An exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the start of an iconic manga about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, "Hadashi no Gen" ("Barefoot Gen"), began Friday at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

The free exhibition through Sept. 1 showcases for the first time various drafts of the popular antiwar story, found after author Keiji Nakazawa's death last December by his wife, Misayo, as well as original color drawings for the manga, among about 65 related items.

The story is based on Nakazawa's experience of the 1945 bombing as a 6-year-old boy on his way to school. Nakazawa, who died of lung cancer at age 73, lost his father, sister and brother in the attack. A baby sister, born prematurely soon after the bombing, lived only four months.