{"title":"Showa: A History Of Japan Ser","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"showa-1944-1953-book-mizuki-shigeru-9781770461628","title":"Showa 1944-1953","description":"Showa 1944-1953: A History of Japan continues award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki's autobiographical and historical account of Showa period Japan. This volume recounts the events of the final years of the Pacific War, and the consequences of the war's devastation for Shigeru Mizuki, and the Japanese populace at large. After the surprise attack at Pearl Harbour, Japan and the United States are officially at war. The two rival navies wage a series of micro-wars across the tiny Pacific Islands. From Guadalcanal to Okinawa, Japan slowly loses ground. Finally, the United States unleashes a new and terrible weapon-the atomic bomb. The fallout from the bombs is beyond imagining.  On another front, Showa 1944-1953 traces Shigeru Mizuki's own life story across the sweeping changes dur--ing this period. After losing his arm during the brutal fighting, Mizuki struggles to decide where to go: whether to remain on the island as an honoured friend of the local Tolai people or return to the rubble of Japan and take up his dream of becoming a cartoonist. Showa 1944-1953 is a searing condemnation of the personal toll of war from one of Japan's most famous cartoonists.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49569444397329,"sku":"GOR007076164","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50310505234705,"sku":"CIN1770461620G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50516628799761,"sku":"CIN1770461620A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1770461620.jpg?v=1751410079"},{"product_id":"showa-1939-1944-book-shigeru-mizuki-9781770466265","title":"Showa 1939-1944","description":"An internationally-renowned cartoonist and reluctant war vet details Japan's involvement in World War II. Showa 1939-1944: A History of Japan continues Eisner award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki's historical and autobiographical account of Japanese life in the twentieth century. This volume covers the devastation of the Sino-Japanese War and the first few years of the Pacific War a chilling reminder of just how harsh life in Japan was during this hostile era. Pivotal events like the attack on Pearl Harbor are reframed as part of a larger context detailing the country's brutal military expansion into Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Its effects on the otherwise unseen Japanese populace similarly come to the fore.  On a personal level, these years mark a dramatic transformation in Mizuki's life too. His idyllic youth in the countryside comes to an abrupt halt when he is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army against his will. On the tiny island of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea, a constant struggle for survival ensues. Not only must he fend off attacks from Allied forces, but from the harsh discipline of his own commanding officers too. It is here that Mizuki comes to understand the misery and beauty of the island itself, a place that will permanently mark and haunt him for the rest of his life.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49621603844369,"sku":"GOR013757834","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49743222604049,"sku":"NGR9781770466265","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50480284467473,"sku":"GOR013796994","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51050805494033,"sku":"NIN9781770466265","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52152028397841,"sku":"CIN1770466266G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53074431443217,"sku":"GOR014728770","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1770466266.jpg?v=1750961789"},{"product_id":"showa-1926-1939-book-shigeru-mizuki-9781770466258","title":"Showa 1926-1939","description":"A fascinating period in Japanese history recounted by manga s most distinguished author.  Showa 1926 1939: A History of Japan lays the groundwork for Eisner award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki s historical and autobiographical series about Japanese life in the twentieth century. Depicted against his trademark photorealistic backdrops, Mizuki effortlessly portrays a nation forced into a period of upheaval and brings history into the realm of the personal. Indeed, as a child coming of age in the Showa era, the author s earliest memories coincide with key events of the time.  It all begins with the Great Kanto Earthquake, a natural disaster that forces the country into a financial crisis. The period leading up to World War II is thus a time of economic hardship and record unemployment. Forthright descriptions of ensuing militarization reveal Mizuki s lifelong stance as a thoughtful pacifist, critical of domestically disputed events like the Nanjing Massacre clearly painted here as an atrocity. This first volume in a four-part series is a captivating historical portrait tracking the industrial and societal developments that would come to shape Japan's foreign policy in the interwar period.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49743179088145,"sku":"NGR9781770466258","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390611591441,"sku":"CIN1770466258G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51050972152081,"sku":"NIN9781770466258","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51528519024913,"sku":"GOR013796993","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52705337573649,"sku":"GOR012995616","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":52880506781969,"sku":"CIN1770466258LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1770466258.jpg?v=1751311745"},{"product_id":"showa-1953-1989-book-shigeru-mizuki-9781770466289","title":"Showa 1953-1989","description":"The final, Eisner Award-winning chapter of a legendary cartoonist s history of Japan.  Showa 1953-1989: A History of Japan concludes award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki's stunning historical and autobiographical series about Japanese life in the twentieth century. The final volume picks up in the wake of utter defeat in World War II, covering the United States  shift from enemy to ally. Jobs, money, and opportunity are funneled along in a bid to establish the country as a bulwark against Communist expansion. Japan thus reinvents itself, emerging as an economic powerhouse. Events like the Tokyo Olympiad and the World's Fair reintroduce the world to a much friendlier Japan, but this period of peace and plenty conceals a populace still struggling to come to terms with the devastation of their all-too-recent past.  Mizuki's own struggles mirror those of the nation during this period of recovery and reconciliation. He fights his way back from poverty, rising to the rank of cartoon celebrity beloved by millions of manga-reading children. However, prosperity cannot bring the happiness Mizuki craves, as he struggles to find meaning in the sacrifices made during the war. This visionary series, told by a true man of his time, is a magnum opus fully representative of the graphic novel as world literature.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49743216607505,"sku":"NGR9781770466289","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50106498744593,"sku":"CIN1770466282VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50120346534161,"sku":"CIN1770466282G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51050875846929,"sku":"NIN9781770466289","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52582818185489,"sku":"GOR014556339","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1770466282.jpg?v=1750832331"},{"product_id":"showa-1944-1953-book-shigeru-mizuki-9781770466272","title":"Showa 1944-1953","description":"A sweeping yet intimate portrait of World War II s legacy in Japan.  Showa 1944-1953: A History of Japan continues Eisner award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki's historical and autobiographical account of Japanese life in the twentieth century. In this volume, the tail-end of the Pacific War and its devastating consequences upon the author and his compatriots loom large. Two rival navies engage in a deadly game of feint and thrust, waging a series of ruthless military campaigns across the Pacific islands. From Guadalcanal to Okinawa, Japan slowly loses ground. When the United States unleashes the atomic bomb then still a new and now enduringly terrible weapon it is the ultimate, definitive blow. The catastrophic fallout from both explosions surpasses the limits of popular imagination.  Mizuki's own life is irrevocably changed in the shadow of history. After losing an arm during his time in service, the author struggles to forge a path into the future. Should he remain on the island of Rabaul as an honored friend of the local Tolai? Or should he return to the rubble of Japan and return to his earliest artistic inclinations? This penultimate installment of a landmark series is a searing condemnation of war, told with the deft hand of Japan's most celebrated cartoonist.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49743225946385,"sku":"NGR9781770466272","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50103593664785,"sku":"GOR013856821","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51050229989649,"sku":"NIN9781770466272","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51797088698641,"sku":"CIN1770466274G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52085918466321,"sku":"CIN1770466274VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52110857306385,"sku":"GOR014478885","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1770466274.jpg?v=1750765833"},{"product_id":"showa-1939-1944-book-mizuki-shigeru-9781770461512","title":"Showa 1939-1944","description":"Showa 1939-1944: A History of Japan continues the award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki's autobiographical and historical account of Showa-era Japan. This volume covers the period leading up to World War II and the beginning of the Pacific War; it is a chilling reminder of the harshness of life in Japan during this highly militarised epoch.  Mizuki writes affectingly about the impact on the Japanese popu--lace of world-changing moments, including the devastating Second Sino-Japanese War, the attack on Pearl Harbour, and the first half of the Pacific War. On a personal level, these years mark a dramatic transformation in Mizuki's life, too. His idyllic childhood in the countryside comes to a definitive end when he's drafted into the army and shipped off to the tiny island of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. His life becomes a constant struggle for survival, not only against the constant Allied attacks, but against the harsh discipline of the Japanese army officers. 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This volume deals with the period leading up to World War I, a time of high unemployment and other economic hardships caused by the Great Depression. Mizuki's photo-realist style effortlessly brings to life the Japan of the 1920s and 1930s, depicting bustling city streets and abandoned graveyards with equal ease.\u003cbr\u003e When the Showa era began, Mizuki himself was just a few years old, so his earliest memories coincide with the earliest events of the time. With his trusty narrator Rat Man, Mizuki brings history into the realm of the personal, making it palatable, and indeed compelling, for young audiences as well as more mature readers. As he describes the militarization that leads up to World War I, Mizuki's stance toward war is thoughtful and often downright critical--his portrayal of the Nanjing Massacre clearly paints the incident (a disputed topic within Japan) as an atrocity. 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