August 6, 2023 marked the 78th anniversary of a tragic day. The US dropped its first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Over the next two to four months, the effects of the atomic bombings killed between 90,000 and 146,000 people in Hiroshima. Three days later a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing another 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki, roughly half on the first day.
Now a young university student from Hiroshima is working to preserve the memories of the last survivors of that day by colorizing the early photos and meeting the few survivors still alive to discuss the results.
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Ms. Anju Niwata, a university student from Hiroshima, Japan, is working on the “Rebooting Memories" project, using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to colorize black-and-white photographs of Hiroshima’s atomic bomb survivors.
Over the years, many atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) have overcome hatred and sadness in hope that human beings should never repeat the same mistakes.
Through dialogue with survivors, researching past documentary records and the use of AI technology, Ms. Niwata carefully revives the monochrome photos as she spreads the hope of peace in a nuclear weapons-free world.
The UN Secretary-General warned that a new arms race is picking up speed and world leaders are enhancing stockpiles at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars with almost 13,000 nuclear weapons currently held in arsenals around the world. “Nuclear weapons are nonsense.
Three-quarters of a century later, we must ask what we’ve learned from the mushroom cloud that swelled above this city in 1945”, he urged during the solemn event at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park attended by dozens of people, including hibakusha, young peace activists, Japan’s Prime Minister and other local authorities.
Now a young university student from Hiroshima is working to preserve the memories of the last survivors of that day by colorizing the early photos and meeting the few survivors still alive to discuss the results.
.jpeg)
Ms. Anju Niwata, a university student from Hiroshima, Japan, is working on the “Rebooting Memories" project, using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to colorize black-and-white photographs of Hiroshima’s atomic bomb survivors.
Over the years, many atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) have overcome hatred and sadness in hope that human beings should never repeat the same mistakes.
Through dialogue with survivors, researching past documentary records and the use of AI technology, Ms. Niwata carefully revives the monochrome photos as she spreads the hope of peace in a nuclear weapons-free world.
The UN Secretary-General warned that a new arms race is picking up speed and world leaders are enhancing stockpiles at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars with almost 13,000 nuclear weapons currently held in arsenals around the world. “Nuclear weapons are nonsense.
Three-quarters of a century later, we must ask what we’ve learned from the mushroom cloud that swelled above this city in 1945”, he urged during the solemn event at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park attended by dozens of people, including hibakusha, young peace activists, Japan’s Prime Minister and other local authorities.
To be frank, I am not sure whether the proposed colorization of black and white photos would add any value. I don’t believe it a good project. I believe they should remain black and white.
ReplyDeleteI recently saw the movie “Oppenheimer”. It reminded of many things, including the periodic medical checks at the ABCC I had experienced about Atomic bomb’s possible effects on human bodies, interesting invitations from a group of nuclear scientists in Oakridge, Tennessee, who had expressed remorse about the development of the bombs, to my mother in 1950s and to me in mid-1960s when I was studying in the states, as well as my most recent visit to the peace museum in Hiroshima with my family one and a half months ago.
I really believe it absolutely inexcusable to drop the second bomb in Nagasaki!
I really want to visit there in my next trip to Japan.
First of all, by all means, please share my reaction to members of XUNICEF members about Miss Anju Niwata’s project. It is a perspective of an a-bomb survivor. I just turned 6 years old on the day before August 6, 1945. I witnessed the suffering of hundreds of victims who happened to pass in front of our house in search for (non existent) medical attention, and subsequent massive cremation of those victims’ bodies in a nearby field. I also witnessed with my own eyes the complete destruction of the city as I and my parents, unwisely, walked across the city, including through the bomb epicenter, to reach the Hiroshima train station , only two days after the bombing, to evacuate to our relative’s home in a country side. My memories vividly got back to me when I accompanied my children and grandchildren to my native city of Hiroshima one month ago.
ReplyDeleteThank you for inviting me to join XUNICEF. UNICEF, which was my third UN organization that I had worked, thanks to Carol’s kind invitation, has been very special to me. I will be delighted to participate in it’s future activities.
Many thanks, once again, for getting in touch with me.
Toshi