Shunkichi Kikuchi
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese photographer best known for his documentation of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
immediately after the war.
Kikuchi was born in Hanamaki
Hanamaki, Iwate
is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. As of March 31, 2011, the city has an estimated total population of 102,455, with a household number of 35,831. Hanamaki is most famous as the birthplace of Kenji Miyazawa and for its onsen. The city recently celebrated the 50th anniversary since its...
, Iwate
Iwate Prefecture
is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
on 1 May 1916. After graduating from the Oriental School of Photography, Kikuchi was employed in the Photography Division of Tokyo Kōgeisha and began his career as a news photographer. In 1941 he worked in the photography division of Tōhōsha, a company established by Sōzō Okada and in 1942 was a member of the photographic staff of the magazine Front. His work took him to China, "Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
" and the Philippines.
In 1945, the Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)
The , also known as MEXT or Monkashō, is one of the ministries of the Japanese government.The Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871....
organized the "Science Council of Japan Special Committee on the Damage Caused by the Atomic Bomb, Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
/Nagasaki Survey Group," and commissioned Nippon Eiga-sha as its Documentary Film Division. Kikuchi served as a still photographer attached to the division and was hired to shoot for medical purposes. He recorded post-atomic bomb Hiroshima from 30 September to 22 October 1945. In November he was back photographing Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, particularly a home for vagrant children.
Kikuchi also helped establish a new magazine where he became involved in scientific photography for the first time.
From 1951 Kikuchi's photographs were published in such prominent magazines as Sekai
Sekai
is a song by Chara. It was released as the first single from her album Union on . It debuted at #24 on the Japanese Oricon album charts, and charted for five weeks. The song was used in commercials for the NEC brand 'Foma N702iS' cellphone....
, Chūōkōron
Chuokoron
is a monthly Japanese literary magazine is a monthly Japanese literary magazine is a monthly Japanese literary magazine is a monthly Japanese literary magazine is a monthly Japanese literary magazine is a monthly Japanese literary magazine is a monthly Japanese literary magazine is a monthly...
, and Fujin Kōron.
Kikuchi died on 5 November 1990 aged 74 from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, which many have attributed to his extensive work in irradiated Hiroshima.
Books with works by Kikuchi
- Yūenchi (ゆうえんち). Tokyo: Toppan, 1954.
- Kikaika butai no shuryoku sensha (機械化部隊の主力戦車). Rikugun Shashinshū. Tokyo: Green Arrow, 1994. ISBN 4-7663-3158-3.
- Association to Establish the Japan Peace Museum, ed. Ginza to sensō (銀座と戦争) / Ginza and the War. Tokyo: Atelier for Peace, 1986. ISBN 4-938365-04-9. Kikuchi is one of ten photographers who provide 340 photographs for this well-illustrated and large photographic history of GinzaGinzais a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
from 1937 to 1947. Captions and text in both Japanese and English. - Hiroshima: Sensō to toshi (広島：戦争と都市). Tokyo: Iwanami, 1987. ISBN 4-00-003522-3.
- Kaku: Hangenki (核：半減期) / The Half Life of Awareness: Photographs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1995. Exhibition catalogue; captions and text in both Japanese and English. Nine photographs by Kikuchi of medical treatment in Hiroshima are reproduced. Text and captions in both Japanese and English. Shashinka wa nani o hyōgen shita ka: 1945–1960 (写真家はなにを表現したか1945～1960, What were photographers expressing: 1945–1960). Tokyo: Konica Plaza, 1991. Pp. 16–17.
- (with Ihei KimuraIhei KimuraBorn on 12 December 1901 in Shitaya-ku , Tokyo, Kimura started taking photographs when very young but his interest intensified when he was around 20 and living in Tainan, Taiwan, where he was working for a sugar wholesaler. He opened a photographic studio in Nippori, Tokyo in 1924...
, Kiyoshi SonobeKiyoshi Sonobewas a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
and others) Tōkyō sen-kyūhyaku-yonjūgonen, aki (東京一九四五年・秋) / Tokyo: Fall of 1945. Tokyo: Bunka-sha, 1946. A stapled booklet of sepia photographs of life in Tokyo immediately after the end of the war. (The word aki in the title makes it clear that fall here means autumn, not defeat.) Text and captions in both Japanese and English. - Tōkyō: Toshi no shisen (東京：都市の視線) / Tokyo: A city perspective. Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1990. Includes two photographs of Tokyo taken immediately after the war. Text and captions in both Japanese and English.