The Times of Botchan / 「坊っちゃん」の時代 [Botchan no jidai]

Series · 5 books · 1987-2011

By Natsuo Sekikawa, Natsuo Sekikawa,, Jirō Taniguchi

Books in series

The Times of Botchan, Vol. 1

1987

This is the fictionalized version of the life and times of Japanese authorNatsume Soseki during an era of great change in Japan from the traditional Edo period into the modern Meiji period (1867-1912). Soseki is considered the Charles Dickens or Mark Twain of Japan. His image even appeared on the 1000 yen note for two decades. He is best known for his novel Botchan, on whose times this book is based and the short I Am a Cat which is integrated into these pages. In this first volume we meet a circle of Soseki's friends and he receives the spark that will become Botchan. Taniguchi marries talent to a solid script by Sekikawa to create a fresco of Japanese society towards the end of the Meiji period as Japan was beginning to open up to the West. What could have been simply an illustrated textbook becomes, in these capable hands, a narrative for adults of great artistic and historical significance.

The Times of Botchan, Vol. 4

1995

\[b\]A CHANGING NATION\[/b\]The Meiji period (1867 - 1912) saw the important formative years of modern Japan unfold. Contemporary author, Soseki Natsume, wrote a book entitled \[i\]Botchan\[/i\] based on his experiences in this fast-changing world. \[i\]The times of Botchan\[/i\] is a fictionalized account of Natsume and his circle of poets and writers, peppered with events and famous characters of the time. This, the fourth of ten volumes, focuses on the relationship between Army Medical Officer and poet, ?gai Mori and the German dancer Elise Weigert - Autumn's Ballerina - and the strains placed on it by Japanese society.Other titles in the \[i\]The Times of Botchan\[/i\]: 1:978-84-96427-01-3 2:978-84-96427-09-9 3:978-84-96427-12-9

Ai tempi di Bocchan, Vol. 6

2011

Una minuziosa ricostruzione del Giappone dell'epoca Meiji periodo in cui andava in voga il termine "signorino" (Bocchan), osservato con lo sguardo limpido di chi sa che si gettavano le basi per il Giappone moderno con l'apertura all'occidente e le nuove problematiche. "Ai tempi di Bocchan" è il racconto avvincente di un epoca perduta e il racconto della vita di Natsume Soseki, uno dei più grandi scrittori del Sol Levante. Raccontato con la sensibilità e la precisione che hanno reso Taniguchi leggendario. Un affresco storico e una vicenda personale che si intrecciano in questo manga che ha il respiro del romanzo.

Meteore dell'era Meiji. Ai tempi di Bocchan, Vol. 7

2004

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Gli ultimi giorni di Soseki. Ai tempi di Bocchan, Vol. 10

2006

Authors

Name (in native language): 谷口ジロー Zodiac: Leo He began to work as assistant of the late mangaka Kyota Ishikawa. He made his manga debut in 1970 with Kareta Heya (A Desiccated Summer), published in the magazine Young Comic. From 1976 to 1979, he created several hard-boiled comics with the scenarist Natsuo Sekigawa, such as City Without Defense, The Wind of the West is White and Lindo 3. From 1984 to 1991, Tanigushi and Natsuo Sekigawa produced the trilogy Bocchan No Jidai. In the 1990s, he came up with several albums, among which Aruku Hito (歩くひと), Chichi no koyomi (The Almanac of My Father), and Keyaki no ki. In 2001, he created the Icare (Icaro) series on texts by Mœbius. Jirô Taniguchi gained several prizes for his work. Among others, the Osamu Tezuka Culture Award (1998) for the trilogy Bocchan No Jidai, the Shogakukan prize with Inu wo Kau, and in 2003, the Alph'Art of the best scenario at the Angoulême International Comics Festival (France) for Harukana Machi-E. His work has been translated in many languages. Far from the violent storylines often associated with the manga, Taniguchi has developed a very personal style, more adult. Along with other writers, like Tsukasa Hōjō, his comics focus more on the Japanese society and culture, with a subtle analysis of its customs and habits.