〈Painter’s words〉

I clung to the grating and watched the outside world as our freight train ploughed on to the north from Mukden, constantly on the lookout for things that would make a good painting. Perhaps that was my way of trying to deal with the mental numbness brought on by a combination of weariness and solitude with which other soldiers had no way of dealing. .
One day I saw a barracks building ablaze, the flames shooting high into the sky. Apparently it had been burning for several days. Perhaps it had been the powder magazine. The blaze was so intense that it appeared to me like a hellfire sent to warn us of the final end of some great act of evil.

Siberian Series (Shinchosha, 1971)

Kazuki Yasuo 1911 – 1974
Born in Misumi-mura (now Misumi, Nagato City) in Otsu-gun, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Studied oil painting at Tokyo School of Fine Arts, then taught fine art while producing works that were primarily exhibited at Kokugakai (National Painting Association). Kazuki was sent to fight in the Pacific War (WWII), then interned in Siberia after the war. This experience resulted in the Siberia Series, which won the inaugural Japan Art Grand Prize in 1967. This series is considered an important body of work that still resonates widely today.

《畫家的話》

從奉天繼續北上的期間，我緊緊抓住貨車的鐵柵欄，總是向外眺望。一直思考著，這個能入畫，那個不能入畫的事情。通過強迫自己這樣思考，來防止和其他士兵一樣，因為孤獨和疲勞而出現虛脫的狀態。
有一天，看到營房燃燒起來，冒著衝天的火焰。據說已經燃燒了好幾天。可能是火藥庫吧，火焰猛烈，宛如宣告惡業終結的地獄之火一般。

《西伯利亞畫集》（新潮社 1971年）

香月泰男
生卒年　1911～1974（明治44年～昭和49年)
香月泰男出生於山口縣大津郡三隅村（現長門市三隅），在東京美術學校學習油畫，在擔任美術教員的同時，主要在國畫會發表作品。1967年， “西伯利亞係列 “獲得了第一屆日本藝術大獎，描繪了香月在太平洋戰爭中服役以及戰後被關押在西伯利亞的經曆。那些作品至今也受很多人歡迎。