Title: XIII Death of the American Prisoners of War, (thirteenth of the series, Hiroshima Panels)
Creator: Maruki Iri, Maruki Toshi
Date: 1971
Period: 1970s Japan
Location: Tokyo
Culture: Japanese
Material: Sumi ink on paper
Dimensions: 180 x 720 cm
Repository: Maruki Gallery, https://marukigallery.jp/en/hiroshimapanels/
Description: Death of the American Prisoner of War is the portrayal of the unintended side effects of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bombs did not differentiate between civilian and combatant, or Japanese and Americans – their destruction was all the same. The painting portrays this in a seven meter long scene dominated by piles of dark skulls and death. All of the skulls look the same, just as all humans, American prisoners of war and Japanese, perish the same. Three women in the center of the painting are contrasted against the rest of the work by their white portrayal and that they are still alive, though in extreme discomfort.
