Five before the fall

This artist book begins with a single memory from the artist’s childhood: his grandfather once told him that he had made Kaiten, the manned torpedoes used during the war. From that point of departure, the work traces the marks left by war on personal memory and family history. As part of the long-term project Hiroshima Graph, which explores Hiroshima through multiple perspectives, this book further deepens the narrative that began with Nagi. Through archival materials, testimonies, photographs, and texts, it confronts the question: “Why did they have to die?” This handmade artist book consists of 318 pages and is published in a limited edition of 80 copies. The cover features a finishing knot made in memory of the 106 Kaiten pilots who lost their lives, and each copy is produced by the artist’s own hand. This copy is signed and numbered by the artist.