Victory over Japan Day in Times Square, New York
対日戦勝記念日、タイムズ・スクエア、ニューヨーク・シティ
- Birth Year
- 1898
- Death Year
- 1995
- Date
- 1945
- Technique, Material, Format
- gelatin silver print
- Dimension
- 31.7 x 22.8 cm
- Category
- Photograph or Moving Image by ForeignPhotographer/Artist
- Inventory Number
- 87-PHF-274
Alfred Eisenstadt was a Jewish photographer born in German West Prussia (now Poland). After moving to New York in 1934 due to rising antisemitism, he began working on contract with Life magazine. And with this single photo he became a leading figure in the world of photojournalism.
In the United States, on the night of August 14, 1945, President Truman announced the unconditional surrender of Japan in response to a broadcast from Emperor Showa. The next day, Eisenstadt went to Times Square where people were gathering to celebrate and captured with exquisite composition the moment a sailor kissed a nurse. Published in Life and dubbed “V-J Day Kiss,” this photo came to symbolize the end of the war.
(MATSUNAGA Shintaro)