NAGASAKI, Japan—His greenish face is a picture of wan serenity, but his limbs—arms and legs—warn of something deadly and dire.
Anchoring this city’s Peace Park and perched among placid parkland, Seibo Kitamura’s masterpiece sits near the spot where, on Aug. 9, 1945, one of the largest atomic bombs ever detonated on earth rocked this southern Japanese city. One leg of the statue is folded in meditation, but the other is extended, ready to stand up and help. Eyes closed in prayer for the victims, one hand is extended in a gesture of peace, while the other, pointing up, indicates the threat—ever present—of death, from the sky.
