A Wish for Peace

As a mother and an artist, Chihiro continued drawing children as her lifetime theme. Chihiro once said, “No matter how dirty children get, or how ragged their clothes are, I can’t help seeing them as beautiful children whose minds are filled with dreams.” During World War II, Chihiro had to make a desperate attempt to escape the air raid. From this experience, she could not condone war, which not only takes people's lives, but also causes people to lose their humanity and steals their future. Her paintings of children embraced with love are in stark contrast to her paintings of children exposed to the ravages of war, as seen in Senka no Naka no Kodomotachi (Children in the Flames of War), the last work completed by Chihiro. These two works are contradictory but both convey Chihiro’s wish for peace as expressed in her words: “Wishing peace and happiness for all the children of the world.”