The Hiroshima Panels

During the occupation of Japan by the Allied powers, when reporting on the atomic bombing was strictly prohibited, the panels played a crucial role in making known the hidden nuclear suffering through a nationwide tour.

The use of traditional Japanese black and white ink drawings, sumi-e, contrasted with the red of atomic fire produce an effect that is strikingly anti-war and anti-nuclear.

[4] The panels also depict the accident of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru on the Bikini Atoll in 1954 which the Marukis believed showed the threat of a nuclear bomb even during peace time.

[citation needed] British poet James Kirkup's poem Ghosts, Fire, Water, published in the anthology No more Hiroshimas, is based on the first three panels.

[5] The US-American artist Arthur Binard wrote a Japanese kamishibai story small voices (ちっちゃいこえ) from 2012 to 2019 based on the panels and told from the viewpoint of a cat.