Abstract—
Barefoot Gen (
Hadashi no Gen) is a comic series,
the central theme of which is the author Nakazawa Keiji’s
experiences as an atomic survivor in Hiroshima during and
after World War II, which became the subject of disputes in the
summer and fall of 2013 in Japan. The Board of Education of
the City of Matsue requested that all the elementary and junior
high schools in the city move the comic books to closed shelves
to restrict students’ free access in December 2012, citing an
excess of violent description as the reason. A local newspaper
report about the education board’s request published in August
2013 received broader attention from the major Japanese
media and ignited disputes between journalists, critics and
scholars, who engaged in arguments over two issues. Along with
the propriety of the “closed shelf” request, the comic work’s
attitude to Japanese wartime conduct became an issue in
dispute. This article clarifies the conflicting arguments that
were exchanged by giving a detailed account of the dispute,
arguing that this domestic event had significant implications for
the historical controversy which remains a vexing diplomatic
and domestic issue, even after seven decades have passed since
the end of the Second World War.
Index Terms—
Barefoot Gen (
Hadashi no Gen), Japan,
Historical Controversy, Nakazawa Keiji.
Mizuno Norihito is with the Akita International University, Akita-shi,
Akita 010-1292 Japan (e-mail: nmizuno@aiu.ac.jp).
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Cite: Mizuno Norihito, " The Dispute over Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen) and Its Implications in Japan," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 5, no. 11, pp. 955-961, 2015.