HIROSHIMA APPEALS 1983
“Burning Butterflies”

Yusaku Kamekura (1915–1997)

I concentrated on producing a poster for Hiroshima Appeals on pure, neutral grounds; a poster divorced from politics, philosophy and religion. I also sought to stay clear of conventional expressions such as the vaguely antinuclear calls for peace that have predominated in posters of the past and, if at all possible, to create an antinuclear poster that approached the issue from a new perspective.

I made a small sketch of my idea and gave it to the talented illustrator, Akira Yokoyama. Yokoyama listened to my ideas and came back to me with an illustration a month later. My first thought on seeing this first illustration, however, was that it lacked force and, having devoted a day to pondering the problem, I concluded that further prompting was needed. I explained to Yokoyama that I wanted the flames to take center stage and that the beautiful butterflies were to serve as enticement for the fire. Yokoyama was reluctant to tamper with his original flames, but I asked him to take his courage in both hands and make them stronger. The revised illustration reached me two days later. The flames were a little stronger, but I wanted a still stronger visual. Just as I had envisaged, the butterflies had been drawn in exquisite detail and the illustration was pregnant with pathos. I was seeking to create real fear by giving visionary expression to the menace of nuclear arms in the form of beauty going down and being extinguished by flames. To engender this sense of fear, the poster needed to have a strong impact and I achieved this by trimming and enlarging Yokoyama’s illustration and intensifying the flames in the printing process.

Each year, a designer is asked to produce a poster for Hiroshima. Being asked to produce the inaugural poster was a heavy duty, but I am happy with the result and proud to be its originator.

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Profile

Born in Niigata Pref., April 6, 1915. Studied at Institute for New Architecture and Industrial Art. Joined Nippon Kobo.
1953: solo showing at Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura. 1955: participated in Graphic ’55 exhibition in Tokyo. 1960:
founding member of Nippon Design Center. 1962: established Kamekura Design Office. Major awards (starting 1961):
Education Minister’s Art Encouragement Prize, Mainichi Art Award, Asahi Prize, Japan Inter-Design Forum Award for
International Culture, Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, Third Class Order of the Sacred Treasure, Person of Cultural
Merits (Agency for Cultural Affairs), Commendation of Meritorious Designers (Ministry of International Trade and
Industry), and numerous awards at international poster exhibitions in Warsaw, Brno, Lahti, etc.! 1978: participated in
establishing JAGDA; served as first president; devoted himself to the organization’s expansion, improvement and legal incorporation (1984). 1981: upon JAGDA’s membership in Icograda, represented JAGDA at Icograda’s General Assembly in Helsinki.! 1983: held solo exhibition in Tokyo and published The Works of Yusaku Kamekura (Rikuyo-sha). 1993: inducted in Hall of Fame of both NY ADC and Tokyo ADC. 1994: retired as JAGDA president; received honorary
doctorate from Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw. 1996: solo poster exhibition at National Film Center of National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. !Deceased May 11, 1997, age 82.