OBARA, Kazuma - Silent Histories

Background information

"'Silent Histories' is a book in which Japanese photographer Kazuma Obara tried to depict the lives of children who were injured and became disabled as a result of the U.S aerial bombing of Japan during World War Two. It has been said that the indiscriminate bombing by U.S. forces during the Pacific War killed 330,000 and left 430,000 Japanese citizens injured. Japan's economic recovery in the wake of wartime devastation was such that it was referred to as "The Japanese economic miracle". In contrast, children with incurable wounds of war were forced to live a harsh life. They have lived in the shadows, trying to hide their scars and avoid causing trouble by being invisible, trying hard to cover their pain.

This book, 'Silent Histories', gives voice to their histories which have been kept silent for 69 years. This book consists of 7 victims' stories including their current portraits, found photos, and propaganda magazines which were published by the Japanese government during the war period.

'Silent Histories' - supreme court edition- was originally published as handmade photo book and made to submitted to Supreme Court to show their injuries to a Judge(Victims had sued the government)." (publisher's note), © RM, 2015

Honors:
TIME picks the Best Photobook 2014
Claxton Project -The fourteen photobook highlight of 2014
Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2014 - First Photobook Prize - Finalist
LensCulture Editor's - 2014 Photobooks of the Year
Telegraph:My favourite photo books of 2014 by Cheryl Newman
fotografia - THE ULTIMATE LIST OF 2014 BEST PHOTOBOOKS
Photo eye - Best books of 2014 by Colin Pantall
Photo eye - Best Books 2014 by Manik Katyal

Reviews:
EMAHO MAGAZINE Photobook Review by Colin pantall
Colin Pantall Blog

About the photographer, Kazuma OBARA (b.1985 in Iwate, Japan):
Kazuma OBARA is a photojournalist based in the UK and Japan. After finishing his degree in sociology at Utsunomiya University, Japan, he studied photojournalism at Days Japan Photo Journalism School while working in the financial industry.
After the tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011, he resigned from his job to begin documenting the disaster area, photographing from inside Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Obara was the first photojournalist to convey the story from inside the plant. His work in the disaster areas was published as the photobook 'Reset Beyond Fukushima', published by Lars Müller Publishers, Switzerland in March 2012. 

In 2014, Kazuma OBARA focused on victims of World War Two in Japan and his self published photobook Silent Histories was shortlisted for Paris Photo/Aperture Photo Book Award and was selected for TIME, Lens Culture, and Telegraph Best Photobook 2014. Continuing his pursuit of nuclear labour issues as a long term project, OBARA is currently focusing on workers at Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
As of 2015, he is studying at London College of Communication for a master's degree in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.A partner photographer of Swiss photo agency Keystone, his photographs appear regularly in The Guardian, Courier international, ZEIT, El Mund, BBC, CNN, NHK, and DAYS JAPAN.