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The first half is devastating as the civilians of Okinawa find themselves caught between the shock and awe of overwhelming and cataclysmic American firepower from air, sea, and land and the bullying and executions perpetrated by Japanese soldiers too caught up duty and nation to consider surrender in the face of an inevitable defeat. Some U.S. soldiers show mercy and understanding, but those bits of kindness become hard to swallow as the book jumps ahead fifty years to show Okinawans still struggling with identity and colonialism as a large portion of their island chain remains occupied by American military bases.
Descendants of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the people of Okinawa also harbor resentment from their long-ago annexation by Japan. In other manga I read, Okinawa is often the destination for vacation trips for people living in mainland Japan, which made my mind draw some parallels in American history with our own state of Hawai'i.
As the book advances, it keeps adding more and more supernatural elements as the Okinawans turn to their traditional spirituality to cope with the many challenges they face.
I was happy to learn more about an area I have been ignorant of for too long.
FOR REFERENCE:
Omnibus edition. The short stories contained in this book were created by Susumu Higa between 1990 and 2000. They were originally published in Japanese as Suna no Tsuguri (砂の剣) (1995) by Shogakukan Inc., Suna no Suguri (砂の剣) 2nd Edition (2010), and Mabui (マブイ) (2010) both by Serinkogeisha.
Contents:
• Original Color Artwork
• Author Bio
Book One: Sword of Sand
• Chapter One: Sword of Sand
• Chapter Two: Sands of the Setting Sun
• Chapter Three: About My Mother
• Chapter Four: Call of Sand
• Chapter Five: Soldiers of Sand
• Chapter Six: School
• Chapter Seven: Dirt Thieves
Book Two: Mabui
• Chapter One: Military Landlord
• Chapter Two: Tolerated Cultivation
• Chapter Three: Island Duty
• Chapter Four: Homecoming
• Chapter Five: Military Employee
• Chapter Six: The Journey of Jim Thomas
• Chapter Seven: Mabui
• Afterword to Mabui
• Glossary
• From Yamato to the United States: Okinawa in Flux / Shinako Oyakawa
• Interview with Susumu Higa / Christopher Woodrow-Butcher and Andrew Woodrow-Butcher for Mangasplaining Extra… (more)