JOSHUA FEINGOLD / CONTRIBUTOR

LILY ANDERSON / MANAGING EDITOR

Nami Kozu is the daughter of artist Yoshiko Nagara-Kozu, a Hiroshima bombing survivor. Like her mother,  Kozu  is an artist as well as  an acclaimed gallerist in Tokyo and Paris, an accomplished tennis player nationally in the U.S., a former TV news anchor and an art teacher. She is also an alumna of the University of San Diego and graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1984 where she studied fine art. 

On  Feb. 12, 2025, Kozu spoke at the  Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies (KIPJ) at USD    alongside Dr.  Darren Kew,   Dean of  the  KIPJ. She came  to  discuss her mother’s art and  the healing properties of creation. Seven pieces of Nagara-Kozu’s oeuvre were generously donated by Kozu  following her mother’s passing in 2023 and  can be seen in the Copley Library and the KIPJ. Nami Kozu has previously donated  her own work to USD,  which can also be seen  in  the Copley Library.   

Yoshiko Nagara-Kozu was 14 years  old  when a nuclear bomb was dropped a  mile  away from the factory where she worked in Hiroshima, Japan.  She saw a flash from the window  and pounced toward the source of the light, seeking cover pressed against the wall. Seconds later, she turned and saw her friends dead, burnt and punctured with the shattered  glass of the window she was standing in front of a moment before.   She   stood up and went  home.  Her  father was gone and would never be found, her grandmother was killed and her sister was badly burned and died a week later. 

Like her home, Kozu was devastated.   A  month passed. She went   for a    walk in a  field that had been decimated. She came  across a single white flower sprouting from barren scorched earth. It was this flower   that gave her the power to move on.  It gave her a beauty to believe in and the fortitude to keep living. 

Nagara-Kozu went on to become a prolific artist and an advocate for peace. The subject of her paintings is often flowers. The creative process of painting helped her to heal from the trauma of the bomb. 

USD senior Gray Ehling attended Kozu’s talk and resonated with the concept   of    finding beauty in suffering. 

“It’s  really easy and  tempting to look   at  the bad  and  focus on   the bad,”  Ehling  said.   “Finding  moments of peace like  the flower in the field is a great way to go through our daily lives  and to keep moving on.” 

Kozu stated that the world is going through a catastrophic period of time and the message of perseverance and resilience that her mother’s art demonstrates is imperative to the world discussion. 

“The peace of the world starts with peace of mind,” Kozu said. “It doesn’t start with the threat of war. It starts with the children.” 

As  an  art   teacher, Kozu stressed the  importance of allowing her   young  students to create without boundaries and to learn to create in a way that makes them happy. She noted  that as  humans we can have the urge to fight or flee, like an animal.  Through sports and art, humans are able to redirect these violent instincts to calm one’s inner self and fulfill the soul. Through healing and   cultivating   peace within,  people  are able to create peace  externally in their  environment. 

USD senior Brenna Derbish also attended the discussion and found importance in this approach.  

“As   somebody   who   is potentially going into education, I think what she was saying about having a balance between teaching kids and letting them follow their passions was really applicable today,” Derbish explained. “Integrating art and story is really important to the world now.”

Kozu said that in order for her mother to continue living well, she would actively choose to look at the beauty around  her like she did upon  seeing the  flower   in   the   field,   instead  of  looking  at the   suffering and pain.  Her art was about transcending loss and trauma through the power of the purifying act of creation. 

Upon  entering the Copley Library lower lobby, the back wall is  adorned with Nagara-Kozu’s piece “Peace  is the Moment (Red and White Tulips).” Vibrant hues of crimson jolt across brilliant white petals overlaid  on a radiant  chartreuse  backdrop.  On  the adjacent    wall hangs “Mother’s Day to the Lost Ones,”  a tribute to those lost in the 2013 Fukushima earthquake. In this painting, lilies and peonies decorate  the space in cohesion with a background of azure and potent green blocks. Her work is frequently centered  around   the  motif of  flowers coexisting with incandescent color. 

During the Q&A portion of the talk, Kozu was asked about the spiritual undertones of the artistic process. She mentioned how her mother’s paintings were influenced by naturalist Shintoism and Zen Buddhism, traditional Eastern practices emphasizing harmony with nature. 

“[Zen was] a way to reach out to our inner self,” Kozu explained. “To imagine, to connect with God, to connect with something bigger than ourselves — connect with the imagination.” 

Kozu said that it was through the practice of Zen, in staying with the moment of working with the brushes, using her fingers and becoming absorbed with the subject, that her mother was  able to maintain balance mentally. 

USD’s President Harris attended the event, showing his support for Kozu, who was the first alumni he ever met at USD. 

“Nami  is the living   embodiment of  [USD’s]  mission,    her   commitment to peace and justice,” Harris stated.  “Her mom has lived  her   life to make  sure  that we  perceive the horrors of war and what happened in the aftermath of Hiroshima.”

During the discussion, Dr. Darren Kew mentioned that there is a burgeoning field of non-governmental organizations seeking peace practitioners who blend art and peace building by using art in innovative ways to spur growth during conflict resolution between nations. He has advised democracy and peace initiatives to the United Nations,  USAID and  the U.S. State  Department, and was formerly the Executive Director of the Center for Peace, Democracy and Development at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. 

Students can take time to view Nagara-Kozu’s paintings, such as “Peace is the Moment (Red and White Tulips)”  and  “Mother’s Day to   the   Lost   Ones,” at  Copley Library and at the KIPJ Fine Art Galleries this spring as the flowers bloom. 

USD alumna Nami Kozu ‘84 spoke at the KIPJ last week, sharing the paintings and story of her mother, Yoshiko Nagara-Kozu. Lily Anderson/The USD Vista