Shu Kataoka (then, 13) was exposed to the atomic bomb in the building of First Hiroshima Prefectural Junior High School when he was a first-year student. Kataoka lost his father and older brother to the bomb, and he suffered for years from its aftereffects.
As a university student, recommended by an older student, Kataoka decided that he wanted to become a designer. He made a name for himself on the frontlines of the commercial advertisement industry at an early age.
Kataoka felt very hesitant about publicly discussing the aftereffects of the atomic bomb, but that feeling changed as time passed. He started to wonder if there were anything he could do to prevent the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from happening again. In 1985, forty years after his experience of the atomic bombing, he published a famous ‘Peace Poster,’ which represented his quiet personal wishes and feelings. He wanted to create 100 posters, but in 1997, he passed away after completing his 70th.