Sakaminato – silverfox175

Shigeru Mizuki is a Japanese Manga author who was born in 1922 and lived in Sakaminato.

Shigeru Mizuki

When he was a child he was a prodigy and during his time in primary school his skill with a pencil was so good that one of his teachers arranged an exhibition of his work.

When he left school he worked for a newspaper as an artist.

In 1942 he was drafted in to the army and was sent to New Britain, which is an island off Papua New Guinea.

Father and son in 1942

Shigeru Mizuki was wounded and lost his left arm. As the last man standing in his unit he was ordered to die, which he considered a ridiculous order. While in hospital the local tribes people befriended him and offered him a home and citizenship via marriage. He considered the idea, but didn’t take up the offer and returned to Japan.

He had various jobs after the war but kept up his drawings and stories. He worked as a kamishibai artist, which is a street artist and entertainer.