ABSTRACT

This chapter reinterprets kokoro (心), a key philosophical concept that has been defined as the ‘heart’, ‘mind’ or ‘soul’, in terms of a civic epistemology of self-knowledge. Kokoro is analysed using Japanese war-themed manga written by three leading post-war manga artists Nakazawa Keiji, Mizuki Shigeru and Tezuka Osamu. Manga is an apt medium to discuss kokoro because its visuality allows the artists to codify dynamic interpretations of kokoro through the protagonists’ dialogic imaginations that bring the story to life. The author contends that these manga demonstrate an alternative vision of the post-war era that promotes agency and subjectivisation.