Hadashi no Gen, one of the most popular comic book series in Japan, has been translated into English by a volunteer group called Project Gen. The translation was finished this year (2009) and published in the United States under the title Barefoot Gen.
Loosely based on creator Kenji Nakazawa’s own life, the story begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where six-year-old Gen lives with his family. The atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, and Gen and other survivors are left to deal with the horror and devastation in its aftermath.
The other day, Nakazawa attended a party in Hiroshima commemorating the publication of Barefoot Gen. He expressed his desire to give a copy to U.S. President Barack Obama.
Barefoot Gen was one of my favorites when I was an elementary school student. I read it repeatedly and thought that the A-bomb was very terrifying.
“Melted skin hanging from bare muscle, bloated bodies floating down a river.” These are horrible scenes that the author himself witnessed after the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.
I’ll never forget the impact this had on me.
“The reality was much worse than what I was able to present,” he says. “In literature writers have described the burned skin on people’s arms, for example, as if they were gloves that had been turned inside-out. But can you imagine what it actually looks like? Manga (comic books), on the other hand, are a great tool which can visually appeal to readers.”
I hope many people, especially youth, realize through Barefoot Gen that nuclear weapons are an absolute evil and decide to take action for nuclear abolition.
Name: Tadashi
Age: 24
Gender: Male