Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms
Original Painting and Supervisor |
Manga artist KOUNO Fumiyo KOUNO Fumiyo |
|---|
2020
H2.8m × W7.0m
West 1 exit, Hondori Station, Hiroshima Rapid Transit, Astramline
©KOUNO Fumiyo/COAMIX
Full view of the artwork
Close-up of the artwork (detail)
Close-up of the artwork (detail)
Close-up of the artwork (detail)
Close-up of the artwork (detail)
Close-up of the artwork (detail)
Production Notes
This stained glass artwork depicts Minami Hirano, the protagonist of Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, set in Hiroshima ten years after the atomic bombing. She is shown walking barefoot with her shoes in hand beneath falling cherry blossoms, with the Atomic Bomb Dome in the background. The gentle style and warm colors are beautifully illuminated by natural light, expressing artist Fumiyo Kono’s heartfelt wish to convey the precious value of peace.
Planning ： Japan Traffic Culture Association
Sponsorship ： Japan Lottery Association
This project was developed with a grant from the lottery social contribution public relations project.
Artist Profile
KOUNO Fumiyo
KOUNO Fumiyo
Manga artist
Born in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, in 1968.She began drawing manga while in junior high school. She entered the Faculty of Science at Hiroshima University, where she joined the Illustration and Manga Club. Determined to pursue a professional career as a manga artist, she left university and moved to Tokyo. After working as an assistant to manga artists Katsuyuki Toda and Fumiko Tanikawa, she made her professional debut in 1995 with Machikado Hanadayori (Flower News from the Street Corner).
In 2004, her Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (Yūnagi no Machi, Sakura no Kuni) received the Grand Prize in the Manga Division of the 8th Japan Media Arts Festival and the New Artist Prize at the 9th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize. Set in Hiroshima in the aftermath of the atomic bombing, the work poignantly portrays the realities of war and nuclear devastation through the lives of ordinary people. It was adapted into a live-action film starring Rena Tanaka and released in July 2007.
In 2009, her In This Corner of the World (Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni) received the Excellence Award in the Manga Division of the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival. The work was adapted into television dramas by Nippon TV in 2011 and TBS in 2018, and into acclaimed animated feature films directed by Sunao Katabuchi, released in 2016 and 2019.
Location ： West 1 exit, Hondori Station, Hiroshima Rapid Transit, Astramline
Artist's Comments
Hello.
The first time I rode the Astram Line was on a rare snowy morning in Hiroshima. Looking at the beauty of the view from the train window, I really thought, “I’m glad we have a train like this.”
This time, I am very honored to have this stained glass installed at Hondori Station, the starting point of the Astram Line.
In the comic book “Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms.” I depict people who try to lead hearty and humane lives in Hiroshima. Many people said to me, “I remembered people I knew who were bombed.”
Hondori is full of memories and longing for my family and friends from a bygone age.
This is a developing and changing city, but now my old friend is always waiting for me here.
I hope you think so, too.