〈Painter’s words〉

After we learned that the war had been lost, we came across countless freight trains onto which Japanese refugees were packed like sardines. From beneath the sheets that kept them from the beating August sun, they peered out at the world outside, a sea of nervous faces. The heat was like a sauna. They were tired and frightened, like prisoners being carted off for execution. Their eyes were vacant. Nobody said a word. Every now and then a baby’s cry could be heard from within the train. They had been stripped of their every possession and robbed of hope, and they feared they might be plundered by the local populace. Freight trains of wretched and miserable souls are crossing paths with freight trains of impotent soldiers on their way to who knows where.

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》

得知日本戰敗的消息後，我們的貨車多次與滿載難民同胞的貨車相遇。人像沙丁魚罐頭一樣塞得滿滿的，掀起躲避八月的太陽而覆蓋著的簾子，向外張望的一張張臉。就像蒸汽浴中的臉一樣，都帶著焦慮、恐懼和疲倦，就像要關進監獄的囚犯一樣安靜，目光呆滯。有時，車廂裏會傳來嬰兒的哭喊聲，就好像失火了一樣。被當地人的豪奪嚇到，失去了希望而顯得卑微的人們的貨車，與我們這些無助士兵的貨車，不知去向地彼此擦肩而過。

《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。