Re: (Translation) Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim

On 10/16/24 15:59, James Nicoll wrote:

In article <7b114ec2-1fd4-4607-8f5a-6266f58d8795@dslextreme.com>,
Bobbie Sellers  <blissInSanFrancisco@mouse-potato.com> wrote:

On 10/16/24 09:50, Robert Woodward wrote:

In article <4551b48eb3c951be11a93550ec6beaf6@www.novabbs.com>,
   quadibloc <quadibloc@gmail.com> wrote:
>

No doubt the comment in your review,
>
"I wonder where on Earth a Korean author would get the idea of a
relentlessly expansionist, exploitative empire determined to replace the
cultures and religions of neighboring countries with the Empire’s
hegemonic culture? It seems almost as though Kim has specific models in
mind. I suppose we will never know what those models were."
>
was intended as a joke, and was written with tongue in cheek.
>
I can think of two candidates off the top of my head, of course.
>

>
And I thought of ONE direct example off the top of my head. Japan from
the late 19th century to the end of WWII ruled Korea ... firmly.
>

     For firmly read "by martial law and humiliation" of the Koreans.
Korea has a long history of division and rulers who wished to be
treated like gods and were as remote as possible from the people
who did the work which was much like Japan before it was really
opened to the West in 1945. Japan has mounted military expeditions
to Korea for various reasons from Imperial expansion to simply
piracy.
  Japanese had traveled to the West around the time of the
Meji Restoration but they did not bring many democratic ideals
back with them. They were after western science and technoly in
order to create a powerful state to contest for control of Asia
with the West.
  After Meji and after the death of his son. Young Hirohito came
to power influenced by the State Shinto cult and the militarists
who wished to expand their power on the Asian continent.
Shortly they usurped the Civilian Govenment and assassinted leaders
opposed to the rush to War in China then with the Pacific
Powers who finally allied to oppose the Imperial Japanese Army, of
which the Navy was a subordinate branch, led by the USA after Pearl
Harbor. Which is when the Allies in the Pacific began to make
progress.
Korea and Taiwan were quite happy to throw off the Japanese
rule. And as in the past the Korean Peninsula split into warring
states. And the result of the Japanese Colonization is emnity
by both the North and South Koreas toward their island neighbors.
>
I read about this stuff because I developed an interest in manga
and Japanese anime and wanted to understand the background of the
images and ideas.

 Back in August, I reviewed Showa: A History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki,
which covers Hirohito's reign, as witnessed by Mizuki.
 One interesting aspect is that Mizuki portrays himself as an
absolute knucklehead, the sort of fellow who would, on finding
himself stuck with boring band duty during WW II, request a
transfer because he was unaware this would involve being sent to
the front.

Well I have read all of Showa and a lot of other of Mizuki's
Mizuki's work and one thing is clear that like a lot of artists he
was not in very good touch with reality while growing up. But he
had talent and however fitfully he trained it, grew up despite losing
his arm in the War and became a great artist aka mangaka.
Have you finished his work either Showa or "Forward to Our Honorable Deaths" where he describes in detail his miliiary experience
in the Imperial Japanese Army. The knucklehead was a great survivor who did not understand the IJA's need to send soldiers to an honorablee death. Which I think is a very western way of thinking. Also he fraternized with the native people which was not a Japanese way of
behaving at all.
Another excellent book by a Japanese artist which is the
lightly fictionalised life of the artist from post-war on.
Notes from 2009.
"A Drifting Life" by Yoshihiro Tatsumi is
a lightly fictionalized memoir in manga format running
to 856 pages,8 3/4" x 6 1/2" and 2 inches thick,on good
paper with paper covers
     "A Drifting Life" starts about 1948 with the
young protagonist obsessed with creating manga and in
the midst of his troubled family before chronicling
the narrators journey into the world of manga meeting along
the way all the great mangaka of the period, and ending with
the Seventh Anniversary Memorial of the death of Tezuka Osamu
and the pseudonymous author's musing over a cup of coffee.
     Despite the length it was easily a one day,
one setting read.  Watch him as a child meet Tezuka as
a University student and see how he helped support his
family by "Postcard" manga contests.  Read about the
proto-otaku of the time.  His initial success and
exploitation by the publishers of the time.
     His drive to create a manga beyond manga which
he call "gekiga" or drama manga to distinguish it from
the children's manga and the 4 panel manga strips which
were the main forms.
     Nearly 50 years of manga and mangaka history
in manga.  And if it is not precisely gekiga it will
do as well.
     This is published by Drawn & Quarterly and I
found this copy at the local Borders for $29.95 when
I happened to have a 30% discount coupon and some
spare change courtesy of a friend.
On the other hand the Osamu Tezuka bio just
tells us what we knew that he died from overwork
despite inventing the modern mangaka assistants shop.
bliss
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