One of the Greatest Japanese Manga Artists after WWII
Shigeru Mizuki (1922 - 2015) (real name: Shigeru Mura) was one of the greatest Japanese manga artists after WWII. Although Osamu Tezuka has been known as the king of the Japanese manga category after WWII, Mizuki has been even officially respected as much as Tezuka has been. Mizuki earned the prize for “the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” from the Japanese government, although Tezuka did not.
Mizuku showed his artistic talent since his elementary school ages. But he did not enter an art school, but he was conscripted into the Imperial Army while Misuki of young days was doing varioius half-hearted jobs. Then he was sent to the South Pacific front in Papua New Guinea or Rabaul where he narrowly escaped death. The battles against the US military and the Australian military were fierce. So, Mizui lost his left arm due to a U.S. air strike. He become one-handed on the battle field when Mizuki was in his early twenties. Then he spent his days as as a wounded soldier living at a field hospital, often walking around local villages.
As Mizuki had read many books before he was conscripted into the Army, since he had thought that he should be surely dead in the war, which had been common knowledge to young Japanese men in early 1940s. So, he read Goethe and the Bible. As MIzuki's father was a Waseda University graduate, Mizuki had a literary sensibility. Mizuki took even a Goethe's book to the front despite being at war. And, in a local village in Papua New Guinea where he occasionally visited he found the Bible written in English left by white people. He somehow read the English Bible aloud in the Japanese style. In the part he read, the word “Paul” appeared so often. Therefor, the locals called Mizuki Paulo. Mizuki became a close friend with the locals, which was very rare for Imperial Japanese soldiers to become friends with locals. Such behaviors were forbidden in the Japanese military. But Mizuki did not care.
With fruits and other foods locals supplied enthusiastically, Mizuki restored his health. He also sketched the site. These works were released after the war.
When the war between Japan and the United States ended, locals encouraged Mizuki to stay in their village but not to return to Japan. However, after consulting the army doctor, Mizuki decided to go back to Japan with other soldiers but promised them he would return to Papua New Guinea in seven years.
But after returning to Japan, Mizuki was busy with a difficult life as an wounded soldier without his left arm. Time passed quickly, He could not keep his promise to the locals. He did many different jobs to live such as selling fish or running a rickshaw business in Tokyo. He even attended art school while receiving treatment for his arm at a former army hospital.
Finally, he started to manage an apartment called Mizuki-So (his pen name was taken from the name of this apartment building) which he happened to buy in Kobe. There he happened to become acquainted with a kamishibai (picture-story show) artist. Misuki also became a picture story show writer, which was the starting point of his long career as a manga artist. Then, Mizuki became a manga artist for a rental bookstore. He moved from Kobe to Tokyo, mostly depicting the Pacific War and yokai (Japanese folk monsters)-themed stories. After these humble industries collapsed, Mizuki got the chance to draw his artwork for a magazine, expanding his scope from monthly magazines to weekly magazines. Then Mizuki's works became popular. One of his magazine stories was turned into an animated TV series. Mizuki became a popular and very busy manga artist. But most of readers of his work did not know that he had only one arm.
Then he remembered the promise he had made about 30 years ago with locals in Papua New Guinea. He decided to visit the village in Papua New Guinea; Mizuki actually traveled with his former comrades and met old acquaintances in the local village, although some were already dead.
Mizuki loved life on a South Sea island. He liked the laid-back life on a South Pacific island better than the busy life in Tokyo. Mizuki really discussed moving south with his wife and daughters, but they rejected Mizuki's idea. He had to only enjoy souvenirs from the island of the South Pacific.
So, Mizuki was a unique man. He had been a soldier of the former Japanese army in WWII who lost his left arm in the war. But Mizuku succeeded through hard work and artistic talent, although he had only one arm (so Mizuki hired some assistants some of whom also became famous manga artists later).
The manga works by Mizuki are unique in that the backgrounds in the manga were drawn in great detail but the characters in the manga were drawn in a friendly and approachable way. His most representative manga is GeGeGe no Kitaro; the main character of the manga work called GeGeGe no Kitaro fights and battles yokai or Japanese folk monsters as well as bad guys. It was a hit on both TV and in magazines. It brought Mizuki wealth, so that he could travel to Papua New Guinea many times and other interesting places in the world with spiritual atmosphere.
But, Mizuki's manga works depicting the reality and tragedy of the Pacific War are also popular with some readers. But Mizuki was a pacifist who loved the South Seas.
Finally, we have to admit that artistic talent, the Bible, and friendship with the local people in Papua New Guinea are the key to Mizuki's success as one of the greatest Japanese manga artists.
In addition, Mizuki's motto is to eat well and sleep well. Indeed, Mizuki in elementary school loved sleeping so much that he was so often late. And his life was really saved in WWII through foods carried and supplied by local villagers in Papua New Guinea.
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Acts 9
26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.