Trudging through the ruins of Hiroshima four days after the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in 1945, 5-year-old Masaki Hironaka clutched his mother’s hand and silently vowed to protect her.
It's one of many scenes from 80 years ago in August still etched in the octogenarian's memory — and now depicted vividly by Japanese teenagers on canvas.
For almost 20 years, Motomachi High School in Hiroshima has tasked its art students with interviewing hibakusha — atomic bomb survivors — and turning their harrowing testimonies into paintings.
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