Keiji Nakazawa was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1939, a year that would forever change the course of his life. His father, a man of strong convictions, had opposed Japan's involvement in a war that he believed would end in defeat, but fate had other plans. When Keiji was just six years old, the first nuclear weapon detonated above Hiroshima, killing his father, sister, and little brother. He and his mother were left to struggle for survival in the chaotic aftermath, a time when even the most basic information on radiation and its effects was classified.
As he grew older, Keiji became an artist in Tokyo, publishing his first work in 1963. He wrote boys' adventure stories, such as "Spark One" and "Space Giraffe," but his life took a dramatic turn in 1966 when he returned to Hiroshima for his mother's funeral. The experience left him feeling enraged and devastated, and he began to focus on his experiences with the atomic bomb.
In 1972, Keiji used the platform of the popular boys' magazine "Shonen Jump" to publish "I Saw It," an account of his experiences in Hiroshima. The story eventually became the opening chapters of his ten-volume series "Hadashi no Gen" (aka Barefoot Gen),which was published at the height of the Cold War and shortly after student demonstrations over Japan's "Security Treaty" with the US.
The series, which was not completed until 1987, followed the lives of the survivors of the atomic bomb and their struggles to stay alive in the ruins. It was told in a cartoon-ish style that was popular in comics in the 1970s, and it became a powerful anti-war and anti-nuclear weapons message. The series was translated into several languages and distributed worldwide through "Project Gen," a group formed by students from Japan, the US, and Russia.
Keiji's work did not stop there. He went on to write many more manga, including some that involved the Japanese experience surrounding World War II. One of his most notable works is "Okonomi Ha-chan," which was turned into a live-action movie in 1999. Keiji wrote and directed the film, which is a testament to his enduring passion for storytelling and his commitment to sharing his experiences with the world.
Throughout his life, Keiji Nakazawa has been driven by a desire to share his story and to warn others about the devastating effects of war and nuclear weapons. His work has had a profound impact on people around the world, and his legacy continues to inspire new generations of artists and activists.
