This is an illustration drawn from the perspective of looking up from below a mushroom cloud. The embodiment of the worst evil in human history explodes just overhead of the people of Hiroshima and of Japan. I wanted to look straight into that moment. Posters have the ability to freeze fading reality and emotion for eternity. Hiroshima Appeals expressed as posters are meaningful because they are still images. They are like creating prayers. When I thought about the people who died in the atomic bombing, various depictions didn’t work, but when I focused on the awareness that there are towns where nuclear weapons exploded overhead, I felt that could lead to prayer.

I am filled with despair with the reality that nuclear weapons are being stockpiled in quantities that can destroy the Earth several times over while being called “deterrence.” The human race is not as wise as we think. It is depressingly stupid that mankind can destroy the foundations of civilization to prioritize “self,” “country,” and “creed.” Our existence may be far more shortlived than other creatures that live in respect of nature’s bonds.

I have been doing realistic illustrations in collaboration with Yoshitaka Mizutani, whom I have known for 30 years. I create the original drawing and then he finishes it with his own detailed technique. It is a collaboration where he creates a detailed visualization of the images that are in my head. The original drawing depicted the entire mushroom cap, but we cropped it for the final version. I went one step further and stepped into the explosion.