzuki,
Yasumasa Takagi, Tomoyuki Turuta, Ryouta Nakane, Yui Hayakawa, Yuuki Taira,
Miki Takahasi, Yumiko Nakahara, Haruka Hamasaki, Aya Hirai, Koumei Tazawa,
Syouhei Takeda, Aki Nakayama, Sachiyo Hayata, Megumi Fuji, An Takahashi,
Yuuki Tanaka, Masatosi Nishigaki, Yuta Fujioka, Sawami Fujita, Miyu Takami,
Mami Naitou, Marie Noji, Yusuke Fujimoto, Nina Funasaka, Yuuki Tamura,
Masaya Nonaka, Sachi Nohara, Takuya Mishiro, Tomomi Matuzaki, Daisuke Terashita,
Kento Hasiguti, Kouhei Hasimoto, Yuuka Mizoguchi, Taichi Matumoto, Manabu Todaka,
Emi Hayasi, Matuda Chihiro, Akihiro Mituda, Hideki Miwa, Emi Nakahama,
Asuka Hara, Yuki Miyahara, Nana Yasumoto, Sizuka Morie, Yukari Nakaya,
Marino Hirata, Tosiki Miwa, Saki Yanagawa, Yuji Yasuda, Kayoko Nishizono,
Daisuke Fuji, Chihiro Meguki, Ryousuke Yamaoka, Ryou Yamanouchi, Mai Nishimura,
Akiyo Hokiguti, Dai Mori, Yukihoiro Yamaguchi, Mei Yamamoto, Naoya Matui,
Chihiro Makino, Yuta Morisaki, Shouhei Yamasaki, Saki Youkawa, Miki Matuura,
Kumiko Mizuma, Masato Yamasaki, Kentarou Yamane, Aya Yokozeki, Akane Mori,
Syouta Mori, Yousuke Yamada, Saki Yamamoto, Nanako Yoshioka, Mio Yamashita,
Tomoki Yosida, Kouta Yuuki, Mami Yuuki, Yuuki Yoshida, Kyousuke Yamada,
Naomi Yonezawa, Nao Yoneda, Nobuyuki Watanabe, Tatuya Yamano, Shigetaka Yoshida,
Teachers:
Koji Yamashita, Yukitaka Iwamoto, Makoto Ibaragi, Kazuo Uehata
Norie Hosomi, Kyouko Makino, Hiromitsu Baba