Reassessing Manga History, Resituating Manga in History

Abstract

Includes index. This book analyzes the role of manga (Japanese comics) within contemporary Japanese public discourse, and explores its role in propagating new perceptions regarding Japanese history. Through the analysis of a variety of cases studies ranging from nineteenth century magazines to contemporary online comics and fandom, it focuses on the representations and interpretations of history in manga, and clarifies this medium's interrelation with historical memory and political debate. Stories for the Nation delineates alternative modes of historical memory and expression as they are manifested and contested in manga, and argues for manga's potential to influence the historical and political views of wide audiences in Japan. Preface -- 1 Introduction: Manga as "Banal Memory" -- Part I: Historicizing Political Manga -- 2 Kitazawa Rakuten as Popular Culture Provocateur: Modern Manga Images and Riotous Democracy in Early Twentieth-Century Japan -- 3 Early Meiji Manga: the Political Cartoons of Kanagaki Robun and Kawanabe Kyôsai -- Part II: Postwar Manga as History -- 4 Bodies of Anger: Atomic Survivors in Nakazawa Keiji's Hit By Black Rain Manga -- 5 Redacting Japanese History: Ishinomori Shōtarō's Graphic Narratives -- 6 Manga, History and Telling Stories of the Past: Narrative Strategies in Shanaô Yoshitsune -- Part III: Decoding and Recoding History: Manga Reception and Parody -- 7 Decoding "Hate the Korean Wave" and "Introduction to China": A Case Study of Japanese University Students -- 8 History as Sexualized Parody: Love and Sex Between Nation in Axis Power Hetalia -- Conclusion: Reassessing Manga History, Resituating Manga in History.