Keiji Nakazawa (
Keiji Nakazawa | |
---|---|
Born | Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan | March 14, 1939
Died | December 19, 2012 Hiroshima, Japan | (aged 73)
Nationality | Japanese |
Occupation | Manga artist |
Known for | Barefoot Gen |
Biography
editNakazawa was born March 14, 1939, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan and was in the city when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in August 1945. Most of his family members who had not evacuated died as a result of the explosion after they became trapped under the debris of their house, except for his mother and an infant sister (who died several weeks later whether from malnutrition or radiation from her mother afterward).[1]
Nakazawa graduated from middle school in 1954, and in 1961, he moved to Tokyo to become a full-time cartoonist and produced short pieces for manga anthologies such as Shōnen Gaho, Shōnen King, and Bokura.[2][3]
Following the death of his mother in 1966, Nakazawa returned to his memories of the destruction of Hiroshima and began to express them in his stories.[1] Kuroi Ame ni Utarete (Struck by Black Rain), the first of a series of five books, was a fictional story of Hiroshima survivors involved in the postwar black market. Nakazawa chose to portray his own experience in the 1972 story Ore wa Mita, published in Monthly Shōnen Jump. The story was translated into English and published as a one-shot comic book by Educomics as I Saw It.[3]
Immediately after completing I Saw It, Nakazawa began his major work, Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen).[3] This series, which eventually filled ten volumes, was based on the same events as I Saw It but expanded and fictionalized, with the young Gen Nakaoka as a stand-in for the author. Barefoot Gen depicted the bombing and its aftermath in extremely graphic detail, with Gen's experiences being even more harrowing than Nakazawa's own. It also turned a critical eye on the militarization of Japanese society during World War II and on the sometimes abusive dynamics of the traditional family. Barefoot Gen was adapted into a trilogy of live action movies, two animated films, and a live action TV drama.[4]
Nakazawa announced his retirement in September 2009, citing deteriorating diabetes and cataract conditions.[1] He cancelled plans for a Barefoot Gen sequel.[4] In September 2010, Nakazawa was diagnosed with lung cancer; in July 2011, metastasis from lung cancer was found. He died on December 19, 2012.
Works
edit- Ano Machi Kono Machi (あの
街 この街 ) - Kuroi Chinmoku no hate ni (
黒 い沈黙 の果 てに) - One Day, I Saw A Blue Sky (いつか
見 た青 い空 , Itsuka Mita Aoi Sora) - Okinawa (オキナワ)
- Struck by Black Rain (
黒 い雨 にうたれて, Kuroi ame ni Utarete) - Geki's River (ゲキの
河 , Geki no Kawa) - Chinchin Densha no Shi (チンチン
電車 の詩 ) - Maboroshi no 36 Go (
幻 の36号 ) - Under the Eucalyptus Trees (ユーカリの
木 の下 で, Yūkari no Kinoshita de) - I Saw It (おれは
見 た, Ore wa Mita) - The flow of the Black River (
黒 い河 の流 れに, Kuroi Kawa no Nagare ni) - A Flock of Black Doves (
黒 い鳩 の群 れに, Kuroi Hato no Mure ni) - Ītama Ippon (いいタマ
一本 ) - Suddenly, One Day (ある
日 突然 に, Aru Nichi Totsuzen ni) - Knowledge and Broadsword (チエと
段平 , Chie to Danbira) - There is a Story of Love (ある
恋 の物語 , Aru Koi no Monogatari) - Good Morning (おはよう, Ohayō)
- Stupid Baseball (
野球 バカ, Yakyū Baka) - Ano Machi Kono Machi (あの
街 この街 ) - Guzu Roku Kōshinkyoku (グズ
六 行進曲 ) - Genkotsu Iwata (げんこつ
岩 太 ) - Hiroshima Carp Birth Story (
広島 カープ誕生 物語 , Hiroshima Kāpu Tanjō Monogatari) - Madcap (
悪太郎 , Aku Tarō) - O Konomi Hachi-chan (お
好 み八 ちゃん) - Itsuka Mita Aoi Sora (いつか
見 た青 い空 ) - Otoko Nara Shōri no Utawo (
男 なら勝利 の歌 を) - Stupid Curry (カレーバカ, Karē Baka)
- Us Forever (われら
永遠 に, Warera Eien ni) - Advance! Donganden (
進 め!!ドンガンデン, Susume!! Donganden) - Adventurous Baby Jim (
冒険 児 ジム, Bōken Jijimu) - Son of Godzilla, Monster Island Battle (
怪獣 島 の決戦 ゴジラの息子 , Kaijū Shima no Kessen Gojira no Musuko) - There was a Black Summer (クロがいた
夏 , Kuro Gaita Natsu) - Murasaki Shoku no Pika (むらさき
色 のピカ) - Barefoot Gen (はだしのゲン, Hadashi no Gen)
Legacy
editNakazawa was the subject of the Japanese documentary, Barefoot Gen's Hiroshima (2011), directed by Yuko Ishida.[5] He was nominated for the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame at the Eisner Awards in 2020 and 2023.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "ゲンの
作者 が漫画 家 引退 " [Gen author, artist retires]. Chugoku Shimbun. September 15, 2009. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2015. - ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 8, 2023). "Keiji Nakazawa Nominated for 2nd Time for Eisner Hall of Fame". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c Gleason, Alan (October 15, 2003). "Keiji Nakazawa". The Comics Journal (256). Retrieved September 16, 2009.
- ^ a b "Barefoot Gens Nakazawa Drops Sequel Due to Cataract". Anime News Network. September 15, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
- ^ "Barefoot Gen's Hiroshima". Japanese Film Database. UniJapan. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
Further reading
edit- Chute, Hillary (2016). Disaster Drawn: Visual Witness, Comics, and Documentary Form. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674504516.