For many years, I have made a living by conveying ideas to many people or “advertising.” I believe advertising is presenting a future that is brighter and more fun than today, even if only by a little. However, this time, I felt that the way to help create a more hopeful future is to convey to young people that the threat of nuclear weapons is not part of history, but a very real part of their lives, and, by doing so, ensure that the reality of nuclear weapons doesn’t fade from our minds, but stays etched in our hearts. As someone who works in visual expression, it is very sobering to be involved in the activities of the Hiroshima Appeals, which seeks to clearly inform the next generation of the existence of nuclear weapons amid the continued decline in the number of “kataribe” or people who experienced the atomic bombing.

This year’s poster uses augmented reality (AR). Inside the snow globe there is a white dove, the symbol of peace. Normally there would be white powder in the snow globe, but for this piece, we have black powder. If you place your phone over the photo, it starts to move,* as if time is working in reverse. Eventually, the dome is filled with the black powder, which may bring to mind the idea of peace being crushed by war, nuclear weapons, and “black rain,” etc., and create a real and gut-wrenching sense of war. Ultimately, the black powder falls slowly to the ground, at which point a completely motionless white dove appears.

Conventionally, I believe a snow globe is also a device for making each person viewing it imagine their own story as they watch the snow falling slowly down. My aim, in expressing this work in this way, is to encourage the younger generation, who no longer view nuclear weapons with a sense of reality, to take the time or even just a moment to think and imagine. If I could elaborate further, there is something I want people to notice as they look through the glass and take a bird’s-eye view of war and the atomic bombing – the white dove, trapped in the glass dome, has yet to fly free. I pray for the day when the white dove will be able to fly free in our world.