History 187C (UCLA)
April 29, 1999

When the black ships first appeared on Japan's horizon on that day in 1853, the people who watched their approach probably didn't realize the sweeping changes that they signaled to their world. The winds of revolution that had been gathering for years would become a raging storm that would turn Japan upside down, triggered by the ominous sight of those dark vessels. For hundreds of year, the Tokugawa Shogunate had ruled and Japan had been fairly isolated from the West, choosing to be in contact with only the Dutch traders in Nagasaki. In that isolation, the ingredients for revolution simmered. Dissatisfaction and desertion were in the air long before the West had come to make treaties with the Tokugawa Shogunate. The arrival of the West brought the mix to a boil. The end of Tokugawa, the Meiji Restoration and the beginning of Meiji can be grouped in a continuous period of turmoil and transformation as Japan entered the modern age. There were heroes and villains, battles and duels, strong beliefs clashing and bloody deaths and assassinations. Today, the images of this era of change appear again and again in manga, or Japanese comic books. The imagery and romanticism associated with this period of radical transition within the stories subtly comment on the past and those of the present's view on it.

Manga has developed into something other than children's fare in Japan. Allowed to evolve beyond Western counterparts, authors are able to weave complicated and mature stories aimed towards adults. If it is called for, nothing needs to be held back from the telling of the tales. Violence and death is used as a background or a story point easily. Through words and pictures, manga is a combination of art and literature that has the ability to move one's emotions all over the spectrum just as much as written prose. Over the years, there have been countless historical stories written and manga created. The period before and during Meiji fascinates artists and in their adaptations, the country. The lines of heroes and villains often blur in the creation of these tales. But in the end, who is to say who was really a hero and who a villain in the whorl of revolution and Restoration?

The Shinsengumi had sided with the Tokugawa Shogunate during the revolution and were known as Mibu's Wolves for their brutality and killing abilities and the area of Japan from which they were first formed. Burai, by Iwasaki Yohko, follows the path of the Shinsengumi before the Restoration. She idealizes the members of the Shinsengumi as beautiful men with rich flowing hair in a very shoujo (girl's) style. But their beauty does not detract from their ability to kill. Swords cut through the air just as they did in history. Characters develop personalities and passions, as they did in the past (with a little artistic license on the part of the author). There is an air of intrigue and tension that runs through the story as historical and fictional situations unfold. The reader knows that, in the end, they will not be the victors, but that is not the point. The point is that they were still honorable men who fought for their beliefs. Kaze Hikaru, also looks at the Shinsengumi. In this manga by Watanabe Taeko, the members are drawn younger, almost child like. I have not gotten a chance to read the story, but the images seem to be softer. The historical images of violence are still present, but the scenes seem often more touching than cold. The Shinsengumi are made to seem like young boys forced to the front in a time of chaos. Both stories explore historical characters, building lives and events for the reader to enjoy and ponder over. Why were these men fighting for this cause? Were they wrong? Were they right? Who was the enemy, really? Often, in Western culture, there is no debate about history like this. History is often seen as static and dry. But when the story focuses on the "villains" of history, one can truly explore the how's, when's and why's of the past.

Another story that looks at chaos of that period is Rurouni Kenshin ~ Meiji Kenkaku Romantan. The story takes place 10 years into Meiji. Watsuki Nobuhiro creates a social commentary about the past and poses questions about the present. Himura Kenshin, the lead character, is a wandering swordsman who tries to help those he can. Kenshin presents himself as a kind and sweet, often bumbling man in search of peace. But during years of the revolution, he was an assassin for the Ishinshishi, killing in the name of the Emperor. The Ishinshishi supported the restoration of the Emperor to power. The power of this group rested in Choushu and Satsuma and Tosa, large domains in the south of Japan. The seeds of desertion and dissatisfaction took root there and spread, binding together more and more people to their cause.

The years after the Restoration were a period of great change. Yet, there were still social problems. Fukuzawa Yukichi notes that even though the caste system had been abolished, there were deep scars on the people. He recalls an incident where a man prostrated himself before him because Fukuzawa was a samurai. (note: Though swords were outlawed, the way people carried themselves, ie walking and the such, gave them away.)

This made me reflect what fearful weight the old customs had with the people. Here was this poor farmer still living in fear of all person, never realizing that the new law of the land had liberated him. What could be done with this country of ours when there are so many people as ignorant as this! I keenly felt an anxiety that was perhaps uncalled for.1

Even though the government pushed onward, grasping anything Western to absorb it into New Japan, there were people being left behind. Fukuzawa wanted to truly end the oppressive system that the people had endured for hundreds of years. In Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin had also seen this inequality. Kenshin, himself, is not a samurai, exactly. He was an orphan who trains to be a swordsman. His skill is deadly and powerful. He had joined the Ishinshishi in hopes of changing Japan so that her people would suffer less. The pain of the peasants is his pain. He wanders because of his past and he cannot forget what he had to do to help bring about the new era. But even with the Meiji's enlightened age, some of the old ways lingered. Ten years after the Restoration, Kenshin tries to help the weak by protecting them. Although Arimoto Yamagata offers him a position in the Meiji government, he declines.2 He tries to circumvent the Meiji government and helping to create a truly new era.

Rurouni Kenshin, Burai and Kaze Hikaru all use historical characters. The members of the Shinsengumi truly existed. In Rurouni Kenshin, Saitoh Hajime, a famous Shinsengumi, appears as a police officer with a grudge against Kenshin. Literary license is taken with historical events, but the elements of historic accuracy is still there. In Rurouni Kenshin, Okubo Toshimichi's assassination becomes a step in a massive conspiracy to take over Japan.3 His death is used as a turning point in the life of Himura Kenshin. He decides to help the government stop an enemy that the government itself had helped to create. Greed and power-lust mark this story arc, reminding the readers that there were many gray areas in the past and maybe even in the present.

Japan often looks back at this period in time, not only in manga, but also in novels and films. The chaos, the challenge of the past is food for the imagination of the public and writers are quite willing to provide the sustenance. Leaders rose to the top and changed the face of a nation. Authors use historical characters and romanticize the past. That in and of itself is not so unusual. There are hundreds of historical novels published in the United States every year. It is the compelling mixture of art and story in manga that makes the historical fiction so interesting in Japan. The romanticized characters seem more real because of the way they are used over and over again in popular culture. History is given life through the manga, giving it meaning to people today. In many ways, Japan seems to exist in a precarious dichotomy of the past and the present. In Tokyo, you can find the latest technology being sold in Shinjuku, while at the same time you can run into women (and men sometimes) in traditional kimono. It would be equivalent to walking around New York with people still dressing in Victorian bustles and skirts and bowler hats and tailored suits. Japan continues to cling to the past as she forages towards the future. But, in recognizing the past, the Japanese are reminded that the figures in their past were real, with goals and dreams. This reverence for the past is admirable. Mistakes or glory, heroes or villains, the past is alive and continues to change with the future.

~Endnotes~
1)Yukichi Fukuzawa. The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa. (New York: Columbia University Press. 1966) p. 243-244.

2)Watsuki, Nobuhiro. Rurouni Kenshin ~ Meiji Kenkaku Romantan. Vol. 1. (Japan: Shueisha, 1994) pp.75-78.

3)Watsuki, Nobuhiro. Rurouni Kenshin ~ Meiji Kenkaku Romantan. Vol. 7. (Japan: Shueisha, 1997) pp.180-186.

Bibliography
Fukuzawa, Yukichi. The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa. New York: Columbia University Press, 1966.

Iwasaki, Yohko. Burai. Japan: Kodokawa, 1998.

Shizuka, Kaoru and Nobuhiro Watsuki. Rurouni Kenshin. ~ Meiji Kenkaku Romantan [Jump Novel], volume 1. Japan: Shueisha, 1996.

Watanabe, Taeko. Kaze Hikaru. Japan: Shogakukan, 1998.

Watsuki, Nobuhiro. Rurouni Kenshin ~ Meiji Kenkaku Romantan. Japan: Shueisha, 1994.

Watsuki, Nobuhiro. Jump Comics Deluxe: Kenshin Hiden. Japan: Shueisha, 1996.