Abstract:

Based on a workshop organized by the editors at the University of Sydney, this book looks at the way manga (comic publications) reproduces alternative visions of Japanese history and have the potential to shape national historical memory. Rather than focusing on highly formulaic symbols of collective memory on the national level such as museums, monuments, state rituals and ceremonies, or history textbooks, as the majority of historical literature has done, our book looks at the way in which the past is being integrated and insinuated into the surrounding through the everyday production and consumption of manga. The individual chapters showcase specific instances of re-imagining, rewriting, and consuming history in manga format, from the late nineteenth century to the present, to address wider questions related to nationalism, modernity, politics, gender equality, and economic and social transformations.