Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan (Showa: A History of Japan, 1) - Softcover

Mizuki, Shigeru

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1770461353 ISBN 13: 9781770461352

Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly, 2013

Synopsis

A fascinating period in Japanese history explored by a master of manga

Showa 1926–1939: A History of Japan is the first volume of Shigeru Mizuki's meticulously researched historical portrait of twentieth-century Japan. This volume deals with the period leading up to World War II, a time of high unemployment and other economic hardships caused by the Great Depression. Mizuki's photo-realist style effortlessly brings to life the Japan of the 1920s and 1930s, depicting bustling city streets and abandoned graveyards with equal ease.
When the Showa era began, Mizuki himself was just a few years old, so his earliest memories coincide with the earliest events of the time. With his trusty narrator Rat Man, Mizuki brings history into the realm of the personal, making it palatable, and indeed compelling, for young audiences as well as more mature readers. As he describes the militarization that leads up to World War II, Mizuki's stance toward war is thoughtful and often downright critical―his portrayal of the Nanjing Massacre clearly paints the incident (a disputed topic within Japan) as an atrocity. Mizuki's Showa 1926–1939 is a beautifully told history that tracks how technological developments and the country's shifting economic stability had a role in shaping Japan's foreign policy in the early twentieth century.

About this title

About the Author:

Born in 1922 in Sakaiminato, Tottori, Shigeru Mizuki is a specialist in stories of yokai and is considered a master of the genre. He is a member of the Japanese Society of Cultural Anthropology, and has traveled to more than sixty countries to engage in fieldwork of the yokai and spirits of different cultures. His work has been published in Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Taiwan, and Italy, and he was the first manga-ka to win the grand prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Europe's highest prize for comics.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 9 Up—Mixing memoir and political history, this graphic novel presents a tumultuous time in Japan's past through the eyes of someone who lived it: influential 20th-century manga artist Mizuki. The early years of Japan's Showa era were marked by government and military corruption that ultimately led the nation to World War II, and Mizuki's frank account of this period does not gloss over unflattering truths. At first glance, this tome may appear to be strictly for history buffs and Japanophiles—but any reader will be hooked by the juxtaposition of the author's humorous anecdotes of his rural childhood and the sobering picture of his country's financial instability, political turmoil, and harrowing acts of aggression in Asia. It's an eye-opening reading experience, a window into a segment of history not taught in typical American classrooms. The sheer number of unfamiliar names and places can be daunting, but one of Mizuki's famous characters, Nezumi Otoko, pops in and out to help the contemporary audience make sense of key events. Black-and-white illustrations vacillate between cartoonish in the sections portraying boyish antics and stunningly detailed when depicting more serious subject matter, illuminating the dichotomy of everyday life in Japan and the rising tensions on the political landscape. Less successful are the too-frequent references to endnotes that don't always add to the narrative. Whether or not teens choose to read them, this book clearly shows how seemingly remote political decisions can profoundly affect the average person. Thought-provoking and powerful.—Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CA

About this edition

• Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1770461353
• ISBN 13: 9781770461352
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560