electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies
Conference and Seminar Papers“Images of Asia in Japanese Mass Media, Popular Culture and Literature”
Papers Presented at ICAS 2, Berlin, Germany, 9-12 August 2001

Images of Asia in Japanese Best-selling Manga
Susanne Phillipps

Key Words:
popular culture, (business) manga, Japan, Hong Kong, Bali, cultural identity, the foreign
Other, perceptions of foreignness, Japanese images of Asia, Japanese living abroad,emigration, exoticism, salvation, horror.

1.

Acknowledgements

The research for this paper was conducted as part of the research project Japan’s‘Orientation towards Asia’ Respectively Japan's ‘Return to Asia’ in Literature, Mediaand Popular Culture which is being funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft(DFG), the central public funding organization for academic research in Germany. The
project is based at the University of Trier, Germany. The research presented in this paper
is work in progress.

2.

Summary

In this paper, I will analyse three different manga, each describing the journey of aJapanese to another Asian country. In all three stories, the trip to Asia facilitates criticalreflection upon the moral standards, character and behaviour of the central figure. My
aim is to show that the way in which the Asian country is depicted is closely linked to the(different) personal developments of the three protagonists.

Susanne Phillipps

1

The three manga discussed here are;
1. Bokura wa minna ikite iru (“Hurray, We are Still Alive”) (Isshiki Nobuyuki/Yamamoto Naoki, 1992/93).
2. Hong Kong wâkingu gâru (“Hong Kong Working Girl”) (Murata Junko, 1995/96).
3. Akio kikô Bari (“Akios Travels to Bali”) (Fukaya Akira, 1995).
The manga analysed in this paper present several different lifestyle scenarios and allow
us to draw certain conclusions concerning the heroes’ attitudes towards “Asia”: a young
employee (Bokura wa minna ikite iru) wanting to climb the career ladder experiences thetrip abroad as horror; a young woman (Hong Kong wâkingu gâru) making her way toforeign shores to escape the patriarchal structures of Japan finds her way and position inlife; and a social dropout (Akio kikô Bari) fascinated by foreignness experiences it aspurely exotic.

3.

Introduction

Japanese comics, called manga, are one of the most popular types of print media in Japan.
Manga books, and in particular manga magazines are extremely cheap.1 They account for
more than one-third of Japanese printed matter and can provide insight into the way
Asian countries are portrayed in Japanese media. Manga are designed specifically for
different age and interest groups. Depending on the target audience, the terminology, thecontent of the narratives and the images differ greatly. Due to their popularity, mangaprovide pertinent information about the opinions and interests of their readership, whilst
at the same time creating new trends.
Until now, manga researchers have been predominantly interested in the export andimport of manga between Japan and other Asian countries.2 As researchers and critics
continue to travel through Asia to investigate this field, more publications can be
expected.3 The content of these stories, however, in particular the depiction of Asia inJapanese best-selling manga has thus far largely been neglected. As manga cartoonists
often adjust their work to the opinions of their readers, an analysis of manga may wellprovide clues to the Japanese readers’ beliefs and attitudes towards other Asian nations. I
will demonstrate how manga intended for different target groups highlight very diverse
aspects of Asia, which, depending on the target readership, can range from paradise tohell.4

Susanne Phillipps

2

4.

Images of Asia in Japanese Best-selling Manga

It is apparent that up until the 1990s, Japanese did not view other Asian countries as
attractive travel destinations. Perhaps Asia appeared too foreign, both culturally andpolitically as well as in its industrial development. Europe and the USA actually seemed“nearer” than the geographically closer Asian countries. This emotional attitude wasreinforced by political treaties, industrial cooperation and of course, the great influence ofwestern popular culture. More recently however, the Japanese have discovered new travel
destinations in Asian countries. As a result, it has become far more appealing to go
shopping in Seoul than travel to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidô. In this paper, I
will take a closer look at how these countries are depicted in manga, in order to determine
whether they encourage travel to these countries or concentrate on negative aspects. It isalso interesting to consider what picture manga gives of everyday life in the various
Asian countries or regions.
I will focus on three different manga, each describing the journey of a Japanese toanother Asian country. In all three stories, the trip to Asia facilitates the critical reflection
upon the moral standards, character and behaviour of the central figure. My aim is toshow that the way in which the Asian country is depicted is closely linked to the(different) personal developments of the three protagonists.
The three manga discussed here are:
1. Bokura wa minna ikite iru (“Hurray, we are Still Alive!”): A business manga aimed atyoung men working in a business environment (Isshiki Nobuyuki/Yamamoto Naoki,
1992/93).
2. Hong Kong wâkingu gâru (“Hong Kong Working Girl”): A manga for young womenon the brink of their careers (Murata Junko, 1995/96).
3. Akio kikô Bari (“Akios Travels to Bali”): An account of a young man’s travels andexperiences (Fukaya Akira, 1995).

5.

Hurray, We are Still Alive!

Author Isshiki Nobuyuki, born in Tôkyô in 1960, works in many different areas of
popular culture, including Japanese animation (anime), TV, theatre and film production.
According to Isshiki (1992-93, vol.1, appendix, no page number), he originally came tothe idea for the plot of “Hurray, We are Still Alive!” when dealing with the concept of “aJapanese character who finds it hard to get by in a foreign country”. He actually intended
to make a film, but when a sponsor was hard to find, the editor of “Spirits” magazine

Susanne Phillipps

3suggested that after first making it into a manga, backers for a film could easily be foundonce it was selling well (the film was made in 1993). Isshiki acted as the idea creator,
along with manga drawer Yamamoto Naoki, who travelled to Bangladesh in search ofideas for illustrations. In “Hurray, We are Still Alive!”, Yamamoto records an array ofundesirable living conditions such as poverty, political instability and an unfriendly
climate, which he describes as negative stereotypes that he assumes actually apply to
Bangladesh (Isshiki, Yamamoto, 1992-93, vol. 2 appendix, no page number).
“Hurray, We are Still Alive” is a black satire using situational comedy, thus allowing thecreators to overstep the borders of “political correctness”. In this manga, we areconfronted with a distorted view of both the Asian country and the “sarariiman”, theemployees of large Japanese enterprises.
The manga describes the adventures of Takahashi, a Japanese employee at Mitsuboshi(sic.), who makes a short business trip to the fictitious country of Tarkistan, located in the
Bay of Bengal.5 When Takahashi’s departure is delayed several times, he experiences
uncomfortable and distressing living conditions, a coup d’état and a resulting civil war. In
order to escape, Takahashi, together with other Japanese employees, tries to battle his
way through dense jungle to get to the international airport of Tarkistan, where a special
plane is has been arranged to take them out. Before leaving the country, Takahashi
negotiates the release of a colleague. The man, who has been captured by guerrillas, isfreed in exchange for a hastily constructed digital receiver.
The manga follows a fairly conventional narrative line: the basic setting is an open plan
office in a skyscraper in Japan, a place most of the (predominantly male) readers canrelate to. Then, all of a sudden, the hero finds himself in Tarkistan, a new, foreign anddangerous place, with new challenges to overcome. The infrastructure is poorly
developed and the climate is tropical and extremely humid. Living in Tarkistan isdifficult; tropical rainstorms and floods wash slugs and other small animals into thehouses and insect bites cause a constant threat of malaria. The political situation is very
unstable; under a strict military dictatorship, coup d’états are a regular occurrence andany criticism of the military can result in a death sentence.
The people of Tarkistan are Muslim and are observed mutilating their children in order toincrease their begging potential. They are portrayed as being cunning, devious anddeceitful. Symbolically, a jungle lies between the Japanese heroes and their escape via the
airport, and they have to cope with leeches, giant moths and snake nests. The fictitious
country of Tarkistan embodies all possible horrors of a “foreign place” in terms ofclimate, culture, politics and society – Tarkistan represents the complete opposite of“civilised” Japan.

Susanne Phillipps

4

It is interesting to note that Tarkistan is situated geographically close to Japan. In contrast,
Tezuka Osamu’s manga Guringo (“Gringo”), which illustrates all the common clichés ofwhat is dangerously foreign, is set in far-away South America. 6 In both manga, theJapanese manage to survive due to their satirically exaggerated virtues. Takahashi, forexample, brilliantly pieces together an electronic device to save his colleague from theguerrillas.
However, socially and economically, Japan is held partially responsible for the hopelesssituation in Tarkistan, ill-directed humanitarian aid and unfair trading conditions are
portrayed as having hindered any industrial evolution.7

6.

Hong Kong Working girlThe manga “Hong Kong Working Girl” by Murata Junko presents a different picture.
While the story does include an adventure trip (a departure into a foreign world), contrary
to “Hurray, We are Still Alive!” the young Japanese woman, Yamase Tomo; leaves ofher own accord. She heads off into a new world to escape the unfavourable economic
conditions in mid-1990s Japan. While the manga is ostensibly set in Hong Kong, the city
is used to represent a Western, not an Asian metropolis. Tomo believes she has no chanceof pursuing a meaningful career in Japan during the recession and also feels frustrated
and humiliated when constantly judged on the basis of her appearance, rather than her
abilities.
She explains to her parents, who do not approve of her leaving, that it would take “onlyfour hours by plane! Less time than travelling on the shinkansen to Kyûshû” (Murata,
1995/96, vol. 1, p. 13). Tomo goes on to argue that “even though we are close to the 21st
century, Japan still remains a male-dominated society (otoko shakai)” (Murata, 1995/96,
vol. 1, p. 3). She is amazed that young women do not focus their energies on fighting
against this discrimination (Murata, 1995/96, vol. 1, p. 13).
“Hong Kong Working Girl” is not an exaggerated satire, but rather a more serious mangafor young women. The female cartoonist creates a realistic location and the story contains
much relevant and accurate information about a stay abroad.8 Tomo is a young woman ofhigh self esteem who nevertheless arrives in Hong Kong unprepared and naive about
what living there involves. Luckily, she receives the enthusiastic help of an older
Japanese woman who provides her with a place to stay and helps her find a job in adesigner’s studio.

Susanne Phillipps

5

Tomo works hard to prove herself; she learns the local language and works overtime.
Despite the odd bout of homesickness, she thoroughly enjoys Hong Kong and describes
its atmosphere, sceneries and smells.
The heroine is rewarded and finally given more challenging work. This point is made tocontrast the more conservative work practices of large Japanese firms who prejudge“office ladies” and only assign them menial tasks. Hong Kong is represented by theinnovative designer’s studio which employs a smaller group of people and is therefore
able to respond to their individual talents.
Japanese characters are described as repulsive in appearance. In a crucial meal scene, theJapanese businessmen pay no attention to Chinese table manners and only eat imported
Japanese food. They generally misbehave, making rude stereotypical comments about
Hong Kong which then results in an argument. When the Japanese client asks Tomo why
she would rather live and work in Hong Kong she replies “not to have to work with aboss like you” (Murata, 1995/96, vol. 2, p. 123).
In “Hong Kong Working Girl”, the main motivation for leaving Japan is the rejection ofJapanese working conditions and the search for fulfilling, challenging work. The young
protagonist Tomo finds this in Hong Kong, while Japan remains a place where she will
be restricted and judged according to fixed role patterns. The ability of young Japanesewomen to adapt to foreign surroundings, as represented in this manga, has been
illustrated by Karen Kelsky.9 There is a great difference in the attitude between this story
and the one in “Hurray, We are Still Alive!” (mostly read by young men), which reflectsa deep fear of being sent to some kind of remote or unattractive setting where thecharacter will suffer and be broken.

7.

Akios Travels to Bali

“Akios Travels to Bali” is a manga strongly influenced by autobiographical incidence:the protagonist’s name Akio is only a slight modification of the cartoonist’s name, Akira.
Both are also of the same age and are talented at drawing. The story opens with thestatement that Akio is in love with a woman, but that he cannot communicate with her
due to language differences. This is symbolic of Akio’s feeling about Bali: he finds it an
awesome and fascinating place, but he cannot speak Balinese and is thus unable tocommunicate with the locals.
For several weeks, Akio stays with a Balinese family where he manages to get along by
relying on only a few Balinese words, spending most of his time playing with thechildren, exploring the neighbourhood on his motorbike and watching cockfights. The

Susanne Phillipps

6only information Akio gets about Bali comes from Japanese people who have settled
there and the few Balinese that speak English.
Central themes of this manga are Akio’s inability to speak the local language, his focus
on visual impressions and his many speculations when he falls in love with the waitresswith whom he cannot communicate. Akio goes to the restaurant each day, trying to findout more about her. He finally learns that her name is Amaria and he spends his timehoping for a smile or some other kind of contact. Akio is worried that Amaria might bemarried and is devastated when he sees her nursing a child. Although he discovers that
she is in fact not married, his dreams are nevertheless shattered until he slowly gets used
to the idea that she has a child. The manga has an open ending: Akio goes back to Japan,
but has serious plans of returning and marrying Amaria.
Akio is ready to commit himself to the “foreign Other”, but his inability to communicate
makes it difficult for him to fully grasp the seemingly “strange and exotic country”.

8.

Conclusion

Since the three manga were written for distinctly different target groups, their narrative
styles and plots naturally differ. But they do have one thing in common: the Japaneseprotagonist travels to an Asian country, where he or she meets with unknown challenges.
Obviously, Asia and the “Asian element” can be adapted and used in manga for any
interest group. The stereotypical relationships often found in manga are developed
between Japanese and non-Japanese characters in accordance with target audiencesinterests and expectations. These relationships often reflect the feelings, misunderstandings or tensions that arise between Japanese people and their foreign counterparts,emphasising the strict genre patterns to be followed in Japanese manga. Manga aim at ahuge target group, a readership that is looking for entertainment and only incidentallycomes across the topic of “Asia”. In contrast to informational and educational manga,
fictional manga aims to incorporate suspense and entertainment into an anticipatednarrative. Primarily on a graphical and content level, it is possible for the cartoonist to
develop innovative ideas and integrate instructive or moral themes. The question remains
whether this is a useful way to enhance awareness of other places, people and cultures.
The manga analysed up to now present several different lifestyle scenarios and allow us
to draw certain conclusions about the heroes’ attitudes towards “Asia”: the young
employee wanting to climb the career ladder experiences the trip abroad as horror; theyoung woman making her way to foreign shores to escape the patriarchal structures of

Susanne Phillipps

7

Japan finds her way and position in life; and the young dropout fascinated by foreignness
experiences it as purely exotic.
These three perceptions of foreignness are in agreement with media researcher Werner
Faulstich (1996), who describes common concepts of foreignness in popular movies as“exoticism, salvation and horror”.
Asia is clearly not perceived as a homogeneous whole, but as a conglomeration of several
regions, having reached different levels of development and characterised by certain
stereotypes. It is interesting to note that none of the manga discussed in this paper induce
any sense of closeness to other Asian countries. For the protagonists, leaving Japan andgoing “abroad” involves great effort. Each country is typified by clichés seemingly
similar to those commonly prevailing in Europe and the United States. Asian countries
evoke emotions of varying intensity, which according to their respective connotations,provide the “exotic”, “salvation” and “horror”.

Bibliography
Manga
Fukaya Akira, 1995, Akio kikô Bari (“Akios Travels to Bali”), Tôkyô: Kôdansha.
Isshiki Nobuyuki, Yamamoto Naoki, 1992/93, Bokura wa minna ikite iru (“Hurray, We
are Still Alive!”) 2 volumes, Tôkyô: Shôgakukan.
Murata Junko, 1995/96, Hong Kong wâkingu gâru (“Hong Kong Working Girl”) 3
volumes, Tôkyô: Kadokawa shoten.
Tezuka Osamu, 1993, Guringo (“Gringo”) 3 volumes, Tôkyô: Kôdansha (= Tezuka
Osamu manga zenshû (“Complete Works of Tezuka Osamu”) no. 304-306).

Secondary Sources
Allison, Anne, 2000, ‘Sailor Moon: Japanese Superheros for Global Girls,‘ in Japan
Pop! Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, ed. Timothy J. Craig, Armonk [NewYork], London: M. E. Sharpe, pp. 259-278.
Aoyagi, Hiroshi, 2000, ‘Pop Idols and the Asian Identity,‘ in Japan Pop! Inside theWorld of Japanese Popular Culture, ed. Timothy J. Craig, Armonk [New York], London:
M. E. Sharpe, pp. 309-326.
Faulstich, Werner, 1996, ‘Zwischen Exotik, Heil und Horror. Das Fremdartige als
Dramaturgie der Kultur‘ (Between Exotic, Salvation and Horror. Otherness as

Susanne Phillipps

8

Dramaturgy of Culture), in Fremdverstehen in Sprache, Literatur und Medien, ed. Ernest
W. B. Hess-Lüttich, Christoph Siegrist and Stefan Bodo Würffel, Frankfurt am Main:
Peter Lang, pp. 413-427.
Ishii Shinji, ed., 1990, Henna Nippon (Strange Nippon), Tôkyô: Takarajimasha.
Japan Foundation Asia Center, 2001, Asia in Comic Exhibition ‘Where are we going?,’Tôkyô: The Japan Foundation Asia Center.
Kelsky, Karen L., 1996, Self as Other, Other Selves: Gender, Identity, and Narratives of
Women’s Internationalism in Japan, PhD thesis, University of Hawaii.
Murata Junko, 1997, Hongkong-tte ii kamoshirenai (Is perhaps Hongkong ok?), Tôkyô:Bunkasha.
Phillipps, Susanne, 2000, Tezuka Osamu. Figuren, Themen und Erzählstrukturen im
Manga-Gesamtwerk (“Tezuka Osamu. Character Design, Themes and Narrative Patternsof His Manga”), Munich: iudicium.
Phillipps, Susanne, 2001, ‘Zwischen Exotik, Heil und Horror : Das asiatische Ausland
im Spiegel japanischer Comics (Manga)’ (Between Exotic, Salvation and Horror: Other
Asian Countries as Mirrored in Japanese Comics (Manga)), in Interkulturell. Forum fürInterkulturelle Kommunikation, Erziehung und Beratung (1/2): pp. 89-101.
Schodt, Frederik L., 1996, Dreamland Japan. Writings on Modern Manga, Berkeley[California]: Stone Bridge Press.
Shiraishi, Saya S., 2000, ‘Doraemon Goes Abroad,‘ in Japan Pop! Inside the World ofJapanese Popular Culture, ed. Timothy J. Craig, Armonk [New York], London: M. E.
Sharpe, pp. 287-308.

About the Author:
Susanne Phillipps was born in 1968. She majored in Japanese Studies and Linguistic
Studies in Frankfurt (Main) and Berlin, and received her MA in 1995. From 1995-97, she
was a Research Fellow at the Free University of Berlin. In 2000, she completed her PhD
on Tezuka Osamu, the most famous manga artist of Japan. From August 2000 to July
2001, she held the position of Research Fellow at the University of Trier.

1

For further data on publishing figures, see: Schodt, 1996, pp. 19-21.
See Allison, 2000; Aoyagi, 2000; Ishii, 1990; Shiraishi, 2000, and Asia in Comics, a catalogue for an
exhibition of the same title sponsored and organized by The Japan Foundation Asia Center with theassistance of Kawasaki City Museum. The catalogue contains manga by 11 artists from China, Hong Kong,
Korea and Japan on the theme ‘Where are we going?’. Several articles provide information on comic
exchanges between Asia and Japan, and on the history of the Chinese, Hong Kong and Korean comics
scenes.
3
For example, Hosogaya Atsushi, the curator of the manga division of the Kawasaki City Museum, an
expert on Chinese culture who has organized expositions of Chinese and Taiwanese comics, and Natsume2

Susanne Phillipps

9Fusanosuke who is currently travelling to other Asian countries to investigate the comic scene (publisher,title/target group/contents of magazines) there.
4
This paper is an edited version of Phillipps, 2001.
5
Most likely, this setting was chosen for reasons of “political correctness” since real countries could not be
so negatively depicted.
6
Gringo is a term South-Americans pejoratively use to refer to foreigners. The manga “Gringo” was firstpublished as a series between 1987 and 1989. For further parallels in narrative and story line, see Phillipps,
2000, pp. 297-302).
7
An example hereof is that the Tarkistanis, in need of a well, get a bridge built instead, since the Japanesehumanitarian aid organisation prefers to invest the money into a long term project than in a short term one
such as well drilling. That the bridge will be used mainly for military purposes rather than for humanitarian
ones only stresses the immoral act of hidden economic subvention for the Japanese company.
8
Actually, the cartoonist Murata Junko has had more extensive experience in living in Hong Kong than she
made explicit in her manga. In conjunction with Hong Kong Working Girl, she published a guideline foryoung women wanting to emigrate to Hong Kong (Murata, 1997).
9
Kelsky, 1996, p. 3, about Japanese women in Japan, who search for workplaces in order to find a niche in
the job market: “Japanese women gain opportunities for advancement and professional achievement incompetition against Japanese men, and even monopolise a whole alternative international niche forinterpreters, translators, bicultural and bilingual consultants, participants in non-governmental organizations,and other facilitators of Japan’s business, media, artistic, and cultural relations with the outside world.”

Susanne Phillipps

10