ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the role of images in the framing and reframing of memories of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. While many visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum are too young to remember the war themselves, the institution is important in the production of a national identity and narrative linked to victimhood which is transmitted to all those who visit. In contemplating possibilities for future reconciliation in East Asia, we need to pay attention to how artists can subtly re-contextualize the memories and artefacts that are housed within museum walls, casting objects in a new light, capturing ghosts of the past, and creating a space for different interpretations and narratives. Contemporary art and photography can play a significant role in helping the Japanese to reinterpret the past in new and interesting ways that have sometimes met with controversy.