Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Okinawa / Susumu Higa ; translator, Jocelyne Allen ; lettering, Patrick Crotty, Kayla E.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Japanese Publisher: Seattle, Washington : Fantagraphics Books, Inc., [2023]Copyright date: ©2023Description: xxiii, 529 pages : chiefly illustrations (some color), color map ; 18 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1683961188
  • 9781683961185
Related works:
  • Container of (expression): Higa, Susumu, 1953- Suna no tsurugi. English
  • Container of (expression): Higa, Susumu, 1953- Mabui. English
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Book one: Sword of sand -- Book two: Mabui -- From Yamato to the United States : Okinawa in flux / Shinako Oyakawa -- Susumu Higa interview / translated by Jocelyne Allen ; conducted by Christopher Woodrow-Butcher and Andrew Woodrow-Butcher for MangasplainingExtra (MSX).
Summary: "A peaceful, independent kingdom until its annexation by the Japanese Empire in the 19th century, Okinawa was the site of the most destructive land battle of the Pacific War. Today, the archipelago is Japan's poorest prefecture and unwilling host to 75% of all US military bases in Japan. Okinawa brings together two collections of intertwined stories by the island's pre-eminent mangaka, Susumu Higa, which reflect on this difficult history and pull together traditional Okinawan spirituality, the modern-day realities of the continuing US military occupation, and the senselessness of the War. The first collection, Sword of Sand, is a ground level, unflinching look at the horrors of the Battle of Okinawa. Higa then turns an observant eye to the present-day in Mabui (Okinawan for "spirit"), where he explores how the American occupation has irreversibly changed the island prefecture, through the lens of the archipelago's indigenous spirituality and the central character of the yuta priestess."--Amazon.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library Graphic Novel 952.29 H634 Available 33111011135817
Total holds: 1

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction - Longlist

American Library Association Best Comics for Adults 2023

Booklist Editors' Choice: Best Graphic Novels 2023

Washington Post Book World Editors' Staff Pick 2023

The Guardian Best Graphic Novels of 2023

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

A peaceful, independent kingdom until its annexation by the Japanese Empire in the 19th century, Okinawa was the site of the most destructive land battle of the Pacific War. Today, the archipelago is Japan's poorest prefecture and unwilling host to 75% of all US military bases in Japan.

Okinawa brings together two collections of intertwined stories by the island's pre-eminent mangaka, Susumu Higa, which reflect on this difficult history and pull together traditional Okinawan spirituality, the modern-day realities of the continuing US military occupation, and the senselessness of the War. The first collection, Sword of Sand, is a ground level, unflinching look at the horrors of the Battle of Okinawa. Higa then turns an observant eye to the present-day in Mabui (Okinawan for "spirit"), where he explores how the American occupation has irreversibly changed the island prefecture, through the lens of the archipelago's indigenous spirituality and the central character of the yuta priestess.

Okinawa is a harrowing document of war, but it is also a work which addresses the dreams and the needs of a people as they go forward into an uncertain future, making it essential reading for anyone interested in World War II and its effects on our lives today, as well as anyone with an interest in the people and culture of this fascinating, complicated place. Though the work is thoroughly about one specific locale, the complex relations between Okinawan and Japanese identities and loyalties, between place and history, and between humanity and violence speak beyond borders and across shores.

Please note: This book is a traditional work of manga and reads back to front and right to left.

"Okinawa was first published in English in digital serialization at MangasplainingExtra.com"--Colophon.

Reads from right to left (except pages i-xxiii).

"A peaceful, independent kingdom until its annexation by the Japanese Empire in the 19th century, Okinawa was the site of the most destructive land battle of the Pacific War. Today, the archipelago is Japan's poorest prefecture and unwilling host to 75% of all US military bases in Japan. Okinawa brings together two collections of intertwined stories by the island's pre-eminent mangaka, Susumu Higa, which reflect on this difficult history and pull together traditional Okinawan spirituality, the modern-day realities of the continuing US military occupation, and the senselessness of the War. The first collection, Sword of Sand, is a ground level, unflinching look at the horrors of the Battle of Okinawa. Higa then turns an observant eye to the present-day in Mabui (Okinawan for "spirit"), where he explores how the American occupation has irreversibly changed the island prefecture, through the lens of the archipelago's indigenous spirituality and the central character of the yuta priestess."--Amazon.

Book one: Sword of sand -- Book two: Mabui -- From Yamato to the United States : Okinawa in flux / Shinako Oyakawa -- Susumu Higa interview / translated by Jocelyne Allen ; conducted by Christopher Woodrow-Butcher and Andrew Woodrow-Butcher for MangasplainingExtra (MSX).

Translated from the Japanese.

Powered by Koha