49th Kimura Ihei Photography Award Winning Work ExhibitionShinichiro Nagasawa Mary Had a Little LambSponsored by Asahi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun Publishing
Dates
Friday, April 25 – Thursday, May 8, 202511:00～19:00
Amid rising concerns over Russia's nuclear threats, discussions are underway in Europe about expanding the so-called nuclear umbrella.These developments suggest a shift away from nuclear disarmament,raising fears that the tragedies caused by nuclear weapons could one day be repeated.
After World War II, the United States deployed nuclear weapons across the globe under the banner of deterrence. One such deployment took place on Chichijima in Japan's Ogasawara Islands. For 23 years following the war, the island was under U.S. naval occupation, during which nuclear warheads were secretly stationed there. The storage facility was given the name Mary Had a Little Lamb. As with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—nicknamed Little Boy and Fat Man—this innocently playful name masked the terrifying reality beneath.
Since 2008, I have been photographing the descendants of the first Europeans, Americans and Euronesians who made their home on what was once the uninhabited island of Chichijima. In 2021, I published The Bonin Islanders, a project that explores their identities and heritage.These individuals were among the few allowed to return to the island during the U.S. occupation. To understand what happened during this era—often referred to as the "23 missing years"—we must rely on their memories. The presence of nuclear weapons on Chichijima was brought to light by American researcher Robert Norris and others, based on testimony from Europeans, Americans and Euronesians who lived there at the time. Through my own connection with these descendants, I too came to learn of the nuclear deployment and the existence of the storage facility.
During the war, Chichijima was turned into a fortified island, and remnants of that era—such as underground bunkers and artillery emplacements—still remain. But time has taken its toll, and these traces of war are slowly crumbling away. About half a century has passed since the U.S. military withdrew, and the facility where nuclear warheads were once stored now stands empty—haunted only by a lingering void.Through my work, I seek to illuminate the memories embedded in this place and to raise questions—questions that may help us confront the enduring threat of nuclear weapons.
Shinichiro Nagasawa
Shinichiro Nagasawa Profile
Photographer
1977
Born in Tokyo
2001
Began studying under Tamotsu Fujii
2006
Became an independent photographer
2008
Began photographing on Chichijima in the Ogasawara islands
2021
Published the photobook The Bonin Islanders, (AKAAKA Art Publishing, May)
2024
Published the photobook, Mary Had a Little Lamb,(AKAAKA Art Publishing, October)
Selected Exhibitions - The Bonin Islanders
2021
Nikon Salon (May)
2022
T3 Photo Festival Tokyo (October) Hotel Pat inn, Chichijima (October) Prix Pictet Japan Award, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (December)
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Amid rising concerns over Russia's nuclear threats, discussions are underway in Europe about expanding the so-called nuclear umbrella.These developments suggest a shift away from nuclear disarmament,raising fears that the tragedies caused by nuclear weapons could one day be repeated.
After World War II, the United States deployed nuclear weapons across the globe under the banner of deterrence. One such deployment took place on Chichijima in Japan's Ogasawara Islands. For 23 years following the war, the island was under U.S. naval occupation, during which nuclear warheads were secretly stationed there. The storage facility was given the name Mary Had a Little Lamb. As with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—nicknamed Little Boy and Fat Man—this innocently playful name masked the terrifying reality beneath.
Since 2008, I have been photographing the descendants of the first Europeans, Americans and Euronesians who made their home on what was once the uninhabited island of Chichijima. In 2021, I published The Bonin Islanders, a project that explores their identities and heritage.These individuals were among the few allowed to return to the island during the U.S. occupation. To understand what happened during this era—often referred to as the "23 missing years"—we must rely on their memories. The presence of nuclear weapons on Chichijima was brought to light by American researcher Robert Norris and others, based on testimony from Europeans, Americans and Euronesians who lived there at the time. Through my own connection with these descendants, I too came to learn of the nuclear deployment and the existence of the storage facility.
During the war, Chichijima was turned into a fortified island, and remnants of that era—such as underground bunkers and artillery emplacements—still remain. But time has taken its toll, and these traces of war are slowly crumbling away. About half a century has passed since the U.S. military withdrew, and the facility where nuclear warheads were once stored now stands empty—haunted only by a lingering void.Through my work, I seek to illuminate the memories embedded in this place and to raise questions—questions that may help us confront the enduring threat of nuclear weapons.
Shinichiro Nagasawa