"Hadashi no Gen" ("Barefoot Gen"), a manga series by the late Keiji Nakazawa, marks the 40th anniversary of its publication this year, reminding both child and adult readers alike of the horrors of nuclear warfare.
The series started in the June 4, 1973, edition of Shueisha Inc.'s Weekly Shonen Jump after Tadasu Nagano, editor-in-chief of the magazine, persuaded Nakazawa to depict his experiences as a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945. Nagano approached Nakazawa, who died last December, after being impressed by the cartoonist's short story about the atomic attack.
"We were reminded that we had to learn more about the atomic bombing," recalled Noritaka Yamaji, 65, who worked as an editor in charge of the series. Nagano died in 2001.