Interest
Coloring Book Commemorates 100 Years Since Gegege no Kitarō Creator Shigeru Mizuki's Birth
posted on by Kim Morrissy
A coloring book commemorating the 100th anniversary since the birth of manga creator Shigeru Mizuki shipped in Japan on Thursday. This one's not for kids—it's specifically for adults. The title of the book translates to "Shigeru Mizuki's Adult Coloring Book: A Travelogue of That World."
The book depicts in detail the "afterlife" of various regions in Japan and around the world. Mizuki, who fought in the Japanese army during the World War II, frequently reckoned with death in his day-to-day life. As a result, he took an interest in how people around the world perceived "that world," and drew many pieces of art depicting it from the perspective of Japan and the rest of the world.
The book also comes with coloring pages of characters from various Mizuki works, including GeGeGe no Kitarō. The book also teaches coloring techniques.
Mizuki was born in Osaka in 1922, and he grew up in Tottori Prefecture. He was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, where he injured—and later lost—his left arm. He penned multiple manga based on his experiences in World War II, such as Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths and Watashi no Hibi.
Mizuki was famous for his manga about yōkai — Japanese supernatural creatures. His manga and research into yōkai is largely responsible for the popularity that yōkai stories have today.
Mizuki was the first Japanese creator to win a major award at France's Angoulême International Comics Festival when he won the Fauve d'Or: Prix du Meilleur Album in 2007 for NonNonBâ. He was also honored as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government in 2010.
North American publisher Drawn & Quarterly has released many of Mizuki's works in English, such as NonNonBâ, Kitaro, Hitler, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, and Showa: A History of Showa Japan (Comic Showa-Shi), the latter two of which were nominated for a Harvey Award in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Mizuki's Showa 1939-1944: A History of Japan and Showa 1944-1953: A History of Japan manga won the 2015 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.
Mizuki passed away in November 2015 at 93 years old.
Source: Comic Natalie
