Interview with Sakurai Sho and artist Seiji Fujishiro from "News Zero", 15 December 2025.
Eighty years after the war… Seiji Fujishiro's "To Friends Who Died in Tokko"—shadows praying for peace.
The Chiren Peace Museum of Kamikaze is located in Kagoshima.
On display here are personal belongings of people who died during the Tokko attacks during the Pacific War.
Sakurai:-"Fujishiro-sensei, thank you for coming."
In November, we met with 101-year-old shadow picture master Seiji Fujishiro at this location.
Sakurai:-"This work, right? It's so big."
There is one painting hanging in the hall.
Fujishiro-san calls it his "final work".
A tokko aircraft soaring towards the sun above a cherry blossom avenue.
This work is dedicated to his friend who died in a tokko attack.
Seiji Fujishiro-san, a light and shadow artist (101 years old): "I need to speak and create for those who died in their early twenties."
Fujishiro-san is one of Japan's most famous shadow theatre artists.
His works are a magical world painted in bright colours. The kobito, or "little people," that appear in them symbolise the joy of life and are his own embodiment.
When we visited his studio in Tokyo…
— Aki-san, Fujishiro-san's daughter: "He made this yesterday."
— Sakurai:-"Yesterday!? It's so fresh!"
A new painting created in just a few days...
His solo exhibition is currently being held in Osaka—even at the age of 101, he remains an active artist and continues to create many new works.
(The exhibition runs from 22 October 2025 to 4 January 2026.)
Since childhood, Fujishiro-san has loved to draw.
— Sakurai:-"How did you become acquainted with the art of chiaroscuro?"
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, chiaroscuro artist(101 years old):-"When I transferred from secondary school(Keio)to the preparatory department of the university, the attack on Pearl Harbour occurred."
It happened eighty-four years ago, on the eighth of December—the attack on Pearl Harbour.
Later, Fujishiro-san, as a second-year student at Keio University, joined the naval reserves.
While preparing to defend the metropolis, the war ended.
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, light and shadow artist (101 years old):— After the war, it was almost impossible to get paint."
— Sakurai:-"Because of a lack of materials?"
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, light and shadow artist (101 years old):-"If there is light and shadow, you don't need paint."
So he became a shadow theatre artist. He wanted to convey "joy and beauty" by creating a fairy-tale world with kobito and animals. But after he turned eighty, his work underwent some changes…
Kobito, sitting and playing the flute. And the place where he sits…—The dome of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. He began to depict "war"—the complete opposite of the former magical world.
The impetus was a trip with my daughter Aki-san to an exhibition in Hiroshima.
— Aki-san:-"When we stopped at the hotel, we could see the atomic dome from the window. It kept catching his attention.
He said, "I went there in the morning, it was raining… but as soon as i started drawing, the sun came out. It was as if someone had told me something. I can't stop thinking about it."
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, light and shadow artist (101 years old):-"You can't just draw cute things. If you don't express human pain and suffering, you're not a real artist."
When Fujishiro-san was ninety-two years old, he created his final work, "To the World of Peace." It is dedicated to his friend who died in the Tokko attack.
Seiji Fujishiro-san, artist of light and shadow (101 years old):-"Ichiro Funatsu… my closest friend."
Ichiro Funatsu was his classmate at Keio University. The surnames "Fujishiro" and "Funatsu" were next to each other, and their seats in class were next to each other. But when the war began…
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, artist of light and shadow (101 years old): "Funatsu-san left to serve in the 14th batch of naval reservists. I went a year later."
After the war, Fujishiro-san learned that Funatsu-san had been killed in a Tokko attack. He came to the Chiren Peace Museum, hoping to find some information about his friend's last days. There he discovered a database with information about Tokko pilots.
Sakurai:-"Funatsu Ichiro-san… here he is."
When Fujishiro-san saw his friend's name, he couldn't hold back his tears. Funatsu-san flew out of Kagoshima with a 500-kilogram bomb and, as expected, directed his plane towards an enemy ship off the coast of Okinawa. All that remains of his death is a text record—no photograph.
— Sakurai:-"The staff found a photograph of Funatsu-san."
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, lighting artist (101 years old):-"It's been so long…"
— Sakurai:-"Do you remember him?"
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, lighting artist (101 years old):-"He was the most cheerful person. I always stayed close to him. He loved aeroplanes. I was sure he would go to the Tokko. He was always the leader of the class. Perhaps he wanted to go himself… but people like that are the ones who die… what can you say…"
The aeroplane soars towards the sun. Nearby, a small kobito seems to be watching it.
The message accompanying the work reads:-"I am filled with different feelings, and I cannot help but paint. I have put everything I have into praying for peace."
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, lighting artist (101 years old):-"I need to live and create for Funatsu-kun."
Fujishiro-san continues to work even at the age of 100.
— Seiji Fujishiro-san, artist specialising in light and shadow (101 years old):-"It cannot be said that the world has become peaceful now. Although eighty years have passed since the war. I want peace to come during my lifetime. Of course, an artist cannot change much… but I sincerely wish for this. The world is changing—and may this world become peaceful."
Source: https://www.ntv.co.jp/zero/kikikomi/articles/88nvr9q72dnrtr29.html
The translation may be incorrect. If so, please feel free to make corrections.
