〈Painter’s words〉

We learned that we were going to Manchuria. Troop movements are always conducted in secrecy. We were supplied with winter clothes, redolent of camphor. They were made the year I was born. It was then that I understood we would be thrown out into the severity of the Manchurian winter. Our departure was a sad affair, attended by only a small handful of family members who had heard the news. This was the beginning of my journey through war and internment in Siberia that was to last more than four years. There was no national flag of Japan waved at the port of Shimonoseki; however, it seemed that an invisible black flag was waved by the state which simply loads me onto a ship and sends me off against my will.

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》

我們將要被送到滿洲。士兵的移動都是秘密進行的，當我領到自己出生年製造的散發著樟腦氣味的冬裝時，才知道要去滿洲。在僅有的家人的送別下，踏上了孤獨的長達四年多的參戰、被拘留的旅程。下關港雖然沒有揮舞的“日之丸”國旗，但在國家體製下，無視個人意願的出航，就好像有肉眼看不見的“黑色日之丸”旗幟在揮舞著。

《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。