Nakamura Goro, born in 1940, is
a free-lance photographer in Japan. In 1970, he came to Vietnam as a
tourist. In 1973, he returned to Vietnam to learn about aftermath of war.
Well aware of the tragedies caused by the war, he expressed a deep
sympathy for the Vietnamese people who were facing innumerable
difficulties.
For more than a quarter of the
past century, Nakamura came to Vietnam more than 30 times, during which he
travelled along the National Highway 1A from Hanoi to the southernmost Ca
Mau Province. He has taken more than 35,000 photos, most of them about the
war victims and localities devastated by the war. They show disabled
children born in the localities sprayed with toxic chemicals, grieving
parents who could do nothing to help them, the tragic families who are
suffering from the consequences of Agent Orange, etc. Nakamura also
photographed an environment heavily devastated during the war, such as a
denuded forest which was formerly a forest with high trees, bomb craters
on the rice fields, and others. These photos are valuable documents
reflecting the biggest war in the second half of the 20th century. nbsp;
In 1995, 20 years after
Vietnam's national reunification, Nakamura published the book "Vietnam War
Agent Orange", which greatly impressed the readers in Japan and the world
as well. It was considered a bell ringing for peace all over the world. In
1999, the book was re-published. Nakamura organized more than 20
exhibitions displaying photos from the book in Japan, one exhibition in
the United States in 1983, and another exhibition in South Korea in 1993.
In late 2000 and early 2001, he organized two exhibitions titled the same
as the book in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which attracted a great number
of Vietnamese visitors of different ages and from all walks of life.
Nakamura's photos impressed the Vietnamese viewers very much and they
reminded them of the war and its horrible aftermath, and they also highly
appreciated the author's talent as well as his feelings towards Vietnam.
On these pages are some photos
from Nakamura's book "Vietnam War Agent Orange".nbsp;
