09 Nov / Red Flowers by Yoshiharu Tsuge, translated by Ryan Holmberg [in Shelf Awareness]
*STARRED REVIEW
The works of Yoshiharu Tsuge, credited with the “invention” of literary manga, finally arrived in the U.S. 65 years after he began publishing in Japan in 1955. His 2020 English-language debut, The Man Without Talent, was quickly followed by graphic powerhouse Drawn & Quarterly’s recognition of Tsuge’s global gravitas with an announced seven-volume series, the Complete Mature Works of Yoshiharu Tsuge, which launched with The Swamp. The second installment, Red Flowers, collects a dozen compelling stories from 1967 to 1968, the majority featuring Tsuge’s alter ego, who’s often seeking fishing spots or hot springs.
Pescatarian adventures include the titular “Red Flowers,” in which graphic-Tsuge meets a young schoolgirl working at a remote snack shack for her deadbeat alcoholic father, and “Master Ben of the Honyara Cave,” featuring an innkeeper who steals and eats priceless carp. Not-so-soothing hot springs appear in “Futamata Gorge,” in which an injured monkey joins bathers on the eve of a typhoon, and “Ondol Shack,” in which rambunctious guests ruin what should have been a peaceful getaway. Tsuge meets a sanatorium escapee in “The Incident at Nishibeta Village,” and shows off his swimming prowess in “Scenes from the Seaside.” He shrewdly confronts the relentless Japanese/Korean divide in “The Lee Family,” the collection’s highlight.
Comics historian and professor Ryan Holmberg continues his translation of all Tsuge’s English titles thus far, as well as adding another illuminating essay co-written again with notable editor/researcher Mitsuhiro Asakawa. Audiences might choose to enjoy the panels without additional context, but for more serious manga aficionados, Holmberg and Asakawa provide a wealth of historical and artistic research and enlightenment. The series’ progression should further amplify Tsuge’s international appeal.
Discover: A dozen compelling, mostly peripatetic, stories by the inventor of literary manga.
Review: “Graphic Books,” Shelf Awareness, October 29, 2021
Readers: Adult
Published: 1967-1968 (Japan), 2021 (United States)