I Saw It
Encyclopedia
I Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima: A Survivor's True Story, titled in Japanese, is a one-shot manga
by Keiji Nakazawa
that first appeared in 1972 as a 48-page feature in the magazine Monthly Shōnen Jump
, which at the time was a spin-off issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump
. The story was later published in a collection of Nakazawa's short stories by Holp Shuppan. I Saw It is a biographical piece following the life of Nakazawa from his youngest days in post-war Hiroshima
, up until his adulthood. I Saw It became the predecessor for Nakazawa's popular manga series Barefoot Gen
.
The volume was released in North American in a colorized English translated volume by Educomics under the title I Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima: A Survivor's True Story in 1982.
and they rushed into a wet shelter. Hungry and with there being little food, Keiji would steal and eat raw rice from storage bins. To earn money, the family painted wooden clogs. His father also did traditional Japanese paintings and his brother Yasuto welded the hulls of ships at the Kure Shipyard. Keiji's brother, Shoji, left during a group evacuation, keeping in touch through letters. On August 6, 1945, on his way to school, Keiji saw a B-29 flying overhead. At 8:15 am, it dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy
, on Hiroshima
. Keiji was knocked unconscious. The schoolyard wall had blocked most of the flames from the blast, though his cheek was impaled by a nail in a wooden board. Keiji returned to his home to learn that his mother, who had recently given birth to a baby girl, was waiting for him by the tracks on Yamaguchi Street. The rest of his family, except Yasuto, died in the blast, unwilling to leave the house despite his mother's urgings. Keiji and Yasuto went back to their home to dig up their family's bodies.
On August 15, 1945, World War II
ended and Shoji returned. The baby girl his mother gave birth to on the day of the bombing died and was cremated on the beach. Keiji returned to school and houses being rebuilt. His family was poor, and Keiji was always hunting for food. He also began collecting trash and glass to turn into items he could sell. One day, he found a copy of the manga
Shin-Takarajima (New Treasure Island) by Osamu Tezuka
. Inspired, he started writing his own manga and reading manga magazines at the local bookstores. Keiji submitted one of his manga creations to the magazine Omoshiro Book which accepted and published it. Wanting to improve his drawing skills, Keiji began working as a sign painter for a former war veteran. A second manuscript sent to Omoshiro Book won him second place in a contest. Keiji used the prize money to buy a palette.
One New Year's Eve
, Keiji's mother Kimiyo began hemorrhaging. He purchased all the medicine he could, wanting to give her some good memories, and she slowly regained her health. Keiji moved to Tokyo
to begin his career as a manga artist. Keiji's editor got him a job working as the assistant to Daiji Kazumine. One and a half years later, his manga titles began serialization in various magazines. When he returned to Hiroshima to meet his mother, she had recovered though she was unable to walk freely. She collected every issue of the magazines his works appeared in, and Keiji told her to get well so he can show her Tokyo.
Returning to Tokyo, Keiji met a woman who he fell in love with and married. Meeting Keiji's wife, Kimiyo told him that her life was now complete. She died while Keiji and his wife were en route to Tokyo. When they cremated her body, the radiation remaining in her from the bomb caused her bones to disintegrate, leaving only white dust instead of the usual ashes. Keiji decided he would fight the atomic bomb through his manga.
Five years have passed since Kimiyo died. Keiji is standing by a pond and wishing he had been born in a better time. Checking the time, he realizes it's close to the deadline for his work for Weekly Shōnen Jump
. He goes back into the house to get down to work.
, entitled Monthly Shōnen Jump featuring manga based on various creators' biographies. Monthly Shōnen Jump later split into its own manga anthology
. Nakazawa's editor later urged him to write a longer series based on I Saw It, Barefoot Gen
was what became of this. I Saw It was later published as a part of a compilation of Nakazawa's short stories by Holp Shuppan, entitled .
The company Educomics discontinued their licence to Barefoot Gen, in order to start their translation on the I Saw It manga. It was published in a single volume under the title I Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima: A Survivor's True Story. Educomics colorized the series and offered lesson plans for bulk orders to aid in using the series in classrooms to help explain the war to students. Also with bulk orders a 11 × 17 inch free poster was added for promoting the manga in stores, with endorsements by other manga artists and peace educators.
I Saw It was later included as the first story in The Mammoth Book of Best War Comics, published by Constable & Robinson.
of The List, reviewed I Saw It in the same case: "Keiji Nakazawa sets the mood with his personal account of the bombing of Hiroshima in I Saw It, a poignant tale that spells out the human cost of the atomic bomb and the implications that resonate throughout the rest of their lives."
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Keiji Nakazawa
Keiji Nakazawa
is a Japanese manga artist and writer.He was born in Hiroshima and was in the city when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945. All of his family members who had not been evacuated died in the bombing except for his mother, and an infant sister who died several weeks after the bombing...
that first appeared in 1972 as a 48-page feature in the magazine Monthly Shōnen Jump
Monthly Shonen Jump
is a now defunct monthly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Shueisha from 1970 to 2007 under the Jump line of magazines. It was the sister magazine to Weekly Shōnen Jump.- History :...
, which at the time was a spin-off issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
. The story was later published in a collection of Nakazawa's short stories by Holp Shuppan. I Saw It is a biographical piece following the life of Nakazawa from his youngest days in post-war Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, up until his adulthood. I Saw It became the predecessor for Nakazawa's popular manga series Barefoot Gen
Barefoot Gen
is a Japanese manga series by Keiji Nakazawa. Loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor, the series begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen lives with his family...
.
The volume was released in North American in a colorized English translated volume by Educomics under the title I Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima: A Survivor's True Story in 1982.
Plot
In 1945, elementary student Keiji Nakazawa's mother wakes him up during an air raidAirstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
and they rushed into a wet shelter. Hungry and with there being little food, Keiji would steal and eat raw rice from storage bins. To earn money, the family painted wooden clogs. His father also did traditional Japanese paintings and his brother Yasuto welded the hulls of ships at the Kure Shipyard. Keiji's brother, Shoji, left during a group evacuation, keeping in touch through letters. On August 6, 1945, on his way to school, Keiji saw a B-29 flying overhead. At 8:15 am, it dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy
Little Boy
"Little Boy" was the codename of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, of the United States Army Air Forces. It was the first atomic bomb to be used as a weapon...
, on Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
. Keiji was knocked unconscious. The schoolyard wall had blocked most of the flames from the blast, though his cheek was impaled by a nail in a wooden board. Keiji returned to his home to learn that his mother, who had recently given birth to a baby girl, was waiting for him by the tracks on Yamaguchi Street. The rest of his family, except Yasuto, died in the blast, unwilling to leave the house despite his mother's urgings. Keiji and Yasuto went back to their home to dig up their family's bodies.
On August 15, 1945, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended and Shoji returned. The baby girl his mother gave birth to on the day of the bombing died and was cremated on the beach. Keiji returned to school and houses being rebuilt. His family was poor, and Keiji was always hunting for food. He also began collecting trash and glass to turn into items he could sell. One day, he found a copy of the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Shin-Takarajima (New Treasure Island) by Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
. Inspired, he started writing his own manga and reading manga magazines at the local bookstores. Keiji submitted one of his manga creations to the magazine Omoshiro Book which accepted and published it. Wanting to improve his drawing skills, Keiji began working as a sign painter for a former war veteran. A second manuscript sent to Omoshiro Book won him second place in a contest. Keiji used the prize money to buy a palette.
One New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, Keiji's mother Kimiyo began hemorrhaging. He purchased all the medicine he could, wanting to give her some good memories, and she slowly regained her health. Keiji moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
to begin his career as a manga artist. Keiji's editor got him a job working as the assistant to Daiji Kazumine. One and a half years later, his manga titles began serialization in various magazines. When he returned to Hiroshima to meet his mother, she had recovered though she was unable to walk freely. She collected every issue of the magazines his works appeared in, and Keiji told her to get well so he can show her Tokyo.
Returning to Tokyo, Keiji met a woman who he fell in love with and married. Meeting Keiji's wife, Kimiyo told him that her life was now complete. She died while Keiji and his wife were en route to Tokyo. When they cremated her body, the radiation remaining in her from the bomb caused her bones to disintegrate, leaving only white dust instead of the usual ashes. Keiji decided he would fight the atomic bomb through his manga.
Five years have passed since Kimiyo died. Keiji is standing by a pond and wishing he had been born in a better time. Checking the time, he realizes it's close to the deadline for his work for Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
. He goes back into the house to get down to work.
Media
I Saw It premiered as a one-shot work in a September 30, 1972 special issue of Weekly Shōnen JumpWeekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
, entitled Monthly Shōnen Jump featuring manga based on various creators' biographies. Monthly Shōnen Jump later split into its own manga anthology
Monthly Shonen Jump
is a now defunct monthly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Shueisha from 1970 to 2007 under the Jump line of magazines. It was the sister magazine to Weekly Shōnen Jump.- History :...
. Nakazawa's editor later urged him to write a longer series based on I Saw It, Barefoot Gen
Barefoot Gen
is a Japanese manga series by Keiji Nakazawa. Loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor, the series begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen lives with his family...
was what became of this. I Saw It was later published as a part of a compilation of Nakazawa's short stories by Holp Shuppan, entitled .
The company Educomics discontinued their licence to Barefoot Gen, in order to start their translation on the I Saw It manga. It was published in a single volume under the title I Saw It: The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima: A Survivor's True Story. Educomics colorized the series and offered lesson plans for bulk orders to aid in using the series in classrooms to help explain the war to students. Also with bulk orders a 11 × 17 inch free poster was added for promoting the manga in stores, with endorsements by other manga artists and peace educators.
I Saw It was later included as the first story in The Mammoth Book of Best War Comics, published by Constable & Robinson.
Reception
I Saw It was reviewed by "Brick" on for comicsvillage.com as part of The Mammoth Book of Best War Comics by Comics Village. "Nakazawa’s short story is infinitely more powerful for its portrayal of the sacrifices his mother makes so that Keiji can become a cartoonist" writes "Brick" ." David KendallDavid Kendall
David Evan Kendall is an American attorney who advised President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal and represented Clinton during the impeachment trial.-Background and Education:Kendall was born in 1944 and grew up in Sheridan, Indiana...
of The List, reviewed I Saw It in the same case: "Keiji Nakazawa sets the mood with his personal account of the bombing of Hiroshima in I Saw It, a poignant tale that spells out the human cost of the atomic bomb and the implications that resonate throughout the rest of their lives."