Museum of Layered Memories

This participatory exhibition invites visitors to stand before paintings featured in the StoryMap that traces the lives of atomic bomb survivors, and to layer their own thoughts and emotions into words. Each painting was created by high school students based on survivors’ testimonies. The visitors’ written reflections remain as traces—intertwining and resonating with the feelings of others. When the memories of the atomic bombing, as “events of the past,” intersect with what is “being spoken” in the present, the boundary between what exists and what is absent gently dissolves, giving rise to new layers of empathy.

Please take a moment to stand before the painting and imagine the scene and the feelings of the people depicted. Then, gently put into words what you feel. Your thoughts will be recorded as text, layering with the words of others to create new layers of empathy. Whether you choose to leave your words or simply observe in silence, both are part of this artwork. Allow yourself to sense how the emotions of the past and the present quietly resonate within this space.