HOW DID THE ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT JAPANESE MANGA PRODUCERS?
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John James Orallo
Social Studies 30-1
Mr. Ryan Ugolini
November 6, 2018
The Atomic Bomb and Japanese Manga
Anime and Manga, the corresponding version of animated cartoons and comic books,
are two of Japan’s most popular and well known industries. Works that this industry produces
have covered a wide range of different subjects, from giant robots battling each other to
aliens invading Earth. Be that as it may, the anime and manga industry have also touched
upon real life events, especially in manga. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during
World War II, would eventually become strong influences on many directors and artists at the
time. An example of atomic bomb influenced artists would be popular manga and anime
producer and survivor of the Hiroshima bombings, Keiji Nakazawa, where he would express
his experiences and thoughts from surviving the atomic bomb through his works, such as
Struck by Black Rain (Kuroi Ame Ni Utarete), I Saw It (Ore wa Mita) and Barefoot Gen.
(Hadashi no Gen)
When Nakazawa witnessed his neighbours skin slowly melt after the atomic bomb
landed on the ground of Hiroshima, this influenced Nakazawa to utilize gruesome visuals to
show how the bomb drastically affected his life and others surrounding him. At the age of 6,
on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on the grounds of Hiroshima, which
resulted to the death of his family, but Nakazawas life was spared by a concrete wall.
By the time Nakazawa recovered from the atomic bomb and completed his time in
high school, he moved to Tokyo where he would pursue his career as an artist in the manga
industry. During his time in the manga industry, magazine Monthly Shonen Jump began
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running a series of “cartoonist autobiographies.” (Gleason 1). Seeing how Nakazawa is one
of the survivors of the Hiroshima bombings, the magazine Monthly Shonen Jump persuaded
him to write what happened to him personally. The result of Monthly Shonen Jump's constant
pressuring and persuasion was I Saw It. I nitially, Nakazawa was reluctant in writing a piece
that is about his own personal experience during the post-Hiroshima bombings, but ultimately
decided to write I Saw It, a s a way to address to the Japanese people, who constantly
overlook the tragedies of the bomb, the horrors of the bomb with gruesome images of
people’s skin melting and later dying (Nakazawa, I Saw It 16). As a result of Nakazawa
witnessing his dying neighbours after the bombing of Hiroshima (Nakazawa, I Saw It 17),
this influenced Nakazawa to give life to his work I Saw It.
Prior to the creation of his personal biography through I Saw It, Nakazawas first
manga piece, Struck by Black Rain, is a clear representation of Nakazawas hatred towards
America as he finds the bombing of Hiroshima to be extremely immoral. In the manga Struck
by Black Rain, Nakazawa showcased his disgust for Americans through the perspective of his
fictional, nameless protagonist, where he would travel through Japan hunting down and
killing specifically Americans involved in the black market, to prevent them from causing
anymore damage to Japan.
In one particular scene in Struck by Black Rain, when the protagonist was publicly
shaming American tourists by saying “You murdered hundreds of thousands of civilians just
to test atomic bombs. You are more brutal than the Nazis” (Nakazawa, Struck by Black Rain
13), Nakazawas hate and disgust for the American people is most clearly seen. Ultimately,
the immorality of the Americans dropping the bomb in Hiroshima are the main influences in
prompting Nakazawas Struck by Black Rain.
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Barefoot Gen was Nakazawas most prized and successful manga he has ever
published in his time in the manga industry, seeing how Nakazawa acknowledges that fact
that even though his hatred for America is clear, his hatred for Japan is also clear in Barefoot
Gen, a continuation of his “cartoonist autobiographies” series. Protagonist of Barefoot Gen,
Gen Nakaoka, was shown to be the third oldest child amongst his five siblings, living in the
Hiroshima prefecture. However, his siblings and his parents were physically and verbally
harassed on a daily basis due to how they are against the war.
Although Nakazawa disgust for the Americans resonates throughout the story, such as
claiming them to be worthless demons (Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen 7 3), Nakazawa recognizes
that Japan’s war propaganda was also a reason why the Americans bombed Hiroshima.
Nakazawas clearest point where he blames Japan for the atomic bomb, due to propaganda, is
when Gen’s father is accusing Gen’s school in brainwashing his and other children to glorify
Japan and how the rich is using naive children to fight and die for the war (Nakazawa,
Barefoot Gen 81). Along with the schools brainwashing the children to be war soldiers in the
future, Nakazawa blames that it is the rich and higher ups that started the war, and had no
consideration in consulting the poor through Gen’s father (Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen 90)
Through the use of Japanese propaganda in persuading young children to glorify war, this
influenced the birth of Barefoot Gen.
As a result, from the personal experience from Keiji Nakazawa through his works
such as Struck by Black Rain, I Saw It a nd Barefoot Gen, t his shows how authors are affected
by the atomic bomb as seen through their works. Japan was a nation that valued pride, and
their pride instantly destroyed the moment the atomic bomb landed on Japan. Many local
Japanese blamed America for its immoral decisions, but ultimately realized that it is due to
extreme Japanese propaganda that caused the bombings to happen in the first place. Years
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after the atomic bomb landing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese people refused to
look back at the tragedies of the atomic bomb. Thus, this motivated the enraged Nakazawa to
address the negative side effects of the atomic bomb, through the creations he has written and
created during his time in the manga industry. This proved to be heavy influencers on many
artists and producers at the time, hence, through the creations of Struck by Black Rain, I Saw
It a nd Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa.
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Works Cited
D'Anastasio, Cecilia. “Anime Film About Hiroshima Bombing Opens In U.S. Theaters
Today.” Kotaku, Kotaku, 11 Aug. 2017,
kotaku.com/anime-film-about-hiroshima-bombing-opens-in-u-s-theate-1797752804.
This source was somewhat helpful in giving me ideas on what to write. I also never
expected manga and anime to be affected by the bomb in WW2
Gleason, Alan. “Keiji Nakazawa Interview.” The Comics Journal, Oct. 2003,
www.tcj.com/keiji-nakazawa-interview/.
This is one of my more used sources amongst all of my other sources. This sources
tells me the backstory of how he created his works and why he created them.
Journal, The Asia Pacific. “Barefoot Gen, The Atomic Bomb and I: The Hiroshima Legacy.”
The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 1 Jan. 2008,
apjjf.org/-Nakazawa-Keiji/2638/article.html.
This source is similar to my previous source above. This source is in regards to
Nakazawas backstory and past, and what influenced his works and why it influenced
him
Keiji, Nakazawa. Barefoot Gen. Keiji Nakazawa, 1986.
This is one of Nakazawas works based on his life and experiences of oppression after
before the bombings and after
Keiji, Nakazawa. Struck by Black Rain. Keiji Nakazawa, 1968.
This is one of Nakazawas works based on his distasteful opinion on the American
people
Keiji, Nakazawa. I Saw It. Keiji Nakazawa, 1972.
This is one of Nakazawas works based on his life and experiences after the atomic
bomb
Kincaid, Chris. “Shockwaves of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Rise of Manga and Monsters.”
Japan Powered, 24 May 2016,
www.japanpowered.com/japan-culture/shockwaves-hiroshima-nagaski-rise-manga-m
onsters.
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This source is useful specifically because it talks about Struck by Black Rain and
Barefoot Gen
McArdle, Terence. “Keiji Nakazawa, Comic Book Artist Who Cast Unflinching Eye on
Hiroshima Bomb, Dies.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Jan. 2013,
www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/keiji-nakazawa-comic-book-artist-who-cas
t-unflinching-eye-on-hiroshima-bomb-dies/2013/01/10/9fa6faa0-5a85-11e2-9fa9-5fbd
c9530eb9_story.html?utm_term=.d6d3cc197945.
Tanaka, Yuri. “War and Peace in the Art of Tezuka Osamu: The Humanism of His Epic
Manga 手塚治虫の作品における戦争と平和−−その長編漫画のヒューマニ
ズム.” War and Peace in the Art of Tezuka Osamu: The Humanism of His Epic
Manga−− | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, The Asia Pacific Journal, 20
Sept. 2010, apjjf.org/-Yuki-Tanaka/3412/article.html.
This source helped me in digging more information on Nakazawas reasoning in
writing his mangas
