Lucas Blogs About Nonnonba
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| Oh, like you've never had to write a sutra all over your body to ward off monsters. |
So, what's this book's deal?
Remember when we talked about Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths?
I do, yes.
So, this is another semi-autobiographical manga by Shigeru Mizuki this one based on his experiences as a child in a pre-WWII Sakaiminato.
Does it also overlap with material from Showa: A History of Japan?
It does, but at the same time its focus is different enough that it doesn't feel as repetitive.
But both of of these manga were published before Showa, so isn't Showa the repetitive work?
Uh . . . But like, I read Showa fir. . . The deal is that Shigeru "Shige" Muraki (an extremely thinly veiled stand in for the author—whose birth name is Shigeru Mura) learns about yōkai from his elderly neighbor (and sometimes domestic servant) Nonnonba. Nonnonba is the wife of a Shinto priest and just so happens to be an expert on the various spirits, monsters, and creatures of Japanese folklore (collectively referred to as yōkai). Meanwhile, in the background, Shige's father tries his hand at opening a movie house, Shige and his brothers try to navigate the warfare between the various boy armies representing different neighborhoods in Sakaiminato, and Shige learns a number of hard life lessons when his childhood friend and his cousin die and he finds out that one of his neighbors is a human trafficker.
Whoa! A) SPOILERS and 2) that sounds pretty depressing.
Did I mention the wacky yōkai shenanigans?
You did not.
Well, there are wacky yōkai shenanigans. Usually what happens is that Shige accidentally runs afoul of some spirit or monster and that either haunts him or interferes with his school life. Or sometimes they just want to hang out and talk with him, like when he summons Azuki Hakari, a usually invisible yōkai that throws red beans at the ceiling.
Why does he do that?
It's just his nature.
So, this manga about death and human trafficking also has an avuncular bean-throwing monster?
Well, Mizuki's autobiographical manga often mix tragic and comic tones. This is mirrored in his art style, which juxtaposes cartoon-y characters and photorealistic backgrounds. The effect is sometimes jarring, but does allow Mizuki to humanize the yōkai characters by making them just as cartoon-y as their human counterparts. The yōkai themselves, though often inconvenient, are rarely depicted as malevolent, they simply are, they follow impulses they can't control and perhaps don't fully understand. And this perspective is part of what helps Shige grow and mature through the course of the novel. (SPOILERphobes may want to skip the rest of the paragraph) In fact, one of the most affecting sequences in the manga occurs when Shige dreams that various yōkai from earlier in the novel are moonlighting as greeters in the various thousands of heavens and escorting his cousin into the afterlife. They help Shige to realize that death is a part of life and while we don't have to like it, we do have to accept it.
Not to sound like a jerk, but who exactly is this targeted at?
What do you mean?
You know, is it for kids or adults?
Well, maybe both. Kids will definitely enjoy the slapstick humor of yōkai like Azuki Hakari, and adults will appreciate his droll fatalism. But I would say that some of the themes might be inappropriate for younger children (so, middle schoolers and up should be fine). And, if I had to guess, I'd say that the actual target audience is probably adults (possibly even more specifically Japanese people who grew up in the early Showa-era). While not as prominent as in his other works, there is always the undercurrent of the increasing militarism and authoritarianism in pre-war Japan. However, this manga is focused more on Shige's personal growth and the ways in which Nonnonba influenced his life.
Yeah, for a review of a book called Nonnonba you sure are focusing a lot on Shige!
Actually, in Japanese the title was Nonnonba and I, but you're right. Nonnonba is a major part of the manga, her knowledge of yōkai and other folklore is often key to resolving the various jams Shige gets himself into, and her job as a servant in the home of the human trafficker is a driver for the plot. That said, sometimes the manga lets down Nonnonba and other female characters by showing them primarily through the lens of Shige's interaction with them. This is especially uncomfortable in the final act as Shige attempts to free a little girl named Miwa from her guardian who intends to sell her to a geisha house. On the one hand, the resolution of this story does reinforce the themes of accepting things you can't change, the thing Shige has to accept is human trafficking. That said, there is no realistic way that he could have saved Miwa.
Well, shouldn't the reader maybe feel uncomfortable about it?
Sure, but I don't know, the ending just didn't sit right with me.
Wow, we really threw SPOILER alerts out the window, didn't we?
We did. Oops.
Like the inOpportune cOntent rePlacement proceSs?
No, just oops. Look, I guess I have complicated feelings about the book. But it's still interesting if you're into manga or folklore, and it is different enough from Showa that that I might even recommend it if you've read that already.
Is this the ending?
I think this might be where I call it.
Okay.
Nonnonba by Shigeru Mizuki trans. Jocelyne Allen, Drawn and Quarterly trade paperback edition, April 2012 (originally published in Japan as のんのんばあとおとオレ (Nonnonba to Ore) in 1977, 408 pages, pairs well with donuts and accepting that death is part of life
Links:
Seriously, guys, Azuki Hakari is the best.
Also, here's Mizuki's profile on his North American publisher's website, if you're into that kinda thing.
And for fun, here's another snippet from Drawn and Quarterly's website.
Does it also overlap with material from Showa: A History of Japan?
It does, but at the same time its focus is different enough that it doesn't feel as repetitive.
But both of of these manga were published before Showa, so isn't Showa the repetitive work?
Uh . . . But like, I read Showa fir. . . The deal is that Shigeru "Shige" Muraki (an extremely thinly veiled stand in for the author—whose birth name is Shigeru Mura) learns about yōkai from his elderly neighbor (and sometimes domestic servant) Nonnonba. Nonnonba is the wife of a Shinto priest and just so happens to be an expert on the various spirits, monsters, and creatures of Japanese folklore (collectively referred to as yōkai). Meanwhile, in the background, Shige's father tries his hand at opening a movie house, Shige and his brothers try to navigate the warfare between the various boy armies representing different neighborhoods in Sakaiminato, and Shige learns a number of hard life lessons when his childhood friend and his cousin die and he finds out that one of his neighbors is a human trafficker.
Whoa! A) SPOILERS and 2) that sounds pretty depressing.
Did I mention the wacky yōkai shenanigans?
You did not.
Well, there are wacky yōkai shenanigans. Usually what happens is that Shige accidentally runs afoul of some spirit or monster and that either haunts him or interferes with his school life. Or sometimes they just want to hang out and talk with him, like when he summons Azuki Hakari, a usually invisible yōkai that throws red beans at the ceiling.
Why does he do that?
It's just his nature.
So, this manga about death and human trafficking also has an avuncular bean-throwing monster?
Well, Mizuki's autobiographical manga often mix tragic and comic tones. This is mirrored in his art style, which juxtaposes cartoon-y characters and photorealistic backgrounds. The effect is sometimes jarring, but does allow Mizuki to humanize the yōkai characters by making them just as cartoon-y as their human counterparts. The yōkai themselves, though often inconvenient, are rarely depicted as malevolent, they simply are, they follow impulses they can't control and perhaps don't fully understand. And this perspective is part of what helps Shige grow and mature through the course of the novel. (SPOILERphobes may want to skip the rest of the paragraph) In fact, one of the most affecting sequences in the manga occurs when Shige dreams that various yōkai from earlier in the novel are moonlighting as greeters in the various thousands of heavens and escorting his cousin into the afterlife. They help Shige to realize that death is a part of life and while we don't have to like it, we do have to accept it.
Not to sound like a jerk, but who exactly is this targeted at?
What do you mean?
You know, is it for kids or adults?
Well, maybe both. Kids will definitely enjoy the slapstick humor of yōkai like Azuki Hakari, and adults will appreciate his droll fatalism. But I would say that some of the themes might be inappropriate for younger children (so, middle schoolers and up should be fine). And, if I had to guess, I'd say that the actual target audience is probably adults (possibly even more specifically Japanese people who grew up in the early Showa-era). While not as prominent as in his other works, there is always the undercurrent of the increasing militarism and authoritarianism in pre-war Japan. However, this manga is focused more on Shige's personal growth and the ways in which Nonnonba influenced his life.
Yeah, for a review of a book called Nonnonba you sure are focusing a lot on Shige!
Actually, in Japanese the title was Nonnonba and I, but you're right. Nonnonba is a major part of the manga, her knowledge of yōkai and other folklore is often key to resolving the various jams Shige gets himself into, and her job as a servant in the home of the human trafficker is a driver for the plot. That said, sometimes the manga lets down Nonnonba and other female characters by showing them primarily through the lens of Shige's interaction with them. This is especially uncomfortable in the final act as Shige attempts to free a little girl named Miwa from her guardian who intends to sell her to a geisha house. On the one hand, the resolution of this story does reinforce the themes of accepting things you can't change, the thing Shige has to accept is human trafficking. That said, there is no realistic way that he could have saved Miwa.
Well, shouldn't the reader maybe feel uncomfortable about it?
Sure, but I don't know, the ending just didn't sit right with me.
Wow, we really threw SPOILER alerts out the window, didn't we?
We did. Oops.
Like the inOpportune cOntent rePlacement proceSs?
No, just oops. Look, I guess I have complicated feelings about the book. But it's still interesting if you're into manga or folklore, and it is different enough from Showa that that I might even recommend it if you've read that already.
Is this the ending?
I think this might be where I call it.
Okay.
Nonnonba by Shigeru Mizuki trans. Jocelyne Allen, Drawn and Quarterly trade paperback edition, April 2012 (originally published in Japan as のんのんばあとおとオレ (Nonnonba to Ore) in 1977, 408 pages, pairs well with donuts and accepting that death is part of life
Links:
Seriously, guys, Azuki Hakari is the best.
Also, here's Mizuki's profile on his North American publisher's website, if you're into that kinda thing.
And for fun, here's another snippet from Drawn and Quarterly's website.
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