The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924

(Paperback)

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Description

Originally published in Japanese in 1931, this is the true story-in comic book style-of four friends who in 1904 come from Japan to work in the U.S. They serve as houseboys, toil in the fields, and live through the 1906 SF earthquake. They also suffer considerable discrimination. This book's valuable personal testimony about early Asian-American struggles is marked by gentle humor.

Reviews

"The cartoons by Henry "Yoshitaka" Kiyama capture the wonderful sense of humor and satirical irony Japanese immigrants retained in the midst of the anti-Japanese exclusion movement which cast them in the most sinister light. They depict the lives of ordinary Japanese immigrants with unerring accuracy."

-Yuji Ichioka, Research Associate, Asian American Studies Center at UCLA, and author of The Issei: The World of the First Generation Japanese Immigrants, 1885-1924

"Forty years before the birth of underground and alternative comix, Henry Kiyama was experimenting in comic strip form with comics as autobiography, comics as personal statement, comics as sociology, anthropology, and political science, not to mention comics as a comment on racial and class attitudes and antagonism. In a time when traditional comics didn't dare venture into this territory, Kiyama covers it as a matter of course, as if his strip is no more or less than his bemused comic diary. It is that, but it is more, much more."

--Jules Feiffer, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist

"For younger Japanese Americans who never had the privilege of hearing first-hand the recollections of immigrant forebears, the reincarnations of Kiyama's work will offer a bittersweet look into the history of their people."

--Bill Hosokawa, principal historian, Japanese American Citizens League

"A treasure. Like the Yellow Kid and Jiggs & Maggie, The Four Immigrants Manga is a splendid and authentic example of the immigrant literature of the period. More candid and outspoken than any of its contemporaries, it is a classic that demonstrates the true literary role of the comics to reflect ordinary life. It is fun to read. It belongs in every library."

--Will Eisner, graphic novelist, creator of The Spirit

"A fascinating journey back in time. Henry Kiyama's comic-book novel reminds us of the humor and humanity of our ancestors, as well as the hardships they faced. As a documentary filmmaker, I was thrilled by its honesty."

--Steven Okazaki, Academy Award-winning filmmaker

Author Bio

HENRY (YOSHITAKA) KIYAMA (18851951) came to San Francisco from Japan as a 19 year old and stayed nearly 30 years. After returning home he devoted himself to teaching and fine art.

FREDERIK L. SCHODT is a writer, translator, and interpreter who has authored several books on Japan, including Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics, America and the Four Japans, and Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. He lives in San Francisco.