Issue:
IT HAS BEEN SEVENTY years since the second atomic bomb was dropped, and Nagasaki now looks no different from other cities. My previous photo book, Common Nagasaki (Mado-sha), documented the effects the atomic bomb left behind in current day Nagasaki. Much about the atomic bomb tends to be forgotten, seen as the things in the past. Media coverage of the atomic bomb is now more or less limited to the actual anniversary, mainly to the news report on the day’s ceremony. For this work, “Evidence NAGASAKI,” I photographed the atomic bomb remains and relics that were within one kilometer of the hypocenter at the time of the bombing. I sincerely hope these various close up photographs will be remembered as the evidence for generations to come.
Akira Matsumura studied photography at Nihon University, and worked for the Mainichi Shimbun from 1965- 2005. He has won the Tokyo Press Photographers Association Award, has had a number of exhibitions and published several photo books, including Evidence NAGASAKI. After the newspaper, he taught at the Zokei Art College (Kyushu) and opened Matsumura Akira Photo School in Fukuoka.
