Artwork with ‘comfort woman’ image denied showing in Ise

ISE, Mie Prefecture--A local artist here is the latest to be stopped from showing his work because it contains an image of “comfort women,” who were forced to provide sex to Japanese troops before and during World War II.

The city's board of education said Oct. 31 it decided not to display graphic artist Toshihiko Hanai's mixed media piece that contains a photo of a statue representing comfort women at a municipal exhibition under way here, as doing so might put the public at risk.

The Ise resident slammed the decision as censorship.

“If artworks aren't allowed to be displayed due to their content, it will lead to a younger generation withdrawing from expressing themselves despite their desire to do so in diversified ways,” said Hanai, 64. “No boundaries should be imposed in art.”

The board’s decision is the latest of a string of repercussions stemming from the high-profile controversy over a show on freedom of expression at the Aichi Triennale 2019 international art festival in Aichi Prefecture.

The exhibition, “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” was called off only three days after opening on Aug. 1 due to hundreds of phone calls, e-mails and an arson threat.

Protests focused mainly on the display of the statue of a girl symbolizing comfort women.

The show restarted in October, just about a week before the art festival concluded on Oct. 14.

Hanai said he intended to create a piece on free speech for the municipal event after he received inspiration from the “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” show. But he said the comfort women statue was not the key element of his artwork.

Hanai's piece, titled “Who Am I?” predominantly features a large red hand on its 70 centimeter by 50 cm canvas, and a stone. The target of the city's opposition, a 20 cm by 10 cm photo of the comfort women statue, adorns the upper left corner.

The Ise municipal exhibition is organized by the city government and its education board to promote art in the local region.

For this year’s exhibition, there were 258 entries of various pieces, including Hanai’s work, according to the education board.

The event, which began at the Sinfonia Technology Hibiki Hall Ise on Oct. 29, is now exhibiting all the works except Hanai’s. The show ends Nov. 3.

Hanai was involved in the municipal event as one of 10 members of the exhibition’s steering committee, compiling guidelines for would-be entries.

When the steering committee's nine members met on Oct. 27, three, including Hanai, supported displaying his piece, according to board of education representatives who attended.

Four were opposed and two did not take a position.

After hearing opinions from steering committee members and lawyers, the board decided not to display Hanai's work. Hanai was informed of the decision on Oct. 28.

“We are aware of the importance of respecting freedom of expression,” a board member said. “But we were concerned about a possible uproar because his work showed the statue of the girl. Ensuring the safety of citizens is our overriding priority.”

Ise Mayor Kenichi Suzuki defended the board’s decision.

“We put the safety of the venue above anything else,” he said. “We were not involved in assessing the artistry of the work. So the decision does not constitute censorship.”

Hanai said he offered to blacken part of the photo or cover it with black adhesive tape, but the board refused to budge on its decision not to show it.