As World War II veterans slowly disappear, every first hand account of that explosive and horrifically destructive war becomes more hallowed. Few people living today, at least in the relatively peaceful west, can imagine the ghastly brutality of that time. War was everywhere and it interrupted or outright ended countless lives. Few could evade the power of the dueling empires. Shigeru Mizuki, himself a World War II veteran on the Japanese side, recently departed at the age of 93. Born in Taishô 11, or 1922, he came of age during the reign of Emperor Hirohito, otherwise known as the Showâ era. He lived through and ultimately played a role in Japan's Imperial project of the 1930s and 1940s. Many know that this role eventually cost him an arm. Much later he became one of Japan's most famous and acclaimed manga artists, mostly through his works featuring Yôkai. As his work shows, he possessed a singular, inimitable skill. Those who think manga exclusively deals in cute may recoil at his twisted and distorted characters and sometimes disturbing subject matter. In 1988 Mizuki dove into one of the murkiest and most controversial subjects in Japanese history and produced an epic manga that covered the years 1926 to 1989, the entire reign of Hirohito. Mizuki himself appears in this masterwork as someone who found himself thrown into an era of rampant militarism and impending fascism that ultimately ended in defeat and annihilation. With the help of the equally famous "Nezumi Otoko" or "Rat Man," who appears to "help you out with the hard parts," the work brilliantly and beautifully unfolds the rising nationalistic fanaticism that gripped Japan in the early twentieth century and its ugly implications. It excels as history, manga and riveting storytelling. Even more fascinating, it tells the story of World War II from a Japanese perspective.
Drawn And Quarterly graciously translated this magnum opus into English and released it in 4 large volumes beginning in 2014. The first volume covers the growing empire's formative years of 1926, when Hirohito rose to the Chrysanthemum throne, through 1939 after the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese war and the appointment of the infamous Hideki Tojo as War Minister. Nazi forces also roll into Poland by the end of this first book. Some have argued that World War II really began with the conflicts between Japan, China and Korea in the 1930s, in contrast to western historical traditions that begin the war with Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939. The detail given to that conflict in this volume arguably adds credence to that claim. But things begin earlier, at the end of Japan's "roaring 20s" also known as "Taishô Democracy." In 1923, or Taishô 12, a great disaster befell Tokyo, the Great Kanto earthquake. It flattened nearly everything and sent fires roaring throughout the city constructed largely from wood. As the Showâ age dawned the destruction brought about an almost equivalent economic disaster. Bank failures proliferated and the Taishô-spawned middle class found itself squeezed financially.
Mizuki first appears as a child learning what things not to eat. His classic first line: "Can't eat rocks. Too hard." He settles for scraping and eating the gold plating off of the ball on a flagpole's pinnacle. Not a promising start. Mizuki's father also stars and a brief flashback shows his rise into middle class Taishô life. In the ensuing Showâ downturn, labor disputes rise in number along with radios. Nonnonba, a Mizuki grandmother figure, takes him to eat sazae. Some famous Japanese historical figures pass and Mizuki's father falls out with his employer. So why not open a movie theater? Signs of things to come arrive with "The General Election Law" and the "Public Security Preservation Law" in 1927, both cleverly summarized as "It's okay to vote as long as you vote for the right candidate." A series of "incidents" follows, beginning with the "March 15 Incident" that saw a mass rounding up of communists. Japan then makes a foray into China, leading to "The Huanggutun Incident" in 1928. A bomb explodes on a railroad, killing a Chinese warlord. Nezumi Otoko says that the Kwangtung army planned it to bolster Japanese power. This effort fizzles.
The brutality of Mizuki's childhood comes alive in a sometimes nauseating sections starting with one called "The Gang." Here, rival youth gangs violently conspire against one another and someone on each side ends up eating "miso" poop. Ugh. Mizuki dreams of becoming the toughest kid at school. Then the Great Showâ Depression sets in, spurned by the USA's 1929 stock market crash. Zaibatsu rise. Mizuki's grandfather goes to Java while his father travels to Osaka. The government lifts the gold embargo. Gold spills out of Japan. Kids worship war heroes in "Shonen Club." The "Great Powers" limit Japan to a 10:10:6 ratio. "Betobeto-san," one of this series' yokai, follows Mizuki and a friend home. Despair sets in. "Chimney Man" holds his ground. Suicides increase. The tragedy of the Tohoku farmers spreads anger. Daughters get sold. Farmers paradoxically starve to death. Then the Mukden Incident. More bombs on railroads lead to further Chinese invasions and the occupation of Manchuria and the founding of Manchukuo in 1932. A debate in the general staff leads to further aggression with China. Nezumi Otoko concludes, sadly, "in hindsight, they should have done nothing at all." And further: "It's a shame, but people rarely make the difficult choice of leaving things alone."
Uprisings in Korea begin, suppressed by China. The Wanpaoshan Incident. As the Japanese press spins events to its advantage, Nezumi Otoko chimes in again: "In the wrong hands, mass media can be a terrible thing." Mizuki collects newspaper clippings, somewhat out of season, walks twenty miles to an art exhibition and encounters the hidarugami, or hunger ghosts. He also does not excel at school. The Shanghai Incident, helped along by a Japanese Mata Hari. Tensions rise further after the Japanese arrange to have Japanese people attacked in Shanghai. The Human Bullets become an inadvertent, and much glorified, suicide mission. Mizuki and friends walk twenty-five miles for rare donuts. Puyi becomes Emperor of the Japanese puppet state, Manchukuo. The Saurakai's coup de-etat fails when no one joins in their planned riots. Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai falls in the May 15 Incident. Mass hysteria and ritual suicide overtakes the nation. Mount Mihara takes on ominous symbolism. Tokyo Ondo and "Gloomy Sunday" sweep Japan. In 1933 things get serious as Japan withdrawn from the League of Nations in protest. More political assassinations lead to chaos and the February 26 Incident in which Ikki Kitta's coup gets thwarted by Hirohito himself (here the Showâ Emperor appears for the first and only time in this first book). Mizuki begins painting. The famous Marco Polo bridge incident of 1937, "7-7-7 day," throws Japan and China into war. The nefarious Nanjing massacre occurs in late 1937 as Japan continues to conquer China. Mizuki seems to fail at everything that comes his way, but art school remains a possibility. Japan and The Soviet Union fight with great losses and eventually sign an armstice. Meanwhile, things are heating up inexorably Europe. Enter Tojo.
Western readers may know very little, or perhaps none, of the history outlined in Showâ. But even those familiar with this history will probably evolve into page turning addicts as each event unfolds. Thankfully, Shigeru Mizuki has preserved this era so compellingly in this manga memoir that readers will probably only find themselves disappointed when the historical roller coaster ride ends. Luckily, three more volumes await. Mizuki's personal touch elevates the story beyond conventional history. As such, it will likely find a place as one of World War II's most moving, introspective and self-critical personal narratives. Onward to volume two.
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Reviews with images
With Mizuki And Showa For All
Mizuki offers a first-person, eyes-on history of Showa rarely found in Japan historiography. With an endearing self-deprecating sense of humor, Mizuki takes us on a journey through life that transcends culture and national boundaries to land us in a place at once familiar and enlightening. Mizuki is our companion on this trek, reminding us to savor each moment in our own private Showa.Thank you Shigeru-san... "Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro!"
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Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2016
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Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
Juan Jose Besteiro
Great historical graphic novel!
Reviewed in Canada on May 11, 2019