For twenty-three years after the end of World War II, Chichijima was occupied by the U.S. military. During this time, only military personnel, their families, and the people already living there were allowed on the island. Most of what happened in this period remains unknown, but it was later revealed that the U.S. placed a nuclear warhead called “Mary’s Lamb” on the island.
In his series, Nagasawa enters the bunker where Mary’s Lamb was once kept. His photographs interrogate the halls, the floors, the flaking paint, the rusting metal surfaces, as if asking them for clues or their memories. A powerful, haunting work about presence and non-presence and the long echoes of the past.
“Japan promised by law to adhere to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles not to possess, produce, or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons. But nuclear weapons were brought here. Nuclear bombs were stored and retrieved here. Something that shouldn’t be had existed here. Nagasawa’s photographs of this place bring to our attention faint memories that lie behind what is shown in the photographs. The people who knew that time are disappearing, giving way to a new generation of Bonin Islanders … Mary’s Lamb was once here. Mary’s Lamb is no longer here. But Mary’s Lamb has not disappeared to some other place in the world. Nagasawa’s photographs pose a question to those of us living today. These photographs are memories to take into the future by those who will live from now on.”
― from Tsuyoshi Tane’s essay “Mary Had a Little Lamb – An Unforgettable Place”
Mary Had a Little Lamb is an American nursery rhyme written in the 19th century. It’s a story about a little girl named Mary who has a pet lamb that is very attached to her. One day, her brother encourages Mary to bring the lamb to school. The sudden appearance of the lamb at school causes a commotion among the students. The students panic because Mary broke the rules by bringing the lamb to school where animals are not usually allowed. The nursery rhyme includes a line about the students wondering, “Why does the lamb love Mary so much?” Something that was wasn’t supposed be there was there. The name almost seems to be metaphorically intended.
