Embracing The Victimhood: A History Of A-bomb Manga In Japan

• Main Author: Ichiki, Masashi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM Press) 2011
• Subjects: P1-1091 Philology. Linguistics(General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.usm.my/40468/1/AbombManga-MasashiIchiki.pdf; http://eprints.usm.my/40468/; http://ijaps.usm.my/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/AbombManga-MasashiIchiki.pdf

This paper examines the representations of the A-bomb and its victims in Japanese manga. While Keiji Nakazawa's Hadashi no Gen (Barefoot Gen) stands tall in this genre, the brief look at the history of A-bomb manga in Japan will reveal that the nuclear bombs that killed more than a quarter million people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been a popular topic in Japanese manga and has manifested in variety of manga genres. In overviewing the history of A-bomb manga in Japan, this paper aims to explore the social connotations of A-bomb manga. I wish to show that Japanese manga is a major vehicle in promoting and proliferating the Genbaku Otome, or A-bomb beauties myth. This myth lies at the centre of the Japanese imagination of the A-bomb victims and which contributes significantly to the establishment of the social notion of victimisation in post-war Japan.