2. The Relationship Between Culture and Political Humor in Japanese Manga

The development of humor in Japanese, politicized, graphic art has a long and illustrious history ranging from early manifestations of fûshiga (satirical drawings) via jiji manga (Western style cartoons) to the modern manga media. Nowadays, Japanese manga culture manifests itself as a powerful tool across the political divide to shape domestic as well as global perception of the nation. While the open denigration of politics via pop-cultural representations is generally regarded as a cultural taboo in Japanese society, the visual medium of manga provides a powerful counter-hegemonic space where discontent, Criticism, and satire can be expressed more freely than via conventional media. This chapter will not only illustrate how expressions of political satire and humor reflect changes in Japanese cultural attitudes and the society’s status quo, but also how graphic artists, satirists, and cartoonists, have helped to shape popular attitudes about landmark historical events, thereby actively engaging in the political decision-making process. The chapter further examines how today’s brand of graphic political humor utilized Japan’s ideogrammatic culture to defamiliarize political norms and thereby might be more influential than ever in manipulating attitudes towards the Japanese nation in the global political amphitheater.