I Killed the King With My Lies

“We can only build peace through speaking to each other.
The color of our skin or nationality does not matter.”
-Emiko Okada

肌の色が違おうと、国が違おうと、
出会いを大事にしたいんです。
人と人で対話をして、平和を作っていきたいのです。

I received the sad news that Mrs. Emiko Okada passed away on April 9th.  I photographed Mrs. Okada in Hiroshima during 2010.  She experienced the atomic bomb when she was eight years old, at her home 2.8km from the hypocenter.  She devoted her life traveling the world to promote peace and the importance of nuclear disarmament. 

Although Mrs. Okada endured living a difficult life, she never spoke begrudgingly.  She describes herself as a “mouthpiece” for the departed.  

“My sister was 12 years old. She went out and never came back.”  Mrs. Okada’s elder sister has been missing since August 6th, 1945.  Mrs. Emiko’s daughter has struggled against an incurable disease that decreases the number of blood platelets, most likely caused by the radiation that Mrs. Okada was exposed to.  

I haven’t met many other individuals so devoted to teaching young people about peace and reconciliation. Mrs. Okada was 84 years old.

Mrs. Okada’s portrait a part of my From Above project which featured portraits of atomic bomb and firebombing survivors from WWII. My limited edition book is available at https://www.photoeye.com/bookstore/citation.cfm?catalog=I1040&i=&i2=