# Okinawa - Hardcover

by **Susumu Higa** (Author), **Jocelyne Allen** (Translator), **Andrew Woodrow-Butcher** (Editor)

**2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction - Longlist**

**American Library Association Best Comics for Adults 2023**

**_Booklist_ Editors' Choice: Best Graphic Novels 2023**

**_Washington Post_ Book World Editors' Staff Pick 2023**

**_The Guardian_ Best Graphic Novels of 2023**

**A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection**

A peaceful, independent kingdom until its annexation by the Japanese Empire in the 19th century, Okinawa was the site of the most destructive land battle of the Pacific War. Today, the archipelago is Japan's poorest prefecture and unwilling host to 75% of all US military bases in Japan.

_Okinawa_ brings together two collections of intertwined stories by the island's pre-eminent mangaka, Susumu Higa, which reflect on this difficult history and pull together traditional Okinawan spirituality, the modern-day realities of the continuing US military occupation, and the senselessness of the War. The first collection, _Sword of Sand_, is a ground level, unflinching look at the horrors of the Battle of Okinawa. Higa then turns an observant eye to the present-day in _Mabui_ (Okinawan for "spirit"), where he explores how the American occupation has irreversibly changed the island prefecture, through the lens of the archipelago's indigenous spirituality and the central character of the yuta priestess.

_Okinawa_ is a harrowing document of war, but it is also a work which addresses the dreams and the needs of a people as they go forward into an uncertain future, making it essential reading for anyone interested in World War II and its effects on our lives today, as well as anyone with an interest in the people and culture of this fascinating, complicated place. Though the work is thoroughly about one specific locale, the complex relations between Okinawan and Japanese identities and loyalties, between place and history, and between humanity and violence speak beyond borders and across shores.

Please note: This book is a traditional work of manga and reads back to front and right to left.

**Number of Pages:** 544

**Dimensions:** 1.79 x 7.42 x 5.35 IN

**Illustrated:** Yes

**Publication Date:** August 22, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 29.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 29.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Okinawa - Hardcover

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