Hiroshima – Nagasaki Document 1961 is one of four key books concerned with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the others being Domon Ken's Hiroshima (1958), Tomatsu Shomei's 11.02 Nagasaki, and Kawada Kikuji's Chizu / The Map (1965). The publisher's order form laid in to this copy states that there were 2000 copies printed in English and 2000 in Russian.
In his foreword, Hideki Yukawa writes: "The tragic consequences of one atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by a B 29 bomber on the morning of August 6, 1945, and of another that flattened Nagasaki three days later, will be remembered for ever by all humanity. Three hundred thousand people were directly victimized by the two bombs, and today, 16 years later, about 200,000 others are still suffering spiritually and physically from the effects of the bombs. We know of no means of compensating them for their sacrifices and sufferings. For those who witnessed the most dreadful event in modern history, it is necessary to remember it, to leave writings, documents, pictures, and so on, to the generations to come, so that posterity may be warned against repeating the same folly. Such a dreadful disaster must never befall mankind again."
First edition, 2 vols.; [vol. 1] 4to (278 x 278 mm, 11 x 11 in); 71 black-and-white photographs by Tomatsu Shomei and 21 by Domon Ken printed in sheet-fed gravure, paintings by Maruki Iri and Maruki Toshio, foreword by Hideki Yukawa, text in English, edited by Sano Bunichiro et al, design by Sugiura Kohei and Awazu Kiyoshi, slight pulling to front free endpaper, cream cloth-covered boards, spine and sides stamped in grey, minor spotting to spine, publisher's bi-fold order form laid in; [144] (incl. two folding); [vol.2 ] 4to (280 x 280 mm, 11 x 11 in); contributions by Sakuma Kiyoshi, Kusano Nobuo, and Hata Toshio, diagrams and photographic illustrations in black-and-white, printed adhesive-bound wrappers, lightly foxed, a very good copy in the publisher's inner cardboard sleeve worn cardboard outer sleeve printed in purple; [vol. 1] [144]pp, [vol.2] 54pp.
The Photobook A History, I pp274-5; The Japanese Photobook 1912-1990 pp360-1.
