Famine and Famish: Memory of Food and Starvation in Postwar Japanese Manga

 In war-torn Japan, food held a profound symbolic meaning, whereby civilians were encouraged to relinquish food, so that the soldiers fighting in the war could have ample food supply. Memories of starvation in war created a psychological burden, giving way to existential conflicts and moral dilemma. From young Suzu adapting to food rationing amidst war in In This Corner of the World to little Shinju dreaming of eating rice in Barefoot Gen, children in war embodied real pangs of hunger and food deprivation. This paper will explore the nature and representation of food scarcity and starvation in war-ravaged Japan as portrayed in the graphic narratives like the semi-autobiographical manga Barefoot Gen (1975) by Keiji Nakazawa and the manga series In This Corner of the World (2007-09) by Fumiyo Kōno. The works paint a visual picture of pain and endurance of children and their resilience to cope with lack of food amidst war. Gen features intense cases of cannibalism, and food hallucination, where Gen’s “food ghosts” depicts his pain and psychological turmoil caused by hunger and starvation. This Corner paints a picture of the reality of war and its effects on food rationing through the life of Suzu Urano who takes the readers on a little culinary journey amidst the severity of war in Japan. The paper attempts to study the memory and representation of food and war-induced starvation in graphic narratives with theories drawn from Freudian psychoanalysis and Bakhtinian intervention.