The manga about the Yasukuni shrine, On Yasukuni, by the mangaka Kobayashi Yoshinori and its connection with the memory of the Fifteen Years War (1931-1945). An approximation from the cultural history

Abstract

The publication of Kobayshi Yoshinori’s On Yasukuni in the summer of 2005 broke in the Japanese editorial world with strength. As a consequence, many Western historians rushed to publish strong critics against the manga in which they tried to deny the fallacious ideas contained in On Yasukuni. However, this type of mangas continues to be published every year. Why is this happening? To criticize this type of manga is necessary, but as many of these critics are directed toward the manga’s discourse only they have not landed on a forceful criticism. Instead, I propose that a more historical and emic critic is possible if we as historians take into account not only Kobayashi’s discourse but also the socio-cultural aspects that surround it. If we accept that strictly speaking manga only exists when it gets in touch with the public which is inserted in a determined place and time, to write a critique more consistent with the Japanese society we have to rebuild the cultural systems that surround manga and that can be only reached by the use of the theoretical tools of the New Cultural History.