To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Students from the University of Idaho give an English-language kamishibai picture-card presentation in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, on Saturday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
6:00 JST, August 7, 2023
HIROSHIMA — Students from the University of Idaho on Saturday gave an English-language kamishibai picture-card presentation documenting the experiences of Keiko Ogura, 86, a survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Ogura, who was 8-years-old when the bomb exploded, met with the leaders of the Group of Seven nations during their summit-related stay in Hiroshima in May, sharing memories of surviving the calamity.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Keiko Ogura speaks in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, on Saturday.
The kamishibai storytelling show was originally created in 2019 by students of Hiroshima Municipal Motomachi High School, based on Ogura’s accounts. Titled “Keiko no Hachigatsu Muika” (Keiko’s Aug. 6), the 30 watercolor cards depict the devastation wreaked by the bomb as recalled by Ogura, including how people suffering from serious burns died before her eyes.
Last September, Azusa Tojo, a 41-year-old a Japanese language teacher at the university, invited Ogura to share her experiences through the use of kamishibai. Encouraged by Ogura to share her story with the world, the students created an English-language version of her story.
On Saturday, five students gave the picture-card presentation in front of about 50 people, including Ogura. The cards were projected on a large monitor.
Speaking after the presentation, Devin Michaelis, 22, a student at the university, said, “If people over the world hear about Keiko’s experiences, they can pave the way for a world without war or nukes.”
