BAREFOOT GE

VOLUME ONE

&'

All

New Translation

Barefoot Gen: Comics

After the
An

Bomb

Introduction by Art

Spiegelman

Gen haunts me. The first time read it was in the late 1970s,
I'd begun working on Maus, my own extended comicbook chronicle of the twentieth century's other central cataclysm.
had the flu at the time and read
while high on fever. Gen
burned its way into my heated brain with all the intensity of a
fever-dream. I've found myself remembering images and events
from the Gen books with a clarity that made them seem like memories from my own life, rather than Nakazawa's. will never forget
I

shortly after

it

the people dragging their

own melted

skin as they walk through

the ruins of Hiroshima, the panic-stricken horse on

through the
girl's

city,

the

ruined face.

fire

galloping

maggots crawling out of the sores of a young

deals with the trauma of the atom bomb

Gen

without flinching. There are no irradiated Godzillas or super-

mutants, only tragic

realities. I've just

reread the books recently

and I'm glad to discover that the vividness of Barefoot Gen

emanates from the work itself and not simply from my fever. Or,
more accurately,
emanates from something intrinsic to the
comics medium itself and from the events Nakazawa lived
through and depicted.
Comics are a highly charged medium, delivering densely concentrated information in relatively few words and simplified codeimages. It seems to me that this is a model of how the brain formulates thoughts and remembers. We think in cartoons. Comics
have often demonstrated how well suited they are to telling action
adventure stories or jokes, but the small scale of the images and
the directness of a medium that has something in common with
handwriting allow comics a kind of intimacy that also make them
it

surprisingly well suited to autobiography.

It's

odd

that, until the

development of underground comics

the late 1960s, overtly autobiographical comics have not

in

com-

prised an important "genre." Rarer still are works that overtly

grapple with the intersection between personal history and world
history. Perhaps it was necessary to have a concept of comics as
suitable adult fare for the medium to move toward autobiography.
Or so thought until became more aware of Keiji Nakazawa's
career In 1972 Nakazawa, then 33, wrote and drew a directly
I

account of surviving the atomic blast at

a Japanese children's comic weekly. It was called,

autobiographical

Hiroshima

for

"I Saw It." A year later he began his Gen

based on having seen
"It," an adventure story of a boy caught in hell, a "Disasters of
War" with speech balloons.
In Japan there is no stigma attached to reading comics; they're
consumed in truly astonishing numbers {some comics weeklies
have been known to sell over 3 million copies of a single issue)
by all classes and ages. There are comics devoted to economic
theory, mah jongg, and male homosexual love stories designed
for pre-pubescent girls, as well as more familiar tales of samurai,
robots and mutants. However,
should confess to a very limited
knowledge of Japanese comics. They form a vast unexplored universe only tangentially connected to my own. Sometimes that
seems true of everything about Japan, and Gen may be an ideal

with chilling directness,

series, a slightly fictionalized narrative also

starting point for the twain to meet.

The modern comic book is a specifically Western form (making

all the more appropriate as a medium for reporting on the horatom bomb), but Japanese comics
have stylistic quirks and idioms that are quite different from ours,
and these must be learned and accepted as part of the process
of reading Gen. The stories are often quite long (the entire Gen
saga reportedly runs to close on 2,000 pages), usually with rather
few words on a page, allowing an entire 200-page book to be read
during a short commuter ride. Overt symbolism is characteristic of
Japanese comics; for Nakazawa it takes the form of a relentlessit

rors brought to the East by the

ly

reappearing sun that glares implacably through the pages.

the

marker

of time passing, the giver of

life,

is

It

the flag of Japan, and

metronome that gives rhythm to Gen's story.

The degree of casual violence in Japanese comics is typically
far greater than in our homegrown products. Gen's pacifist father
a

freely wallops his kids with

easily perceive

as criminal

affection that

intended.

is

chairman's son and

a frequency and force that we might

child abuse rather than the sign of

The sequence

literally biting his

of

Gen

brawling with the

fingers off

is

{forgive

me,

can't resist) especially hard to swallow. Yet these casual small-

scale brutalities pale to naturalistic proportions

the enormity of dropping a nuclear

when compared

weapon on a

civilian

to

popula-

tion.

The physiognomy of the characters often leans to the cloyingcute, with special emphasis on Disney-like oversized
Caucasian eyes and generally neotenic faces. Nakazawa is hardthe worst offender, though his cartoon style derives from that
His draftsmanship is somewhat graceless, even homely

ly

tradition.

ly, and without much nuance, but it gets the job done. It is clear
and efficient, and it performs the essential magic U\ck of all good

narrative

art:

the characters

drawing's greatest virtue

come

is its

to living, breathing

and impossible things

life.

The

straightforward, blunt sincerity.

conviction and honesty allow you to believe

Its

the unbelievable

in

happen

that did, indeed,

in

Hiroshima.

It

is

the inexorable art of the witness.

Although the strangeness of the unfamiliar idioms and conventions of Japanese comics language may set up a hurdle for the
Western reader first confronted with this bool<, it also offers one
of

its

Nakazawa is an exceptionally skillful stowho knows how to keep his reader's attention in order to
Grim Things That Must Be Told. He effortlessly communi-

central pleasures.

ryteller
tell

the

cates a wealth of information about day-to-day

Japan and the anatomy

about such pleasures

mass

reality of

in

life

is

wartime

in

down

of survival without slowing

jectory of his narrative. There

a paradox inherent

in

the tratalking

the context of a work that illuminates the

death, yet the exposure to another culture's frame

of reference, the sympathetic identification

one develops with the

protagonists and the very nature of narrative

cally pleasurable. Arguably,

ings exclusively

in

itself

are

all intrinsi-

by locating the causes of the bomb-

the evils of

Japanese militaristic nationalism

Western racism and cold-war
the work a little too pleas-

rather than in the Realpolitik of

power-jockeying,

Nakazawa may make

urable for American and British readers.

Ultimately,
that his story

improved

Gen

is

a very optimistic work.

can have a cautionary

to the point of acting in

Gen

Nakazawa

effect, that

its

believes

mankind can be

own genuine

self-interest.

embodying such virtues as

loyalty, bravery, and industriousness. Nakazawa's faith in the possibility for Goodness may mark the work in some cynical eyes as
Indeed.

is

a plucky

little

hero,

true Literature for Children, but the underlying fact

is

that the artist

not simply on the events that

reporting on his own survival
lived through, but on the philosophical/psychological basis for
work is humanistic and humane, demonstrating
and stressing the necessity for empathy among humans if we're
is

he

that survival. His

to survive into

another century.

A Note

from the Author

Keiji

Nakazawa

The atomic bomb exploded 600 meters above my hometown

August 6, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. was a little over a
kilometer away from the epicenter, standing at the back gate of
Kanzaki Primary School, when was hit by a terrible blast of wind
and searing heat. was six years old. owe my life to the school's
of Hiroshima on

hadn't been standing in its shadow, would have

If
to death instantly by the 5,00D-degree heat flash.
found myself in a living hell, the details of which remain
my brain as if it happened yesterday.
was eight months pregnant. She was on
the second floor balcony of our house, had just finished hanging
up the wash to dry, and was turning to go back inside when the
bomb exploded. The blast blew the entire balcony, with my mother on it, into the alley behind our house. Miraculously, my mother

concrete wall.

been burned
Instead,

etched

in

My

mother, Kimiyo,

survived without a scratch.

The
the

blast

first,

blew our house

flat.

The second

floor collapsed

onto

my father, my sister Eiko, and my brother

My brother had been sitting in the front doorway,

trapping

Susumu under

it.

head was caught under the rafter over

the doorway. He frantically kicked his legs and cried out for my
mother. My father, trapped inside the house, begged my mother
to do something. My sister had been crushed by a rafter and killed
playing with a toy ship. His

instantly.

My mother
and

lift the rafters off them, but she

by herself. She begged passersby
In that atomic hell, people
had no time for anyone

frantically tried to

wasn't strong enough to do

to stop

it

nobody would.

help, but

could only think of their

own

survival; they

My mother tried

everything she could, but to no avail. Finally,

in despair, she sat down in the doorway, clutching my crying
brother and helplessly pushing at the rafter that was crushing him.

else.

The

fires that

followed the blast soon reached our house.

quickly enveloped
ing;

my

in

flame.

It

was

My brother yelled that he was burnmy mother to get some help. My

father kept begging

mother, half-mad with grief and desperation, sobbed that she

would stay and die with them. But our next-door neighbor found

my mother just

in

time and dragged her away.

For the rest of her days,

my mother

never forgot the sound of

the voices of her husband and son, crying out for her to save

them. The shock sent

my mother

into tabor,

and she gave

birth to

a daughter by the side of the road that day. She

Tomoko, But Tomoko died only four months

later

named the baby

- perhaps from

we

perhaps from radiation sickness,

malnutrition,

didn't

know.

my mother
we sat and
watched the scenes of hell unfolding around us.
My father had been a painter of lacquer work and traditionalstyle Japanese painting. He was also a member of an anti-war
theater group that performed plays like Gorky's "The Lower
After escaping the flames near the school,

found

there by the roadside with her newborn baby. Together

Depths." Eventually the thought police arrested the entire troupe

and put them

in

the Hiroshima Prefectural Prison.

held there for a year and a

my

My

father

was

Even when was a young child,

Japan had been stupid and

half.

me

father constantly told

that

reckless to start the war.

Thanks, no doubt, to my father's influence, enjoyed drawing

from an early age. After the war began reading Osamu Tezuka's
comic magazine Shin-Takarajima [New Treasure Island); that had
a huge impact on me. began slavishly copying Tezuka's drawI

manga maniac. Hiroshima was an empty,

burnt-out wasteland and we went hungry every day, but when
drew comics, was happy and forgot everything else. vowed
early on to become a professional cartoonist when grew up.
In 1961
pursued my dream by moving to Tokyo. A year later
published my first cartoon serial in the manga monthly Shonen
Gaho {Boys' Pictorial). From then on was a full-time cartoonist.
In 1966, after seven years of illness, my mother died in the ABomb Victims Hospital in Hiroshima. When went to the crematorium to collect her ashes, was shocked. There were no bones
left in my mother's ashes, as there normally are after a cremation.
Radioactive cesium from the bomb had eaten away at her bones
to the point that they disintegrated. The bomb had even deprived
me of my mother's bones. was overcome with rage. vowed that
would never forgive the Japanese militarists who started the war,
nor the Americans who had so casually dropped the bomb on us.
began drawing comics about the A-bomb as a way to avenge
my mother. vented my anger through a "Black" series of six
manga published in an adult manga magazine, starting with Kuroi
Ame ni Utarele {Struck by Black Rain). Then moved to Shukan
Shonen Jump {Weekly Boys' Jump), where began a series of
works about the war and the A-bomb starting with Aru Hi Totsuzen
ni {One Day, Suddenly). When the monthly edition of Jump
ings

and turned

into a

launched a series of autobiographical works by its cartoonists,

was asked to lead off with my own story. My 45-page manga autobiography was titled Ore wa Mite {I Saw It). My editor at Jump,
I

Tadasu Nagano, commenting

that

must have more

to

say that

fit in 45 pages, urged

on my personal experiences.

me

wouldn't

away. That was

in

to

draw a longer series based

began the series right

gratefully

1972.

named my new story Hadashi no Gen {Barefoot Gen). The

young protagonist's name, Gen, has several meanings in
I

Japanese.

It

"elemental"

can mean the "root" or "origin" of something, but also

the sense of an atomic element, as well as a
and happiness. envisioned Gen as barefoot,

in

"source" of

vitality

standing firmly atop the burnt-out rubble of Hiroshima, raising his

voice against war and nuclear weapons.
his family
all

is

just like

based on what

my

really

Gen

own. The episodes

happened

to

me

is

in

my

alter ego,

Barefoot

Gen

and
are

or to other people

in

Hiroshima.

Human

beings are foolish. Thanks to bigotry, religious fanaticism, and the greed of those who traffic in war, the Earth is never

and the specter of nuclear war is never far away. hope

that Gen's story conveys to its readers the preciousness of peace
and the courage we need to live strongly, yet peacefully. In
Barefoot Gen. wheal appears as a symbol of that strength and
courage. Wheat pushes its shoots up through the winter frost,
only to be trampled again and again. But the trampled wheat
sends strong roots into the earth and grows straight and tall. And
one day, that wheat bears fruit.
at peace,

Hiroshima, April 1945..

in the last months of
the War in the Pacific
that Japan began with
the USA and England...

'-^K

^vget home
Oty

quick!

irf^^^^A^ah^

K^^^^^^5^5v

What "re you

standing around
for? We're
going to be

bombed!

That's right!
Shoot those

)A

^M

'y\A

^5"'^!

^~y^T-c^^^ nT^ S^^^Bij^^^l

'<^):2j

Lr^ ''^^^^^^^1

<ft^^
^^^

'^P-^--

'tfU

Cb

W^^M

>4J^^^H

^^vV^/''^^HE

D-don

say such
things,
dear...

Sign;

Destroy America

ani

The neighbors already

have their eye on you
because you re always
criticizing the war.

I feel better knowing

^ least one of you

Nouy
Akira
stop'

will

be safe from

all

You're lucky, Akira!

^?^^^^

Out

in the country you

get to eat stuff like

^[^HH
Jj^^^^

persimmons and
chestnuts... I wish I
could go tool

So why

isn't

Eiko going?
s in the
fifth grade!

She

fji^o

,sni
/strong
I

enough.

"

Rots! I'd like to

Reallylj

Lp^ khovc
'of

a whole bowl

rice, just once!<

Huh, Shinji!

f^
\

<Ul

TT

cr::^
;!';//^t i^v.-^

1'.'

''I'l

'ff/'/''

In onticipation of the
final battle on our
mainland against the
American and British
devils, we will now
commence spear drill!

Banners: 100 million fiery spirits, charge! Destroy the Americon and British devi

For the victory of the Grcot

Japanese Empire, we here on
the home front must be as
steadfast as the soldiers
on the front lines!

si

Now then! Mr. Onishi here, who killed 38

Russian soldiers in the Russo-Japanese war,
will show us how to defeat the enemy with
a spear...

r killed FORTY
Russians, not
38.

As Neighbor

hood Chairman,
you should

know that!

Otherwise, when
the flesh stiffens,
you won't be able to
remove the spear...
Got that?

Nakaoka, control yourself!

We are all striving for the
victory of Japan... Your
conduct is a disgrace to
the empire!!

Shut

up! I

won't be called
because I

a traitor just

farted!

You think we
can fight the
Americans with

bamboo

sticks?!

We'd be
mowed down
by machine
gun f
before v
close! ^

Banners; Kamiyama Primary School Group Evacuation

BAWWIIIhotcyou,
Elko!

Now Gen

my sweet

got

potato!

^C/aJ;

I'm sorry you

this...

all

hove to suffer

like

However hard we work, we

can't get hold of any food because

of the war...

Ow,
that
hurt!!

le

^^ \^^

rYI
:.;

wc could
them eat

wish
let

.r^j^H^^^

rice just once...

^\..

|P^~.^^
w^^
^^>*'^
""i^

^^m

1^

'^

rV^
You're growing
boys, ft's not
your fault you're
hungry...

Kimie, take the finished clogs

to the wholesaler tomorrow,
and use the money to buy some
rice on the black market. Then
make rice cakes for the kids.

All

nghtj^

gc<-

1
Oh,

it's

5:30

in

the

morningN

Daddy walks out the door

With his lunchbox full of

k^

cheap noodles

*#

Gen, arc we
really gonno
have rice

cokes?!

^^^^^
^"^^^^H
U>^

How many times do

I have to

tell

you?

Mama's gonna moke

some for us after
we get paid for this
load of clogs.

No! Not the

clogs!

Now we

won't get our

rice cakes...

^..-^
^^s^n^ix*^

^^m
Heh heh! You'll never
forgive us, huh? Traitors
have no right to talk
ke that. C'mon, let's
strip her!

You'
piq!

^^^(i^eW.
B^^^^^^?^,

thesl

~^

traitors

V^^

^^i^^M^ MM,L"P'(:^^

^^^^^ \^r^r ^^8

^^^^^W^'
'^^^^^^^

'^^V^
\-^^PIJ_l^^

^^^^
^^^^^

What your Popo says is right.

He's no troitor! It takes a lot
of courage to believe in peace
and oppose the war. You should
be. proud of him.

He won't be
returning for quite
a while. Bring his
belongings to the
station later

""'J^iW"'"^-

s^

mm^

Officer, why are yo..

takinq him away?...
Tell us!

..

^ "j

lUfl

Jill

Tell us!

\m

fe
^:4|i|

]^^|ff''^HMii

WmZI

^^^W^
x.x^
Gen_^\\f"f

or/ You brats

^2 ^^ quiet!!

4
I'M'
wKw\^j^%

5^
(TK

xH
V5^B

s
k.

4 ^^

Sign:

West

Police Station

^\M&"

shameiessV
traitor!

r^T^^'^^rm..

^^^PI^^^^j|

1^^^^
'^^^^

^^^P

yT<^m^^^^^^^111
32

My

children go hungry every

day... They fight over one
potato, one grain of rice...
military
takes all the food.

Why? Because the

Yet we put up with all of it.

How can you say we're not
cooperating? How can you
call

us traitors?!

Shut

up!

That's

all

How
a

matter of
course for a
Japanese!

can poor
people like us

cooperate any

more than

this?!

The

lives of six people,

my

family, depend on me. I can't

afford to take time off for
spear drill. I hove to work to
keep my children from starving

^^

to death.

War

brings us nothing but misery.

Japan has to walk the path of peace,

not war. That's what I believe.

>-;"-

\^x y^f

v^

M^
S^:^
^^5$"

^^Y

m
^B
1j

^pltlilty

Papa!

y^ ^DeaH!

^^^L

&

^^^S
35

But don't worry.

They can hurt my

body, but not
mind.

my

Your Papa is such q

fool... Even after a
beating like that,
he won't give in...

,\

n
Bastards
^

Stupid!

Our Papa's

He's
and
you forget it!

^ not a traitor!

a great man,
't

I've been wanting the

police to investigate

Nakaoka for a

long time.

People like him arc a

disgrace to the

What
J I 1^

W-whafsthis?ll
Aren't you

Nokooko's
boys?

Shut up! How dare you

soy that, after they've
injured people? Hand
them over right now!

What am I
Now we hove

going to do?
nothing to eat
tonight. The children ore
going to starve...

Sob... All

,,

because my r / What s
t^ie
husband
)
opposes
\ '"f''^';the war... ) VMoma?

Dear soldiers, I hope you ore well.

When I grow up, I will become a
soldier too and kill lots of horrible
American soldiers. Keep up the

You've all written tetters

to send to our soldiers in
far off battlefields. Let's
hear yours, Yamada.

My

father
says that

Japan must
not go to
war.

He also

says that

wars deprive people

of their lives and
destroy everything...
I agree with him.

Now

41

write

again,

it

over

and ask the

soldiers to kill lots

of American and
British c evils.

)
,

in^

If

1 \i

N-

no.

V3

S;

y-you disgusting
little

coward...

You're a disgrace
to this class!

K^!>^^

^^

As a
JJJ

^9/f/
^y^^
W^^^^
"

^^1
^^y

child of

the Emperor,
you should be

ashamed of
/""'self!

Hiiy

'^:^
(N^S
~>

! p
.J ^hiij
, the Emperor's!
^

^<0\^V

^^^krT-~^^-<<$^

^^^^^
\^^^^^^Mk\

I'm not bullying

her, I'm just
investigating

Hurry up ond
confess!!

Don't
lay a

hand

L^

^
^

on her!!|M

%
^M

rj*>

W^ ww

Signs: Brave ry, beterminat on

&
l>

^"^

P(|||^

"TO

Like father, like

son... Look at

the way he talks

back to us.

Quiet! All you

have to do is

confess and
give back the

money,

^_J)^Ift>7^

^
J^H

I haven't

taken

'^W^
^'iS^

Heh heh.,. That

Nokaoka girl's really
getting the
treatment. Huh! That
was smart of me to
snitch on her.

What! To treat on
innocent child like
a traitor... that's
inexcusable!

Mama, I'm
hungry.

When

is

supper
ready?

^
/
I

What

shall

I've asked

we do?
all

our

friends, but no one

give us any rice

will

Korpotatoes...

^T^^^pjlll

iu ^r^i<!

When

Papa

comes home,
I'll tell him
about those

Y
I

No, Sen. Don't

trouble Papa and
AAama... Don't
say anything.

The evening sky

is

clearing,

The autumn
breeze blows...

)The moon shines

down
JS
^And the crickets
start to cal

M
V

If Mama sees us crying, \

OK!
she' be worried. Let's
sing a song and cheer \^^K>^

II

ourselves up.

^^O^^WT.

Waaah! Stupid Mama!

I'll tell on you when
Papa comes home!

Your Papa's

oil,
I

in

We've already
all we

borrowed

L !.,.'+
so
we can t

no money.

^^

^^

<^>,,

+u

won't give us

Dear, please come

soon... I can't toke
any more, being called

Sob...

home
it

a traitor...

<

I even got the

teachers into the
act... told 'em to
give you a hard

time.

r think

N
y

we've
caught
enough.
Let's go

home

Irv

I wanna fly and shoot

down

plones. Then
I'd take the soldiers'

some American

lunchboxcs and eat

all

their

food!!

Beggars from eight

hundred provinces
stand with their
bowls at the qatc...
Hey, Misterf Give
us some food! Give
us enough to f
our bellies!
il

Hey Gen,

if

we

veat a whole bunch

if
11

A ^1

y^

noWj^^^y^

|
/

of locusts, will we Lj
be able to fly?

fc

K
^^S ^^
^^^^^

"I

I'm

sorry...

Because

of me, you get called

traitors and you
have to eat locusts
because you can't

I'm just sorry wc

can't celebrate

your return

^ i
JMP'V
S?g ^
S^
j.

'jS^.

^^^

1^

^^ 5

properly...

I'm going to work

hard from now on, so
you can eat plenty!

want the war to end

quickly, so I can go
back to my wife and
'

ildren in Korea...

Korean and Chinese people

are brought here ana
forced to help with Japan's
war effort. They're
treated like cattle... It's
because of
the war.

The Japoncsc arc doing

thin^ in the name
of the war. It mokes mc
ashamed to be Japanese.

terrible

Nowodoys, the military dictotorship

controls everything

schools,

newspapers, radio, the police...

They're all lying to you.

HOOE
It's

on air
raid!!

Dear, isn't it strange that the

B-29s have burned down most
of the big cities in Japan, but
they haven t attacked Hiroshima?

r don't

Sen,

want to 90 (."j;"."',
either.

If it turns out she

didn't steal the

money, I'll make

sure you regret
this.

You've scarred the child's

heart forever you aren't
qualified to teach children!

t"^SLhot?!

PapoHK^

"&

^"*\P
JifJi"

^^K^^^
mMM

1
a
;^

^
^

"^

k^l
83

He
You remember your cousin
He joined the Navy,
and you know what he looked
like when he come back?

Gokichi?

his

lost his sight,

fegs

arms and

were torn off, all

he could do was
breathe. He looked
like some kind of

But his neighbors

all

proisednim as
war hero. Easy

for

them

to say...

y-you really think

this war is being
fought for all
Japanese people?

The

When he

fool!
his

twenty
will

turns
draft notice
he'll have

come and

to go anyway. Why's he
in such a hurry to die?

Dear God, please save our son,

Koji. You can take my life
instead of

his!

^^ ^i-m
v^ ^# V-c^-^
ft>\

llral

?,

That

idiot!

Does

he really think it
takes courage
to go to war?!

N-no!

Il tffi

know
nothing

about

Fine,

W^

if

that's

how you want

Al^
/))

it,

I?

we'll

the slow

do

it

way...

^Vt^ ^^
^i^
94

Hey, did you

hear that?

Nokaoka caused
the explosion!

That rat. And

when our soldiers
need all the
weapons we can

make for

them...

Once they found out

about

Pq,

even my best
me the

friends gave

cold shoulder. Every

day's been

hell.

L-lct's go.

When

those brats bite,

they don't let go
till they've
chewed off your
fingersi

y
Vrvi
l^i^

Gen,
Shinji,

take care
of Papo
and Mama,

jflfiT^

M^

Ifc.

jf J j.^

you must
look after

Wk^ our

family.

"H
^T^r^^H ^^^-^
i)

Sen, tell
Papa that

M.

)
)

I'm sorry, j^

~~^ftL

iyO

Hurrah Va^
for

Koji! a_S

Banzai!

,^1^^S--v//
Vx'^k

C-^U^I^hI

(^

Vi-^)

J^

mW^

^-

.'S^^

i^^JaRHHc1

li^

'

A '
"

he^

mri

"JZjLi^Q^

U^'iflMA.^S^'
ll|IUUi""i

'^Vv
^>^s^

volunteered
for the Navy for the
sake of our family,

...So Koji

because I'm called

a traitor..

Dear, if Koji joins the Novy, people

will treat us more kindly. And he may
even come back safe ana sound. Please,
let's forgive him.

Let yourself be
called a coward,
a weakling! Just

You're a bloody
fool, Kojl!

You

hear mc?l

JAW

'

^1
'^^^M

P
1
fc

1>s
m

come bacK

olive!!

Nakaoka,
there's an oir
raid alert in
effect. Turn

your lights

I know how you feci. But if the

police arrest you again, they'll
be even harder on you than last
time.

What

will

become of

us?!

\p^^M

h^^

^Si

l^-^Po^

Meanwhile, in the United States

the effort to build an atomic
bomb - the Manhattan Project -

was nearing completion.

A 0roup of the nation's elite
scientists had been working
on the bomb at a furious
pace for three years.

To explode a nuclear weapon

with unimaginable powers of
destruction over Japan would
bring the war in the Pacific to
a quick and advontogeous end.
The choice of a target for the

bombing had narrowed down

to four cities: Kyoto, Niigata,
Kokura, and Hiroshima.
Preparations proceeded
smoothly.

When 's the war

gonna be over,
Sen? I'm sick
and tired of it...

Come on, now. If the

American soldiers catch
you, they'll do terrible
things to you...

Nooo...!

By this time the lives of all

Japanese were hanging by a
thread. But the nation's leaders
refused to stop the war,
exhorting people to "fight to
the last man!"

An announcement from
the Navy Ministry- Before
daybreak today, the
Imperial Navy destroyed
ten enemy cruisers, five
heavy cruisers, and 120

enemy

.-

-.

IIU

Banners: The enemy is desperate! Prepare to defend

the mainland! Wipe out the Americans and British!

aircraft.

spreading false
information through

newspapers and the

radio, the war icoders
devised strategies for
manipulating the public
from the comfort of

their offices.

So what

if it's

a superstition.

You don't want

Koji to die in

do
you?

battle,

You signed V^pfcf Ti' *

^
j
^ '"t^- '^^''up for prep
^i.^
"^"'^^ J^=t give
pilSt trainmg
^^^ '<"-<^5
without even
*fi' "
encouragement!
asking howl
i

^jt.

TJ%
MlH

Jlli\^

Wm

Where
it?

ip^

^3

~^JfeN

Sniff.)

V'^fc^>^-

~~<'*^^

N?g^-

sfc ^S^^

Bp^ j^^^^ ^P A y^
^^^
gBfe^-j!^T-*--=:
H^^
^^91 ip^Bs^^^^ KSHLli^c Jl^b

120

That rice has to last

us for Q whole week.
You shouldn't take
even one grain for
yourself!

123

Who

could
It

be?

li.

r<

Dummy!
There s
nothing

h^^ber? V

in

to rob!

^>T^
^H ^^W"^

krr&)^ l^/\^
1

ifflk/i?*)

125

Look!

The

(Teachers

teachers get
to eat

4 sure are

all

the rice
they want.

lucky...

"*

5
^*

^^
^f

Off to school again today,

Side by side with my brother
Thanks to you, Mr. Soldier,
Fighting for us in a faraway land..

-It:..

,^

Set

^P T
f

to
T
work! rr

'

f^

'

rV^!^Q
127

Remember, this
field is our food
supply. Work hard
so we con get a good
harvest, you hear?

^
stupid!

II

"wF/
>^

<

catch you,
they
beat you!

So what? Our
tcochcrs cat a

L Yeah!

bnr.ks

\1^^^^
<j/
A^^^^^L
''

LetsVlk

O ^ ^B
//

\V^s^ti^

Soldiers in the battlefields are

drinking muddy water and eating
grassrHow dare you complain
about being hungry! Shame on you!

What

are two cowards

like you going to do in

a couple of years when
you become soldiers
for the Emperor?!

129

130

^^

Why did you do

such a foolish
told us
K. 3|^ thing? You'll have
everything. ITL
to go back
,^L tomorrow with
\/\ y"^ friend

Miss Osato
came and

^P ^

Tamura.

^^^

jPv^lg ^^^^p^yn

I,

Akira, don't you

understand? It's hard

> for all of us! What if

a bomb fell here and

all eating your fill here.

But when I comeback, there's
less food for you. That's why
you're sending me away!

You're

Waahh!
I'm sorry

Gen

forgive

Shinji!

I'm sorry!
I'Noc back to
the :ountry!

Papa, AAama
Please

me

j^
Z^J
^li^

\r^
'^TL^
-~nJR"

w 11

Where on earth

did those
two go? I told them Aktra
was leaving. They should
be here to see him off...

But Akira. don't tell

Papa we were begging.

He'd

kill

usi

air^ ^(^^

Oh

no, an
raid! Hurry

Shinjj, let's

"y

J^^

r"/

get home! CA-

W/^

^"^fM^
^^ Come
Ui.(

on,

Akiro!

\
j

^^

Goodbye
Ji

square

Tofu

is

^i

triangle,

like tofu!

white, white

like a rabbit!

rabbit hops.,.

Hey Gen! Are there

where Koji

air raids
is

too? At the Naval

Air Corps rn

Kagoshima?

Hah! You think q young punk like

you IS going to be any use to the
Navy? Go on, beat it! Go home!

142

I've already \
been ordered )
to report to \
the Air Corps
)

today.

t#4

.^^''

\^J

B^^^

Hic.j

Help!

^S^*iji~"

Somebody

y(-v/
l^^y \\^^|xWv '^-

help meli

Wli

ffj^J^L fee^C

Mi 1\^^ -^i /_( Wgy^^ W^.

145

Nakayamal^^a
Where's

the
/oh,
sake?^right...

Wt,
f)^fe'^

^.

146

%f/.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

It s hard to get sake
nowadays, but I looked
all over especially for
you. AAr, Nakayama...

People are

supposed to die
of old oge, when
their time comes!

Why do the old

geezers who
started the war
and give all the
orders get to
live
'

longer
us?!

We are

now

accepting

\
I

for The

Attack

-^-'1

S.\

^
^^

-_-^^^^^

The war situation is

getting tougher We
need you to nelp turn
the tide by flying

bombs directly into

enemy battleships.

'Mq:^

^^
^^^^L^:^^

m^WM
GUA^t

You won't give

your life tor
your country?
That's
disgusting!

c^r"j/3^0^

fi/^

This

IS voluntary, so I can't force

you. But you're a disgrace to

Japanese manhood! I thought

my

battalion would volunteer

to the lost man.

Mother, Natsuko...
forgive me. I want
live, but everyone
around me is
determined that I

to

should

die...

ISl

154

155

157

Lieutenant Kumai,
you're a disgrace
to the Air Corps!
You should be

ashamed!

How

can you atone for wrecking

one of the Emperor's precious
airplanes? There are plenty of
men, but planes are nard to

come

by!

Your comrades

all

died attacking the

enemy. You're the
\only one left, you
coward!

ii

As soon OS your
wounds hove healed,
you

will

attack the

enemy and

die!

Do

you understand,
Lieutenant Kumai?

Now my mother weeps

every day. The neighbors
scorn her and callncr a
traitor. It's

all

my

fault.

159

I'll

go to

my death

cursing the bastards

who made the world

like this!

Kid, are you really gonna sign

up for prep pilot training?
It's not too late. You can still
save your life by cutting off
on arm or o leg...

sake of my father
and mother, and
Gen. Shinji, Eiko,

i^^^y
^^^^ /
^^^^J

^^^

A^^E*"'^

^^l

Sign:

Kaqoshima Naval Air Corps

The prep pilot courses,

held at Naval Air Corps
bases throughout Japan,
recruited Boys age 15
to 17 who dreamed of
flying and wearing the

smart seven-button
uniform.

To the
Koboyashis.
They're
'

friends of
in the
.country.

^ours

Stop talking

about

Some American

POWs

point,

^
^

It

asked for
ond when
was given to
them,..

164

^D\l

IS

Koji!

It's too

'

&\
\t^9

J /pyK

M
M

fff
i;^ S^

r-f

So now Japanese
people are imitating
them, painting a P on
their roofs so they'

Those Americans hove

families just like we do.
Wor JUST makes people
hate each other, kill

each

other...

Great!
Usually

Y
\

you can
see your

Wowl
yl

,,T^

reflection,
it's so
vwatery...

-(^.
tv<
Sign: Public Dining Hall

167

168

169

who do you think you arc?!

The Japanese people are oil
enduring hunger as they strive
for victory, while you selfishly
eat your fill!

Our troops at the front depend

on sweet potatoes for sustenance'
When you buy them on the sly,
yoi
ou're insulting the Emperor
nir
imself Have you no shame?!
!

It's lawbreakers like you

who keep us from winning

the war! Vou should be
ashamed! Ashamed!!

Actually, I should

throw you

in jail

for

this offense. But I'l

just confiscate the

potatoes and let you

go " this ^time

Dirty no-good cop. He hides behind

his badge, picks on defenseless
people like us, and says it's all for
the war effort or the Emperor...

I don't give a damn about the

Emperor! We're starving to
death! I bet the Emperor's
never missed a meal in his life!

^'VwJt~" i^^p

172

"^'! -

^5"^

You think
you can
insult

off
eh?l

174

an

ll

5-stop, please!
Please excuse
their impudence...

Sob.,,

?/[ 1

Please,
sir, I

Y^^^]l

beg you./

V.^o^^^7^^

^^p

^
^^^
/^/_X,f>^
'"^

\M

^T|

p
^'

'

But

if

you

ever insult o
police officer
again, you will

suffer the
xonsequcnces!

175

As the war went worse and worse for Japan,

the war Icoders tried to repress the growing
dissatisfaction of the people by tossing them
in jail. AAilitory and police authorities were
used to force everyone to cooperate with
the war effort.

^0M^!^M^;*,M^
Sob...

When we're

at home, we're
traitors!

When we

get potatoes in
the country,
we're traitors!

177

"^^
V

Hook your
ittle

~-

fingers

swear by,
A thousand

to

needles
you tell

if
lie!

\
)

&S?^^'
M
mi >^Bl^2
|l
^^^sS
'

ftjj^^jlw^iJ. 1

^^

1
Others
were
burnt to
death by
flame

.^^

throwers.:. ^V^

To protect the
Japanese mainland^
they fought the >
Americans like
madmen...
but all in vain.

180

-^^^
The Specter of
death was rapidly
approoching the
Japanese mainland,'/}
where Gen and
,,1^^"

his family lived.

Pant

'^^

^ mu
Pi ^^^
m,'':
'J

\j

^/

What's

the matter.
Kimie? You

\\
f

look pale.

^iiaj.

^^^Hj-T

I
\

^\
m imm

183

Hmm. She's
suffering from

both malnutrition
and overwork.
She's extremely
weak...

184

And with no
medicine
available, even
a doctor can't

do much.

Forgive me. Kimie... It's no wonder

you got sick. You've been working
so hard every day,.. If it weren't for
the war, we wouldn't have to worry
about something like ^^ molnutrition.

I'll just have to

work harder and
earn enough to
buy something
,

nourishing for
you.

185

OK, we'll take

advantage of his
kindness.

Take

this

and go buy some

good fish, Fiko

Wb

Here> ou

^^oA\

-O^

.^^

\
are,

Mama Please
eat It all and
get we II quick!

\--^^

iJi^

^f^

K-~I^J,5li^

^^^^ra

T
^^^^^
'

'

^^^^^^^^^^^>if

'^

Vj 5~>^\ s^
ti*.*^*^^^

If^^elicious...!

y^iJ 5^

^&^

3.

yBha

-thank

:^ars^j^ 1 you

Eiko.

'\

^^*^

187

We

have to run and

hide from air raids
every day, there's
hardly anything to
cot...

^fc^
i^lK"

I
^'

192

Sign: l^repare for the final battle!

concludes our

show for today.

We'll be^bock^

f;^ jfSi

^SmTi

beggors. Soon
"S they get

<^k^k*^^''"^^^^'

Sniffle...

Boys, why
don't you

come home
with

im

Tho! Good work!

Sen. weve iLefsgohome
got about T right now and
,

SIX

yen

today!

throw this
over the

^^r^

195

You

little

brotsi

How

dare you make

'

of a lonely
old woman!

in

199

200

For a brief
moment, there
was peace and
happiness

in

the Nakaoka
home...

202

in the New Mexican

desert of the American
southwest, the world's
first atomic bomb was
about to be tested.

But

Atop a 100-foot steel tower,

Q grapefruit-sized chunk of
Plutonium waited to unleash its
fearsome power on the world.
The deadly atomic age was
about to dawn.

At the top-secret
testing ground, the
countdown began.
It was 5:30 a.m.,
July 16, 1945.

203

205

July 26, 1945. The United Stotes, Greot Britain

and China issued the Potsdam Declaration,
demanding a ceasefire and unconditional surrender
from Japan. They warned That further resistance
would result in the annihilation of the Japanese
Army and the destruction of the country.

But Japan's war

leaders rejected
the demond, vowing
that the Japanese
would fight to the
last man...

Banner: Final battle for the homeland! Destroy the American ond British devils

The

U.S.

now moved forward

with plans to drop an atomic

bomb on Japan. A speciol
bombing squadron, the 509th
Composite Group, had already
been formed in secret.

B-29 bombers began

practice runs between

Mexico and the

Caribbean, carrying a

dummy bomb shopcd

like

a pumpkin.

207

209

210

Day after day Koji and the other

students trained and studied hard
to be soldiers. They were beaten
until they learned to obey orders
unthinkingly...

S ....pn\^iA

didn't any of

^M

you notrce when

Hanada ran away?!

^M

Why

''

1
<:

^li^^'^feiL

><

^R^(^Vl|f^
\

*tr

\ \ \

Form groups of
three and go look <J
for Hanada! Be sure <
you bring him back,
or else!!
_<^

^
P

Puff \
puff.,.

'

W.jg^

Where
the

He

hell
1.

y=

couldn't

have gotten
that far yet.

-^

hfh^^\y

Hanada?

/ ' ~S\
\

--

W;

TlT^Mv
/
\

>

^n^/f

iS^Ly'v

,=.

/^

No matter where
he went, the
military police

would've caught
him anyway.

214

Honada, you coward! You

Please, Nakaoko! Take me home!
I con't go bock to the Air Corps
again. Please, I beg you'

call

yourself a Japanese man?

Didn't we all volunteer to
pilots for our country?!

become

I'll even ask

the squad leader

Look,

to let you off easy.

%I

T-thankyou, Nakaoko.
You're the only one
here who treats me
fair...

217

we can't revive
the dead. Let's just
say Honada met with
an accident and died
honorably duri

Well,

training.

Forgive mc. Hanado! You begged me

to take you back home... If I d known
this would happen, I would've done it.

Forgive me...

Everyone understand?
Honada died
occidcntolly, an

W^-^lTT^
p H^D
ry^^WjBp

honorable death. He
yj^^sKKr
died happily for our
/m^^^^S^
country, for the
'^^"^^
(//
\ Emperor. Is that f>j

Ogawaro, that scum!

drives Honada
to suicide, then

He

acts like nothing

happened!

/(^^J/m

V"

clear?

^^^C^:^'^'^

""'-^^^^''^Tflw^ f

-1

t#l' T
J
^AM%k
^M
^yC:>^^M
^^iM
i^liW^

-Ot(

j^C

fi'y"

-IL.

Gik

Is this what
soldiers of the

Japanese Empire
are really like?
It's insane,

completely insane!

WWi^
(rl/

^N>Xn

r'^^^L

^
219

220

Terukichi was a lucky boy.

Even if it was an accident,
he died serving his country
and the Emperor,

ActuollyV
sir,

your

death...

P^

z'-^^''-;^^

\^^C^^

A'-^^^V

T- Terukichi
couldn't take the
training, ran

away

and

finally hanged
himself...?!

^ISI;

Shut

up! Terukichi died

for his country! Don't
stain his honor! Oon't
destroy our dream!

222

If the

Japanese
people don't

<

war

...the

all start
sticking up

for^^
themselves /

wr^^f^
'^^sS^

will

never

Ml^

223

224

225

226

Sign:

Horikawa Glass

228

It's not right,

Hanayo! If I hadn't
been drafted, we
wouldn't be
suffering like
this.

Even with one

dear, you

home

leg,

came

alive.

We

should be
grateful
for that.

I hate this war! It cost

me my

leg,

and now I'm

going to lose the family

store too...

229

Cheer

up,

Mister! Don't
let a

few

debts get
you down!

My Papa always soys,

"There s good days and
bad days, but if you wait
long enough the sun
always shines againi"

Pant pant... I've

got to earn

something
toward my
debts, even
a

little.

It's no use.

Not

single order.,.

I'm heading home,

try again
tomorrow...

I'll

:^^;^'
^^^y

Thank

'

I need
eight,

i^^

Y^

jim^

Where

W
J

place.

liJ^Bf'fj'

need
^^eighteen.
I

^J^^^

Seven

K1

for mc.

it

I need
twelve.

%r-^
'^

'^^^fc^
y^ ^^ '**^
Our windows

-1

^^^Hi
-^~B^J^ Hi

1
\;
I'l

232

R-right

^^-^^^^^^K

^^4B

/--.

""

^M

^Qlt

S fC"':^>fe^

^))^^^^i?r^B

o."'

S'i^rf-^^^

Amazing! That's a
total of "320 panes.
This is a lot of work.
I'd better get

^^T^

going!

^^c3 0^^

r^T^

;-<'^^
.^
^""^^

^^

|i

r^^
-f/

all

thank goodness!

.Js)
wr "^^^h
^"^

siik
A

did

these orders

come from?
Thank goodness,

jt.

*^%s

looks terrible.
Please hurry!

be

Xrrtr-

^"^^Z

jsilzh,

Eleven at

h fi^i^^ my

arc broken. It

I'll

much, ^^^^ QWQy.

I need

thirteen

^^
1^7H
^^

I need four new

-< w ndow panes

Y at my house.

/-

R^^-^d
p^^^^^~~~--=^J

'>3*ta

233

So you're the
one who's been
breaking the
windows around,
here, ehl

I'm sorry! I was

just tryrng to catch
a drogonf fy on your
window, and I broke
it!

234

What he did was truly

inexcusable. We'll give
Gen a good talking to,
r promise. Please
forgive us.

If he tries that kind of

prank again, we' H take
him to the military
police!

Understand?

235

236

That poor old guy's been

through so much in the
war. It's worth getting
in

trouble to help

him...

S
237

238

Mr, Honkowa from

the glass shop
brought this to gi
to you, Gen.

239

T-thanks, Gen\ Wow,

you're a swell brother!

You really

240

arc!

Shinji's so happy
with that boat.
He's going to
take it down to
the river

tomorrow!

Gen's growing

up.

That was big of him

to give his little
brother that
battleship...

*5unday. August 5 1945

iJnder that

same starry

sky. at the

American A-bomb squadron's Tinian

Base in the Mariana Islands, seven
B-29 bombers were preparing to
take off for Japan.

241

At 1:35 a.m. on August 6, three

weather planes took off for
Hiroshima, the primary target.
They reported clear skies. It
was decided then to drop the
atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

242

Pi
^^**\
IV
1^^^zzz)

w
v^

Ix

y^m^%

P^

^
"fl^>^

^^

SIT

^^^9
/^ '^
'^

/^^'

:i^

A terrible fate was headed

for Gen's city of Hiroshima...

243

That's a

fine ship

Gen gave

you,
Shinjil

^M^
^^
244

r know, Papa!

Gen's the best

biq brother in
the world!

i'>Ta

jm^

The enemy

IDear...

planes sure
got here
eorly todoy!

;^^k^

J-^9h

js^^er^

C"^^

7^
^>

^s^ \^

We

can drop
the bomb
right on

schedule
08:15 Japan
time.

clearl

W l^cleaH C

^O^

Thank

^H ^^^

goodness!

^^^
^V ^M,

They did
go away,
often oil,

mP

Sec? They
were just
scouts!

J^

KV

^M^a^t'^'^^E#> ip^^j ^f l^slj

^/^
"On /^2'
V^a.^^^1
^
vO^ "*ilrm ^'^Sfc\
y/''

246

Unaware of the holocaust

that was approaching
from the sky, the citizens
of Hiroshima began their
day as

usual...

Forty-three seconds later, 1.800

feet over Hiroshima, the atomic
bomb named Little Boy exploded
light. It was like a

with a white-hot

million flashbulbs going off at once...

251

iX

,p

lir,

J,

iHlK'A

.lillfU.ill

mil

'

// '/

'*P
7m

Like an eruption from

the pit of Hell, the

i,ir.

WfW

J|; Jill, atomic cloud roared

tfU
'/'V* up SIX miles into the
sky over Hiroshima...
UM|P*
1^.

M'

.^

.lbv>

,.

^11,

I-it's the lady I was

just talking to. What
happened to her?!

253

257

258

Wj^i

W-we^^!^S^
k
\

got out!

^s^

^^

AVeVe

saved!!

^
^/
^^^^^^

^"c

m
7^
N^g

^^1^^^ '^r^""^

^^b

259

200

Gen!

p^^

My

[5>''^^^---^jEr

w^

Gen! Thank

f^^^
y^^i

legs hurt!

They're
stuck!

W^C^^^

^^^

jHH^H

God you
weren't ^^urt...

/^\\t
Jks^

V,--'''^^P

^^^^^^1^g
^
/^^^^Ss2^

261

Tt

"!)^

--^

'^

hurtsi^"^-"^'
hurts

!^M^^

j^^B

I'll get the

Chairman and

I know!

Ryukichi to help.
Ttiey can't hove
gone very far!

S ^^m
E?^

mm0^

HHM/j

wa 9^9
kV%
mm p^
^oj

M^
wMi
^^

^^iM^

Come on,
Ryukichi! If we
don't run now,
firc'll get

the

us, too!

Kimie!

^^^SST

Can't
you do

'^^i^^
^U^^I^Bm,

some-

/^^=^=^"Li^

thing? ^fc===t

N-no...

beam

The
is

too heavy...

V-^

263

At least
you two
will

survive!

Kimie, listen to mel You hove other children

to look after. Akira's still in the country,
Koji's in the Navy, and there's our unborn

baby

they need a mother!

266

You promised you'd

sail

the

battleship with me! You

promised! Take me with you!

Waaahh!
Gen! Gen!

tB|

i^ss

r^^^

^^%5i
^^
^^o

5q?SMf^'^ii^iT^
The

\?~^

bott!e-tllJ^

ship!y^\^

^H^/

^^g

268

You've got
to take
core of

WAAAHH!

J^

It's hot, Gen. it's hot!

The fire's on my legs!!

^L

^^yMother...
'^I^hurts...

ii^-i^^

py^i ^^S
f^^S\ ^/^

'^^^m'

^^^

Take care of your

mother, Gen! I'm
counting on you!
Be strong!

269

270

271

y^^^:;'
Help....

Help,..

(/it h-

VM

^^
'l^^^

^^^

^^m

*Buddhist prayer

I can't go on,

I'm

all

sir!

burned and

I've got cramps.

I can't swir

279

bucket with water. .\

and find a pair of --^

280

M^^^^
/>lHftf\

^^at

j^|.>

To cut the

umbilical

This baby will be your

brother or sister... Be
a big brother, be strong..,

Gen...
little

like

[Xinmn'i

mz

Hey, little one! I'm your big

brother, and I brought you into
this world! So you better listen
to me, you hear?

283

Let

me

hold her,
Gen.

284

Remember

this,

my

little

one.

This is war. This is what took your

father, sister and brother from us...

About Project Gen

Namie Asazuma
Coordinator, Project

Gen

Keiji Nakazawa brings to life a

tragedy unlike any that had ever befallen the human race before.
He does not simply depict the destructive horror of nuclear
In

the pages of Barefoot Gen,

weapons, but

tells of the cruel fate they visited upon victims and

in the years to come. Yet Gen, the young hero of this
somehow manages to overcome one hardship after anothalways with courage and humor. Barefoot Gen's tale of hope
and human triumph in the face of nuclear holocaust has inspired
volunteer translators around the world, as well as people working
in a variety of other media. Over the years Gen has been made

survivors
story,
er,

into a three-part live-action film,

a feature-length animation

film,

an opera, and a musical.

The

first

effort to translate

Barefoot

Gen

from the original

Japanese into other languages began in 1976. when Japanese

peace activists Masahiro Oshima and Yukio Aki walked across
the United States as part of that year's Transcontinental Walk for
Peace and Social Justice. Their fellow walkers frequently asked
them about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and one of them
happened to have a copy of Hadasfii no Gen in his backpack. The
Americans on the walk, astonished that an atomic bomb survivor
had written about in cartoon form, urged their Japanese friends
to translate
into English. Upon returning to Japan, Oshima and
it

it

Aki founded Project Gen, a non-profit, all-volunteer group of

young Japanese and Americans living in Tokyo, to do just that.

Project Gen went on to translate the first four volumes of Barefoot
Gen into English. One or more of these volumes have also been
published in French, German, Italian, Portuguese. Swedish,
Nonwegian, Indonesian. Tagalog, and Esperanto.
By the 1990s Project Gen was no longer active. In the meantime, author Keiji Nakazawa had gone on to complete ten volumes of Gen, and expressed his wish to see the entire story
made available to non-Japanese readers. Parts of the first four
volumes had also been abridged in translation. A new generation
of volunteers responded by reviving Project Gen and producing a
new, complete and unabridged translation of the entire Gen
series.

in

The second incarnation of Project Gen got its start in fvloscow

1994, when a Japanese student, Minako Tanabe, launched

"Project

Gen

in

Russia" to translate

Gen

into

Russian. After pub-

volumes in Moscow, the project relocated to

Kanazawa, Japan, where volunteers Yulia Tachino and Namie
lishing the first three

Asazuma had become acquainted

with

story about Hiroshima into Russian.

together with Takako Kanekura

umes 4
In

in

Gen

while translating a

The Kanazawa

volunteers,

Russia, completed Russian vol-

through 10 between 1999 and 2001.

the spring of 2000. the

Kanazawa group

formally established

a new Project Gen in Japan. Nine volunteers spent the next three
years translating all ten volumes of Gen into English. The translators are Kazuko Futakuchi, Michael Gordon, Kyoko Honda,
Yukari Kimura, Nobutoshi Kohara, Kiyoko Nishita, George
Stenson. Michiko Tanaka, and Kazuko Yamada.
In 2002, author Keiji Nakazawa put the Kanazawa team in contact with Alan Gleason, a member of the first Project Gen, who

Gasp

introduced them to Last

original English translation of

of

San Francisco,

publisher of the

Gen. Last Gasp agreed to publish

all ten volumes, of which this

the new, unabridged translation of

book

is

one.

hope

humanity will never repeat the terrible tragedy

of the atomic bombing, the volunteers of Project Gen want children and adults all over the world to hear Gen's story. Through
translations like this one, we want to help Gen speak to people in
different countries in their own languages. Our prayer is that
Barefoot Gen will contribute in some small way to the abolition of
In

the

nuclear

that

weapons before

Write to Project

Gen

921-8112, Japan

c/o

this

new

century

is

over.

Asazuma, Nagasaka 3-10-20, Kanazawa

Keiji

Nakazawa

and remains

suburbs of Tokyo,
work of the Project Gen

lives with his wife in the

actively involved In the

Now

from cartooning, his most recent

and directed about
young people growing up In postwar Hiroshima. He is currently working on another film scenario.
volunteers.
project

was a

retired

live

action film he wrote

Barefoot

Gen

bombing

of Hiroshima

is

the powerful, tragic, autobiographical story of the

of the artist as a

and its aftermath, seen through the eyes

young boy growing up in Japan. The honest

and experiences speaks to children and

adults everywhere. Barefoot Gen serves as a reminder of the
suffering war brings to innocent people, and as a unique
portrayal of emotions

documentation of an especially horrible source of

atomic bomb. This is part one of a ten-part series.
"Gen

effectively

bears witness to one of the central

Give yourself over

to...

this

to us).

radioactive crater

one

our time.

extraordinary book; get used to those dewy-

eyed faces and the unfamiliar

manga (comix

suffering, the

fiorrors of

story-telling

conventions of Japanese

This vivid and harrowing story

then burn a

will

in your memory that will never let you forget

Gen is
few comix that actually pulls off the essential magic
marks on paper come to fully realized life."
it.

of those very

trick...

those

little

Art Spiegelman, cartoonist

Winner of the

considered one of the great comic

the truth

in

plain, straightforward

Pulitzer Prize for ^/laus

Nakazawa,

"...some of the best comics ever done...

way,

filled

with real

"Nakazawa's graphic prese

bombing of Hiroshima sh(

,_^^^
^^^^=
'

beginning with the President

""

sure,

will

because he

human
R.

stop such madness."

I'm

artists of this century,

cs

0-86719-602-1;

978-0-86719-602-3 99990

9780867196023
USED
BAREFOOT GE^'v^lf "o^NE
Graphic Novel/Memoir

be

tells

feelings."

Crumb, cartoonist

PA
04