Empire of the Sun |
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I remember hearing a story once of a young country girl living in a small village of Yamaguchi-ken, right outside of Hiroshima. One morning the entire village came outside to greet the Emperor as he was passed though. As emperor Hirohito's convoy passed, everyone obediently bowed down prostrate to the ground, for they had all been told that the Emperor was a descendent of the Sun, and his brilliant light would blind them. As Professor Layoun mentioned in lecture, in Barefoot Gen the most obvious visual metaphor to the sun is that to the Japanese Empire of the sun, meeting her defeat in WWII. Yet beneath this initial observation, is one that takes on a different, deeper meaning in the course of the comic. The burning essence of the sun shares each misadventure that Gen, his family, and the other bomb survivors endure. The sun is more then a metaphor for the empire of Japan. The visual metaphor of the sun captivates a greater, more universal meaning of the enduring emotions and drive of the human spirit, both the living and the dead; an eternal flame that burns slow but steadily even through the 
horrors of the nuclear devastated Hiroshima of post war Japan.
There are several examples of this symbolism between the sun and the spirit of the people. One such case is seen right in the beginning pages of Barefoot Gen which contain several panels devoted solely to the sun, as Hirohito's radio broadcast of Japan's surrender is played at the evacuation camp. In midst of the confusion and disbelief, along with the narrative of the fate of the now defeated Japanese people, the sun's brilliance seems to dwindle with each panel, as if the shocked dwindling spirits of the Japanese people have an effect on the sun's brightness. (Barefoot Gen pages 1 1:1, 3 1:1, 7 3:2, 9 1:1) Thus when combining the visual emotions of the people with the dimming of the sun, the reader can create a dual understanding of the story, connecting the "visual phenomenon" of sorrow and disbelief with the "invisible" of shattered faith. (McMcloud, Understanding Comics page 128 3) This melting of the visual and the invisible is also seen in Nakazawa's use of the sun as a metaphor of the characters emotional spirit is portrayed throughout the comic in a form of flame-like waves drawn that emit out of the characters just as the sun's rays radiate outward. The use of lines and shadowing creates a visual metaphor of emotion and spirit, giving emotional character an appearance of being on fire. These flames are a symbol of the character's spirit that comes out in rage, as seen during the one-year anniversary of the bombing peace parade where the bomb survivors attack the dancers in procession out of rage. The opening panel depicts the burning sun overhead as its rays extending out radiantly, a bitter reminder of their once powerful empire of the sun. The panels that depict the angry survivors who have come to pay their respects, contain flame-like lines emanating from their glaring, faces, just as the rays of the sun (Barefoot Gen pages 220 3:1, 222 1:2, 223 1:1 ½). It can be seen in their downcast faces their anger and frustrations in their former Emperor, who had assured them that defeat was impossible, that even to the day of the surrender the Japanese Empire was truly invincible. It can be seen amidst the flames their anger at the foolishness of man to start wars, kill, destroy, then rebuild, only to kill and destroy again. The angry bomb survivors vent their rage at the singing parade dancers who cheer and mock the ashes of the devastated city. The invisible presence of the dead spirits is seen in a darker symbol of the Sun also seen throughout the story. The scene in which Gen rushes down the hill of the old rifle range to deliver a blessing to the mass grave of skulls and bones contains a panel containing a dark sun, accompanied by clouds similar to the flames surrounding the angry bomb survivors attending the parade. This dark sun is a symbol for the silent spirits of the dead. (Barefoot Gen 223 4:2) The same dark sun is also seen in the 2-page panel of Tomoko's cremation, accompanied by Gen's prayer. (Barefoot Gen 260-126) Throughout the story, the sun is a symbol for the unseen presence of life and death, an energy that includes all things, pulsing, 
waning, and dimming at times, but always present, constantly burning, and continuing on. It is the sun rises in the east, sets in the west everyday, regardless of what hardships come, what battle is fought or lost. The cycle of life continues on. The sun is what makes the wheat spring up from being trampled in the winter, to shoot up from the ashes, to sprout up again and flourish. It is the memory of the spirits of the 140,000 that died in the blast, as well as the 300,000 that suffered from radiation sickness and complications who help the living rebuild the city, and their lives. It is the same spirit of the sun that shines brightly on the crumbled building of the future peace dome building, the only building left standing at the hypocenter of the blast; the same that on which Gen defeats Amamori in a duel. (Barefoot Gen page 161 1:1) It is the same living flame of the millions of souls around the world who suffered during the war, soldiers, civilians, Japanese, Americans, Chinese, Koreans, Russians, German, Italians, Jews. Amidst the ruins of Hiroshima that the spirit shines on as it can be seen on the last page of the comic. It is the only panel in the entire comic that the sun takes the form of a sunrise, as it appeared on the Japanese Flag during the war. The broad rays of light shine down upon a rejoicing and singing Gen, who has just sprouted hair on his once barren head. Yet the rays of sunlight that shine down are also not of the rising sun, but of the setting sun, symbolizing the end of imperialistic Japan, and the beginning of a new era. A new era, that will spring forth with the same spirit of the living and the dead, to carry on the new day. (Barefoot Gen, 269 3)Before my grandmother immigrated to Hawaii, she was a mere child knelt down in the dusty road, dutifully paying her respects to her emperor who had come to her village. But being the rascal little girl that she was, she briefly raised her head, to steal a glimpse of the sun god. What she saw was a slender, wimpy looking man in military uniform, awkwardly riding his horse. His beady eyes through his thick rimmed glasses looked straight ahead at the path in front of him. He did not fit the image that had been drawn in her mind as a descendant of the proud red sun, its rays bleeding across the white rectangle of the Japanese flag. He was just a man. The only brilliant light that she saw was shinning above her, burning ominously, strong, and bright. |