〈Painter’s words〉

We were sent to work at a timber factory on the Enisej River, a long way east of the camp. Fires were prohibited in the factory, and during winter it was like a refrigerator thanks to the bitterly cold winds that came down off the nearby mountains. The Enisej was a relatively small river yet around here. During summer it could be used to transport logs downstream, but in the winter it would be carrying chunks of ice instead and the waters would start to freeze along the riverbanks, making it narrower still. One day the river stopped flowing altogether. As I gazed out at the dull reflections from the surface of this meandering frozen spectacle, it seemed as if time itself had stopped. The human world, with its endless wars and conflicts, animosity and suffering, seemed so petty and trifling compared to the natural world.

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》

從戰俘營一直往東走就是葉尼塞河。在河岸的大型木材加工廠工作。冬天從附近山上吹下來的寒風，讓嚴禁煙火的工廠裏，就像在冰箱裏一樣寒冷。葉尼塞河在這一帶還沒有呈現出大河的樣貌。夏天，利用水流堆積木材的河流，到了冬天也開始結冰，河面也開始變窄。接著，突然有一天水停止了流動。看著眼前閃著鈍光、蜿蜒曲折的凍河，時間仿佛停止了一樣。戰爭、爭鬥、憎恨、苦惱等人類的行為，在大自然的行為面前顯得尤為渺小。

《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。