The Four Immigrants Manga: a Japanese experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 by Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama, ill. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press, 1999.

ISBN: 1880656337

Media: inkpen

This is comic that was published by the author in 1931 and was translated by Frederik L. Schodt and republished in 1999.  The comic was originally created by Yoshitaka Kiyama for a Japanese newspaper that circulated in San Francisco during the late 1920's.  Kiyama was an accomplished artist who came to the United States to learn western art.  His comic strip depicts the hardships of four Japanese immigrants who come to America seeking opportunity.  The story chronicles the hardships of the Japanes in America as well as historical events that took place from 1904-1924 such as the San Francisco earthquake, prohibition, and the Panama Pcific International Exposition.

 

Literary Devices: Onomatopoeia, sophisticated language, metaphor, simile, allusion, personification

Curriculum Connection:  This book is a history of the first Japanese immigrants as told in the first person.  For grades eight through twelve this book will students learn what life was like for immigrants coming to America.  The story reflects life for Japanese, Chinese, African American and European immigrants and also gives a first hand impression of historical events that took place in San Francisco and around the world. History/Social Studies

Theme: The story of the four immigrants has many themes that relate to the hardships of being an immigrant.  Many of the challenges are partly due to a clash in cultures which often leads to misunderstandings.  For example in the set of cartoons titled "Schoolboys", four young Japanese immigrants find work during the day so they can attend school at night.  One opportunity for them to make money is by becoming a housekeeper.  One of them knows that in Japan a housekeeper helps the master of the house scrub their backs while taking a bath.  When a young Japanese boy attempts to show this respect to the lady of the house he is fired and sent home.  Other challenges include the language barrier and racism. 

Rating: 5Q/5P

Wess Garcia, August 2009

The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 by Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama and Frederik L. Schodt. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 1999. ISBN-10:1880656337

The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 was originally published in 1933 in Japanese; it is a comic chronicle of a Japanese immigrant's experience in San Francisco. It is fascinating as a first hand account of life in San Francisco almost a century ago.

    - Media: Pen and ink

    - Rating: 5Q/4P

    - Curricular Connections: Grades 6-12, Language Arts, Social Studies, History

    - Special Category: one manga book

CHA 07/31/09