Showa: A History of Japan #[1]

In the quiet aftermath of a devastating earthquake, Shigeru Mizuki’s *Prologue* from *Showa: A History of Japan* captures the fragile unraveling of Japan’s financial landscape, where small banks—once pillars of local communities—disappear or are swallowed by larger institutions. Through Mizuki’s stark, expressive artwork and grounded storytelling, the story quietly reveals how disaster reshapes not just cities, but the lives built within them.

In "Lost," Shigeru Mizuki recalls his childhood in quiet, vivid detail, painting a tender portrait of a boy shaped by the rhythms of family and memory. With his own pencils and inks, Mizuki draws the warmth of NonNonBa’s care and the quiet magic of a father who reads aloud beneath the glow of a single lamp.

In "Father's Incident," Shigeru Mizuki recounts his father’s unexpected career shift after being fired from the bank—his passion for films and theater leads him to open a cinema, a bold move that surprises everyone, including himself. With Mizuki’s signature blend of warmth and quiet humor, the story captures a moment of reinvention rooted in simple, heartfelt ambition.

In "The Huanggutun Incident," Shigeru Mizuki’s stark, expressive artwork and script bring to life a tense moment in Japan’s militarized past, where the weight of occupation and the quiet defiance of resistance begin to clash. Through Mizuki’s grounded, unflinching lens, the story captures the growing tension between Japan’s public justifications and the reality on the ground, where belief in the official narrative starts to fray.

In this intimate slice of life from *Showa: A History of Japan*, young Shigeru navigates the rough terrain of childhood friendship while watching his father’s movie theater thrive—until the sudden theft of the projector throws everything into uncertainty. With quiet observation and heartfelt detail, Shigeru Mizuki draws a tender, grounded portrait of a boy finding his place in a world shaped by small but meaningful losses.

In "Father Goes to Osaka," Shigeru Mizuki recounts his father’s desperate move to Osaka in search of work, a journey that reshapes the family’s life. As Shigeru struggles to fit in at school—often late, outspoken, and defiant—he navigates the quiet tension of a home strained by absence and hope.

In "Blood and Gold," Shigeru Mizuki recounts a turbulent chapter of his youth, where the crushing weight of the Great Depression collides with rising political violence in Japan. As right-wing extremists strike fear into the nation’s elite, Mizuki’s family finds themselves caught in the crossfire of a nation on the brink.

In "The London Naval Treaty," Shigeru Mizuki crafts a tense, grounded look at a pivotal moment in postwar Japan, where political tension flares as the government agrees to international naval disarmament. When right-wing extremists react with fury, a shocking assassination attempt leaves the prime minister barely alive, thrusting the nation into uncertainty.

In a time of hunger and hardship, a lone worker climbs a factory chimney to demand better conditions, his voice echoing through a nation on edge. Shigeru, NonNonBa, and their classmates struggle to survive as the war's weight presses down, while a small boy’s fate at sea underscores the cost of survival.

In "The Farmer's Tragedy," Shigeru Mizuki and Zack Davisson deliver a stark, powerful account of Japan’s agrarian collapse in the 1920s, where falling farm prices push families to the brink. Through Mizuki’s haunting artwork and grounded storytelling, the story traces how desperation was exploited by right-wing forces to fuel nationalism and set the nation on a path toward war.

In "The Mukden Incident," Shigeru Mizuki presents a stark, firsthand look at a pivotal moment in modern Japanese history, where military officers stage a surprise invasion of Manchuria, gambling that the civilian government will ultimately back their actions. Through Mizuki’s precise, unflinching artwork and script, the story captures the tense political maneuvering and the fragile balance of power that defined this turning point.

In "The Great Debate," Shigeru Mizuki presents a stark, meticulously drawn account of a pivotal moment in Japan’s wartime decision-making, where military leaders grapple with the future of the nation’s expansion in China. Through Mizuki’s signature blend of historical rigor and quiet intensity, the story captures the weight of choices made in the shadow of empire.

In "The Wanpaoshan Incident," Shigeru Mizuki’s stark, powerful artwork and script reveal a tense moment in history where drought-fueled conflict between Korean and Chinese farmers becomes a flashpoint exploited by Japan’s expansionist ambitions in Manchuria. Through Mizuki’s unflinching lens, the story captures the fragile human cost of geopolitical maneuvering, grounded in real events from the early 20th century.

In "The Foundation of Manchukuo," Shigeru Mizuki and Zack Davisson present a stark, grounded look at a pivotal moment in 20th-century history, rendered with Mizuki’s signature blend of clarity and quiet intensity. Through the eyes of civilians and businesspeople caught in the shifting tides of empire, the story captures the unease and resignation that followed the establishment of Manchukuo as a Japanese puppet state.

In "The Bath," young Shigeru Mizuki finds himself trapped in a moment of panic within a steam-filled tub, a small, intimate terror that mirrors the larger chaos unfolding around him. As the nation teeters on the edge of violence, right-wing officers carry out a shocking assassination, revealing the volatile undercurrents of a society consumed by extremism.

In "Withdrawal," Shigeru Mizuki draws from his own experiences to depict a chilling portrait of postwar Japan, where right-wing extremists wield power through fear, violence, and ideological suppression. With stark, unflinching art and a script grounded in real historical tension, Mizuki portrays a society where dissent is crushed and the cost of speaking truth is unbearable.

In the wake of escalating conflict in Beijing, Japan's military campaign intensifies, drawing China into the Second Sino-Japanese War as fractured Chinese factions are forced into an uneasy alliance. Amid the turmoil, Shigeru navigates a series of failed jobs and dead-end schools, searching for purpose in a nation on the brink.

In "Entering Nanjing," Shigeru moves through a Japan increasingly defined by hardship and rigid ideology, as wartime propaganda masks deepening suffering and the state tightens its grip on dissent. The story captures a nation caught between escalating violence abroad and growing repression at home, with Shigeru’s quiet drift mirroring the uncertainty of a people losing their way.

In "Our Own Mistake," Shigeru navigates a Japan on the brink, as the army's disastrous clash with Russia in Manchuria and Mongolia sets off a chain reaction that reshapes the global stage—Europe erupts as Russia advances into Poland, while Japan presses on in China, and the rise of Tojo marks the beginning of a darker era.