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Barefoot Gen Manga to Be Used as School Material
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The Hiroshima City Board of Education will use Keiji Nakazawa's historical manga Barefoot Gen in a textbook for third-year elementary school students. The Board of Education's aim is to use the manga to convey the thoughts and feelings of the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 to a new generation. For the 2012 school year the Board of Education will use the manga in one school and then plans to implement the curriculum throughout elementary schools in the city for the 2013 school year.
The program is a part of a more general "Peace Education Program" that the Hiroshima City Board of Education will implement throughout city elementary, middle, and high schools in the 2013 school year.
At the age of 6, Nakazawa survived the 1945 Hiroshima bombing, but lost his entire family except for his mother. He drew Barefoot Gen from 1973 to 1985, based on his experiences during the bombing and of his struggle to survive in the aftermath. The resulting 10 volumes of Barefoot Gen have since sold over 10 million copies and have been translated in English, Russian, Korean, and many other languages.
Last Gasp Publishing republished the Barefoot Gen manga in North America. The story has been adapted into two animated films and a live-action television drama special in Japan. Producer Northrop Davis and a partner have been pitching the story to Hollywood studios.
Source: Chugoku Shimbun
