ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the sociocultural context of the emergence and development of gekiga—long-form narrative comics or story manga, typically with little or no comical effect, oriented toward young adult or adult male readers. It examines gekiga’s shifting media ecology, formal innovations and readership, and impact on other artistic and cultural practices. It focuses on two key players in the evolution of gekiga: Tatsumi Yoshihiro (1935–2015) and Shirato Sanpei (1932–2021). Both manga creators contributed to the growth of gekiga as a distinct media form, expanding the horizon of Japanese comics expression. Gekiga grew in tandem with Japanese counterculture in the 1960s, when Japan witnessed the rise of student revolts, civic and intellectual participation in politics, and radical artistic experimentalism, all of which responded to the domestic and international political conjunctures of the time. It was one of the thrilling moments in Japanese cultural history when the popular closely intersected with the political, synchronically corresponding to other radical cultural praxes and movements in other parts of the globe. Focusing on Tatsumi’s and Shirato’s achievements in Japanese comics history, this chapter argues that gekiga, as Japanese alternative comics, played a significant role in shaping the counterculture.
