The manga this week
1968 (3) Manga
Edited by Inuhiko Yomota, Shohei Chujo (Chikumashobo)
I'm interested in the year 1968, and not only because it was exactly 50 years ago. It was a critical year in which a number of significant events occurred in manga that expanded the possibilities of the genre. For example, 1968 is when the serialization of "Ashita no Joe" (Tomorrow's Joe) began. (It was first released at the end of 1967, but the official date is recorded as 1968).
"GeGeGe no Kitaro" was first made into an anime that year as well, establishing the name of the original manga's author Shigeru Mizuki. Yoshiharu Tsuge published "Nejishiki" (Screw style), raising the status of manga to a medium worthy of critical analysis. Furthermore, it was in 1968 that Shukan Shonen Jump manga magazine was first issued, initially on a biweekly basis. You might say that the distinct prominence of Japanese manga that was to continue for the following half a century was established in that year.
This week's manga is an anthology of short manga works published from 1968 to 1972. It is the concluding volume of a trilogy, of which the first two volumes deal with culture and literature, respectively. I suspect the editors and the publisher regarded these two volumes as a necessary prelude for readers to lead them to the third and final volume.
I am delighted that this anthology focuses on works that are difficult to get hold of nowadays. First, the reader's attention is probably attracted to "Vietnam Toron" (Vietnam debate) by Maki Sasaki. The story is made up of photographs that appear unrelated and the dialogue is written in a made-up language that resembles Chinese. Because the language consists of mostly kanji characters, the basic content of the dialogue is intelligible to most Japanese readers.
One can faintly discern a protest against the Vietnam War and criticism of the Japanese government's support of the United States, but this work is mostly immersed in the world of nonsense. It is a controversial work that is said to have infuriated Osamu Tezuka when it was published.
The emergence of Sasaki, also a successful illustrator, left a strong impression on acclaimed novelist Haruki Murakami, who was a high school student at that time. In an essay at the end of this volume, Murakami frankly acknowledges the impact of "Sasaki shock" and how it became the starting point of his career as a novelist. Once again, 1968 proves to be a year in which special things emerged.
It was also the year in which manga started to become highbrow, threatening to leave young readers behind. To fill the gap, Shonen Jump leaped onto the stage. Was this brought about by serendipity or was it inevitable? I feel that Shonen Jump's path to becoming the sole winner among manga magazines, a status the magazine has enjoyed for many years up to today, can also be traced back to 1968.
Ishida is a Yomiuri Shimbun senior writer whose areas of expertise include manga and anime.
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