War is a victorious, perhaps bitter, maybe a painful playground for adults. In war, we imagine soldiers moving to shoot their enemies, nurses rushing to heal the injured, politicians and generals posing in front of battle plans, and civilians running away from the crossfire. Our memories of war are ingrained with images of adults trying to make sense out of that chaos. For years we have been surrounded by timeless photographs and movies about that war that to this day, we envision the war strongly as an adult\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world.<\/p>\n
But what about the children? Where is the child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s place in our social memory of the Pacific war?<\/p>\n
Finding the child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s place in social memory entails an understanding of social memory and the value of children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experiences in relation to the grand historical World War II narrative. Their frail voices in World War II histories speak of how much their war experiences have been neglected. However, as these children find their voices as adults, the recollection of their World War II experience as children becomes unbearably loud.<\/p>\n
These are the memories of three Japanese children during the war against the images of Japanese childhood as constructed by Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s propaganda machinery. The memories of Keiji Nakazawa, Osamu Tezuka, and Shigeru Mizuki present a different story of the Pacific War \u00e2\u20ac\u201dproviding a fresh yet powerful social memory that makes us question on how war affects people at all ages.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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At the onset of the invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Japan has been at war for more than 40 years. War was a reality among Japanese children and the government took advantage of this situation by shaping these children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind towards war. They were making Junior Citizens out of the Japanese children.<\/p>\n
Education was at the heart of the mobilization of children for war. As early as the Meiji period, morals education were taught to all children. By the early 1930s, the government used radio broadcasts that were played in schools to stir sentiments of the children.<\/p>\n
When War Minister Sadao Araki retired in 1936, he decided to divert his attention to school as he revamped the system when he was appointed as the minister of education. As Araki was at the heart of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Imperial Way\u00e2\u20ac\u009d ideology, he pushed his nationalist sentiments unto education as well. He noted that in order to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mobilize the spirit of the nation,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d there was a need for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153self-reflection and self-discipline.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d [1]<\/a><\/p>\n By 1937, new ethics textbooks were introduced in schools by Education Ministry: Kokutai no Hongi<\/i> (The True Meaning of our National Structure) and Shinmin no Michi<\/i> (The Way of the People). Over 2 million copies of Kokutai no Hongi<\/i> were distributed in schools and became central in the moral and spiritual mobilization of children in wartime Japan. Shinmin no Michi<\/i> was closer to general textbook: a mix between the bible and the Kokutai no Hongi<\/i>.<\/p>\n These textbooks stirred nationalist sentiments, emphasizing on the greatness and uniqueness of Japan.[2]<\/a> Values of patriotism, loyalty, and respect for the kokutai <\/i>(nation) were imbedded unto the minds of children so that they would not fall for individualism and materialism. Because the family is the lifeblood of the nation, it is important that each individual must think in context of their families in as much as they must take into consideration their larger family: the nation.[3]<\/a> To draw children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention towards the study of the books, they even employed cartoonists to illustrate their books in order to inspire children to support their efforts.[4]<\/a> It was of utmost importance that Japan does not commit the same mistakes of the Taisho era.<\/p>\n Once Hideki Tojo became the prime minister of Japan in 1941, Araki went ahead and made changes in the structure of the public school system. The aim of education was to create Junior Citizens out of children. Ideally, these children should comprehend the nationalist values of the empire. More than that, they should have the skills that will allow them to fully contribute to the nation. As Junior Citizens, these children should have the capacity, small as they are, to contribute to the war effort. Hence, Araki pulled all the strings in making every child work for the nation.<\/p>\n Most children began studying through primary education. However, they were also required to attend National Youth Schools (Kokumin Seinen Gakko<\/i>). In these youth schools, nationalism was stressed greatly as children were immersed in propaganda and nationalists texts. Children were encouraged to offer themselves to the state should emergency arise and that they should \u00e2\u20ac\u0153guard and maintain the prosperity\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of the Imperial Throne.[5]<\/a> Many students graduate from these youth schools at the age of 13.<\/p>\n Once these children reached middle schools, they were offered advanced training in helping the military or training with them. In schools, children learned patriotic calligraphy that was either displayed for their homes or in public. Composition classes were dedicated to themes of patriotism. Hands-on experiments with crops and livestock were incorporated in science and math courses in order to boost production.<\/p>\n After middle school, children were either enrolled in vocational schools or at specialized high schools. In earlier years, there were various military training camps that boys could participate in. Either way, these children were given military training or other skills. In the 159th issue of Photographic Weekly Report on 12 March 1941, they showcased photos of children performing various tasks. In its accompanying article named \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Youth are the Advance Army Shouldering Responsibility for Japan,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d girls were seen taking cooking and housekeeping classes. While boys were seen doing military drills, horticulture, fishing, and operating heavy machinery. According to David Earhart, author of Certain Victory: Images of World War II in Japanese Media<\/i>, many of these young men would eventually be drafted before the end of the war.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n Things changed as soon as the war reached its last stretch. Children were taken out of schools and boys, still as young as middle school were directly sent to training camps while girls were in factories producing war materials. Younger children were either working in the fields or in ammunition factories.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n There was no time for universities for most children at that time. With the recruitment age as young as 20, many boys were sent straight to the army before they even had the choice to go to college. At one point, even boys as young as 15 were encouraged to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153volunteer\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in the army. If they chose not to go, they would be sent immediately to training centers or labor camps where they were either malnourished or exhausted.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n By 1944, these children not only became junior citizens but junior warriors as well. School children were separated from their parents and were bunked in schools and temples where teachers would assign them tasks and duties to support the war effort. This ranged from agricultural jobs to intense military training like tank drivers or even kamikaze pilots.[9]<\/a> Towards the final stages of the war, various articles of young boys taking part in the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Special Attack Forces\u00e2\u20ac\u009d were published in hopes to publicize the suicide missions of these young soldiers.[10]<\/a> These last sacrifices were a mark of the complete spiritual mobilization of the Japanese youth. All of them willingly gave their lives for their country, whether they died under fire in the middle of the battlefield or under exhaustion in the middle of a rice field.<\/p>\n Outside schools, children also played a part in lifting the spirits of the soldiers and were often used in Japanese War propaganda. Children were effective tools in encouraging soldiers to bravely continue the war. They made various contributions, both formally and informally, in the war effort.<\/p>\n The most informal method in using children in propaganda was through letters, care packages, and drawings sent to fathers and other relatives who were already sent off shore to fight for the Japanese cause. Girls were asked to sew good luck charms and other military paraphernalia that symbolizes the undying love and support of families to their soldier relatives. At times, they would even ask children to sing songs for encouragement and these performances were broadcasted on the radio.<\/p>\n The government also used children as images of self-sacrifice hoping that they would serve as an inspiration not only to other children but to adults as well. Even the youngest of children were not spared from participating in war. In place of war bonds, children were encouraged to buy mame saiken <\/i>(bean-sized bonds) in hopes that their contributions can encourage older people to invest in war bonds.<\/p>\n Outside of the government, various civil groups united children to help the war effort. There was mock East Asian Children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Council that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153aimed to promote Asian unity under the direction of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcolder brother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in Japan.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There were also Youth Work Corps, Youth Agricultural Volunteers, and Youth Air Corps who were trained in order to be part of the war machinery. These groups were often publicized in order to encourage war sympathies.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n As such, the children were seen as happy and eager contributors to the war effort as they wore a brave smile during those difficult times. It was as if the Junior Citizens had no problem with the war.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By the end of the Second World War, Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention was focused on embracing their defeat and the reconstruction of Japan after the intense air raids and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The American occupation was met with great criticism especially with the presence of American military bases in Japanese shores.<\/p>\n There was a growing counterculture in world and Japan was not spared of growing sentiments against war. With the Second World War still fresh from their memories, the Vietnam War was not embraced by the Japanese since it meant that America had its reasons to extend the Japanese American Security treaty in 1970.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n Other than questioning mass-produced education in Japan, students were uneasy with American\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions during the Cold War. There was great anxiety with Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growing economy as President Nixon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions shocked Japan. His recognition of communist China in 1971 as well as the rescinding of Cold War containment policies against China was difficult for the Japanese who depended on American trade for the resuscitation of their economy. More than this, fixed exchange rates with the US were removed as well and they began to impose surcharge on imports that affected Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exports of electronic goods and cars. The United States also imposed an embargo on exports of soybean to Japan. By 1972, OPEC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s embargo on oil exports brought Japan down to their worst recession since World War II.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n There was great anxiety among the Japanese that civil unrest was almost inevitable. Young radical Japanese students took the streets both locally and abroad and protested against this unjust treatment from the United States. The most radical of the lot were the Japanese Red Army who committed terrorist activities in protest of capitalism. Between 1972-1974, the Japanese Red Army hijacked planes, kidnapped ambassadors, and murdered commoners in International airports. Violence was in the air not only because of the Cold War but also because of the growing discontent among the people.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n It is in this social and political atmosphere that various writers wrote strong anti-war, anti-imperialist, and anti-nuclear sentiments. Among these writers were many comic writers who will eventually shape people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memories with stories from their childhood. Three of them will have a lasting effect on people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s idea of war.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In June 1973, Keiji Nakazawa gambled on a story that was published in a boy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s magazine named Weekly Boys\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Jump. At that time, comic book magazines became popular to young children as distribution moved from rented comics called akahon <\/i>to these weekly serial magazines. (reference this) In Jump, he published what will become his life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work, Hadashi no Gen<\/i> (Barefoot Gen)<\/i>.<\/p>\n Nakazawa dedicated the latter half of the first volume of his series to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. Like the event itself, he drew it quick and instantaneous however the horror that came after were burned in Nakazawa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memory and was illustrated meticulously in Barefoot Gen<\/i>. It was not the easiest of images to be seen in the comic and yet there he was sharing his memory of the Second World War to young boys. Towards later volumes, Nakazawa not only shared his memory of the war but also made Gen reflect on purpose of his actions \u00c2\u00ad\u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I will make a painting that will bring peace to the world.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n Barefoot Gen<\/i> may have been a fictional story but Nakazawa had stated that this was in many ways a memoir of his own experience as Hiroshima survivor. He was 6 yrs. old when he witnessed the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. His previous works prior to Barefoot Gen<\/i> was a mix of science fiction and war drama \u00e2\u20ac\u201c some of them laced with images of his own experience during the bombing. Prior to Gen<\/i>, his story Struck by Black Rain<\/i> was known for having a protagonist who killed Americans as revenge for his suffering during the atomic bombing. Unlike Gen<\/i>, this story was more hardboiled and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t delve deeply into his own experience.<\/p>\n According to Kenji Kajiya, the strong imagery in Barefoot Gen<\/i> greatly stirred the emotions of its readers. His first-person perspective panels gave the readers of the manga a first-hand view of the horrors of the bombing. This technique greatly stirred the emotions of its readers.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n The effect of Nakazawa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s technique eventually led to some complaints with regards to the gruesomeness of Gen. Parents complained about its harsh images and Nakazawa changed his artistic style however he felt constricted by them. He ended up loathing Gen<\/i> and hid it in his drawer. Still, the reaction of the parents is a reminder of the power of Gen <\/i>and how his gruesome images of the war solicited memories of the horrors of the war.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n Gen<\/i> eventually moved to a different magazine as the series came to an end. In here, Nakazawa was able to write more of his memories in the past. His story has been retold as a movies and television specials that still aimed to remind people the horrors of nuclear fallout. A group of Japanese people named \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcProject Gen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 has used the comic to spread to the world the effects of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Gen<\/i> was the first Japanese comic to be published in English. To this day, the comic still finds its relevance in Japan. In March 2012, the Board of Education has announced that they will use Barefoot Gen<\/i> in Grade 3 elementary textbooks to impart lessons from the bombing to the younger generation.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In September 1974, Kami no Toride<\/i> (Paper Fortress) <\/i>was published in another boy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s magazine, Weekly Boy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s King<\/i>. In this short story, a young boy named Tetsurou Oosamu crosses a girl in a train who found his drawings moving. The two shared their dreams and their grievances, with Tetsurou adding that it was pointless to be in the art club if he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even draw art because of the war. This young Tetsurou returns to school keeping the dream he shared with the girl alive. In many ways, Tetsurou was a memoir of one man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dream to use his art to entertain people, Osamu Tezuka.<\/p>\n Paper Fortress<\/i> was a semi-autobiographical story of Tezuka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hardship during World War II. Because of his weak condition, he was sent to work in the ammunitions when he was 16, towards the last stretch of the war when Japan consistently experienced bomb raids. He dedicated panels to show the aftershocks experienced during the bombings. While they may appear comical, these panels best illustrate the disruptive nature of the air raids and the constant fear the citizens felt when the planes were coming.<\/p>\n More than the raids, Tetsurou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life was not short of illustrating the abuse he received from the officers who were assigned in his school. He was often punished for being distracted by his art however he often used his comic to entertain his friends as they used the bathroom. In the end, the raids injured the girl Tetsurou was in love with. Upon seeing a fallen American aircraft near their factory, his anger fueled him to raise a weapon and bludgeon the fallen soldier. However, upon seeing the man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s broken face, Tetsurou did not have the heart to hurt him, asking \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I do this? For whose sake is this war?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n Kami no Toride <\/i>followed after the style of Barefoot Gen<\/i> where Tezuka also employed first person perspectives \u00e2\u20ac\u201c inviting readers to be involved with his narrative. Like Nakazawa, Tezuka also used themes of violence and civilian harm during the war. Tetsurou represented Tezuka in his youth and he will appear again in 1975 in Sukihara no Blues (A Hungry Stomach\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Blues)<\/i>, Tetsurou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life after the war and how people will do anything and everything to have something to eat during the war.<\/p>\n Unlike Nakazawa, Tezuka did not receive great recognition for Kami no Toride<\/i> and Sukihara no Blues<\/i>. However, these stories were greatly incorporated in his life work which has affected many people in Japan, enough to call him the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcgod of manga.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 [2]<\/a> Most of his works exhibited what Frederick Schodt would call as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tezuka humanism,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a particular characteristic in Tezuka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s works that represents the depth and complexity of human beings. More than this, his war experience fueled him to write stories that promoted peace.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The reality of Shige<\/i><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n While the two previous writers had written their stories in response to the militant unrest that was brewing in Japan during the early 70s, Shigeru Mizuki wrote a memoir about his youth and his life as a soldier during World War II in Comic Showa History<\/i> which was published in volumes by Kodansha from 1988-1989. Unlike the previous two, Comic Showa History<\/i> did not go through serialization in any comic magazine however it did receive acclaim as it received a Kodansha Manga Award in 1989. A short but related comic called War and Japan was published separately in an educational magazine for Grade 6 students.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n Unlike the previous works, Comic Showa History <\/i>had a different perspective of the war as the story begins from Shige\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birth and extends until his old age. More so, Shigeru did not divorce himself from the protagonist of his story by giving it another name. He proudly drew himself as the young Shige who was fascinated with the ghost stories his Nononba shared.<\/p>\n The story of his life was interspersed with actual historical events where one of Shigeru Mizuki\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s characters, Nezumi Otoko, would voice Shigeru\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opinions on particular events. As Shige ages in the comic, he gets to converse with Nezumi Otoko and they both reflect on historical events and the repercussions of the war. The contextualization of his life against a historical backdrop widens the perspective of his readers, allowing them to witness what was happening in the great historical narrative as well as question if these events were justified or not.<\/p>\n There is an aged, if not balanced perspective in Mizuki Shigeru\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Comic Showa History<\/i>. It comes with the fact that the story has been written in reflection of his life. More than that, the story pacifies Japanese actions and while it too presents some anti-war themes, the contextualization of the war against American imperialism gave the impression that the war was justified.<\/p>\n In an interview with Japan Times, Shigeru Mizuki expressed his own thoughts of the war, where he believed that after the war, war criminals didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter because anyone could have been a war criminal; Japan was punished because they failed to recognize America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strength, and Japan today belongs to America.[2]<\/a> These strong opinions are very much present in his work that it has been criticized by younger comic artists like Yoshinori Kobayashi who felt that Japan should not feel shame and regret over their loss during World War II.[3]<\/a> Kobayashi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Gomanism Sengen <\/i>and On War<\/i> also became popular in the 90s as it presented historical revisionist ideas.<\/p>\n The stories of Gen, Tetsurou, and Shige are an antithesis of the heroic, brave, and courageous childhood that Japanese wartime propaganda tried to represent. Both of them do present various dimensions of history however the youthful stories of Gen, Tetsurou, and Shige have permeated more into social memory. But why do these stories remain solely a social memory and not an official history? Is there space for these children in the grand historical narrative of World War II Japan?<\/p>\n Well, social memory is a tricky fellow. It has a historical dimension \u00e2\u20ac\u201d one that explores the past which may or may not be the fully documented past. It has a social dimension \u00e2\u20ac\u201d a memory that lingers and persists in a population, small or irrelevant as they may appear. In the world of postmodern scholarship, social memories are embraced as it provides multiplicity of perspectives that strays from the already established historical narratives that have been embedded in people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memories. Unlike history which may be treated by the public as a pool of old men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s names and dates, social memory solicits emotions and embeds these feelings in a population. The historical worth of these comics is still belittled by many academics. They are works of fiction. They are just comics. They are just experiences of few people and cannot encompass or represent the whole. As such, these faint voices of children cannot find a permanent space in history, however, Gen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story seems to find some kind of leverage in textbooks.<\/p>\n The three men were not short of illustrating the horrors of their time \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the burning of skins as black rain fell over Hiroshima, the abuse from officers for holding or acting against military ideals, the sea of dead bodies in a crossfire. These dramatic images have moved people to question, but as seen through Yoshinori Kobayashi, these comics are still subject to criticism, and in many ways, only a part of a greater mysterious whole.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most important aspect of their stories is the fact that they all shared the same memory of the war. The strong militarism in Japanese society was something neither one of their characters appreciated. Violence hurts. Peace is always an option.\u00c2\u00a0 These were their social memory against the onslaught of Imperial Japanese propaganda.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Experience and memory, in other words, are always mediated and this mediation in turn always shaped by relations of power.[1]<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d At a time when any opposing idea was unappreciated by the Imperial Japanese Army, the voices of Gen, Tetsurou, and Shige were muted. As powers shift and democratic ideas and values, and liberalism prevailed during the early 1970s, Gen and Tetsurou found their voices and managed to share their horrors hoping those rebellious students, the youth that once read their heroic comics, would come to realize that violence and war brought nothing good. Shige\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story was published much later but it too reflected the sentiment of the people: enough is enough.<\/p>\n Anti-war is a sentiment strongly shared by these children and for some reason, they were effective tools in soliciting these emotions. These children were in many ways passive characters, like the reader, who may watch their world tumble over because of the war. But if we remember that they are part of a comic where the panels provide perspectives that have the capacity to immerse its audience in the child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world and see the horror through his eyes, the child is an active character and his vulnerability makes it easier for the audience to empathize with the child. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n As such, these three children were young but were unbearably loud. Their perspective on the Second World War has ingrained memories unto the Japanese. They may not be the history that Japan completely understands, but their cries during the war are loud and clear. There is space for a child in the social memory of World War II. In many ways, as comics, they have shaped people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memories, their stories beg people to ask, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For whose sake is this war?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> T. Fujitani, Geoffrey M. White, and Lisa Yoneyama, Perilous Memories: The Asia-Pacific War(s),<\/i> (United States: Duke University Press, 2001), 1.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> Jonathan Bignell, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Writing the Child in Media Theory,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in The Yearbook of English Studies 32: Children in Literature <\/i>(2002), 131-136. Accessed in 22 March 2012.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Matthew Penny, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153War and Japan: The Non-Fiction Manga of Shigeru Mizuki,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d accessed last 22 March 2012. http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/-Matthew-Penney\/2905<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> Tomoko Otake, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Drawing on Experience,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Japan Times Online, accessed last 22 March 2012, http:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/text\/fl20050206x1.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> Morris-Suzuki , 194-195.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Osamu Tezuka, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kami no Toride\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Tezuka Osamu no Kaita Sensou<\/i>, (Japan: Asahi Shinbun Publishing, 2010), 44.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> Manga is Japanese term used to describe comics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> Frederik L. Schodt, Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga<\/i>, (California: Stone Bridge Press, 1996), 236-237.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen<\/i> Vol. 9, (San Francisco: Last Gasp, 2009), p. 138-139.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> Kenji Kajiya, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How emotions work: the politics of vision in Nakazawa Keiji\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Barefoot Gen,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Comic Worlds and the World of Comics: Towards Scholarship on a Global Scale vol. 1<\/i>, ed. by Jacqueline Berndt (Kyoto: International Manga Research, 2009), 250<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> Tessa Morris-Suzuki, The Past Within Us: Media, Memory, History, <\/i>(London: Verso, 2005), 162-163.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [4]<\/a> Chugoku Shinbun. Hadashi no Gen Heiwa Kyouzai ni<\/i>, accessed last 22 March 2012. http:\/\/www.chugoku-np.co.jp\/News\/Tn201203210110.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Tipton, 195.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> Ibid., 202.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> Tipton, 195.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Earhart, 191.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Byron K. Marshall, Learning to be Modern: Japanese Political Discourse on Education <\/i>(Colorado: Westview Press, 1994), 121.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a> Elise K. Tipton, Modern Japan: A Social and Political History,<\/i> (London: Routledge, 2002), 128.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> Marshall, 134-135.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8240\/8605006620_e655d2fcf8.jpg?resize=500%2C346\")
<\/p>\nShakedown, 1974<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n
The tale of Gen<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n
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Barefoot Gen<\/i> centered on the story of a boy who lived in Hiroshima, Gen Nakaoka.\u00c2\u00a0 His family faced great hardships as his father was opposed to the severe militarism that was present in Japanese society during the Pacific War. Gen and his siblings had to withstand bullying from other children while his parents had to bear the abuse of the Japanese officers that patrol their area. The Nakaokas were a persistent bunch and strove hard to make ends meet despite all their challenges. However, there was something greater looming over the skies.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8122\/8603912325_362f790f87.jpg?resize=500%2C491\")
<\/p>\nThe story of Tetsurou<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n
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Compared to the previous artists, Shigeru was of age when the war started. In 1942, he was conscripted in the army and was sent to New Britain before being sent to Rabaul. He was only 20 years old. In this comic, Shigeru Mizuki did not expound on his hardships as a child. However, he was not shy of illustrating the harsh reality of war from the frontlines. As a private in the army, Shigeru not only witnessed war cruelties but also battled with the moral repercussions of war. The comic enters into his thoughts and his own internal struggles as he discovers the best and worst of humanity.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Remembering the war<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nNOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY<\/h3>\n
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