[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-133511-en":3,"doc-seo-133511-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},133511,8796095360427,"Lucas Martin","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d",2,"Literature","How emotions work - The politics of vision in Nakazawa Keiji’s Barefoot Gen - Chapter 17","This article analyzes how Nakazawa Keiji’s autobiographical manga Barefoot Gen mobilizes visual strategies to generate emotions in readers and thereby transmit memories of the atomic bombing to postwar Japanese youth. It focuses on the performative role of imagery—especially point-of-view shots—and on the significance of multiple painters within the narrative. By tracing how these painterly encounters shape Gen’s mourning, artistic ideals, and sense of agency, the study argues that the manga invites younger generations to share the event as an alternative to officially constructed memories.","17  \nHow emotions work:  \nThe politics of vision in Nakazawa Keiji’s Barefoot Gen  \nKAJIYA Kenji  \nIntroduction  \nNakazawa Keiji’s autobiographical manga Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen) is known for its traumatic depictions ofthe devastations caused by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima (Itō 2006: 161-163, Yoshimura 2006, Itō and Omote 2006: 34-37) . This article investigates the ways in which this manga utilizes visual representations to arouse emotions among readers and, by doing so, to pass down the memory of the war to the younger generation in postwar Japan. It will pay attention to the role of the painters who had a crucial role in the growth of Gen to show how the manga’s imagery functions in a performative way. In this graphic novel, visual images are often conceived not so much as representations of reality but rather as moments that trigger various emotions and actions. Characterized also by its frequent use of point-of-view shots, this manga establishes complex relationships among images, emotions, and memories . 1 By examining the functions of performative images and point-of-view shots, this article argues that Barefoot Gen urges younger generations in postwar Japan to share in the event of the atomic bomb as an alternative to the officially produced memories of the event.  \n1. Four Painters  \nFour painters appear in Barefoot Gen: Nakaoka Daikichi, the father of the protagonist Nakaoka Gen; Yoshida Seiji, whom Gen is employed to take care of; Amano Seiga,  \n1 In this article, I use the word “point-of-view shot” in a broader sense to refer to a variety of shots expressing subjectivity according to Izumi (2008: 39-42) .  \n© International Manga Research Center, Kyoto Seika University. ISBN 978-4-905187-01-1 [http://imrc.jp/](http://imrc.jp/ 245)[ 245](http://imrc.jp/ 245)  \nKajiya Kenji  \nwho teaches Gen how to paint; and Gen himself.  \nThe first painter, Nakaoka Daikichi, is a Japanese-style painter. He studied Japanese-style painting and lacquer decoration techniques in Kyoto, and during the war he earns a living for his family by decorating geta, Japanese wooden clogs (fig. 1) .  \nFig. 1. Nakaoka Gen often remembers his father making a painting. Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen, trans. Project Gen, vol. 9, 117.  \nFig. 2. Yoshida Seiji tries to depict the victims of the atomic bombing by holding a brush with his mouth. Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen, trans. Project Gen, vol. 3, 119.  \nKilled by the atomic bomb, Daikichi frequently appears in Gen’s later recollections and makes Gen vow to live “as strong as a weed”.  \nYoshida Seiji is an oil painter from a relatively wealthy family. Seiji has to give up his career as a painter after his entire body is burned in the atomic bombing; his arms are completely disabled and he is confined to his bed. At first bitter towards Gen, who takes the job of caring for him, Seiji gradually comes to trust him. One day, Seiji, Gen and Ryūta go to the fields outside the city to draw the landscape and come across many burned corpses from the atomic bombing. This scene makes Seiji determined to paint his “last piece”. He desperately tries to draw the scene by holding a brush in his mouth instead of in his disabled hands, but, in the end, he falls down, vomiting blood (fig. 2) .  \nAmano Seiga is also an oil painter. He meets Gen by chance and begins working with him at a signboard shop. While painting signboards together, Seiga teaches Gen the fundamentals of painting, including composition, perspective, and preparatory drawing (fig. 3) . Seiga tells Gen about a dream he once had (Nakazawa 2009, vol. 9: 134), which later inspires Gen to become a painter. It is also Seiga who tells Gen to go to Tokyo to improve his skills in painting and drawing.  \nTo be precise, at this point in the story, the fourth painter, Nakaoka Gen, is not yet a painter. He decides to pursue painting towards the end of the story. Through his  \n246 © International Manga Research Center, Kyoto Seika University. ISBN 978-4-905187-01-1 [http://","cbCaif2m0ehKAQJL","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaif2m0ehKAQJL","pdf",1040614,4,1,17,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Barefoot Gen and the politics of vision\n## Four Painters\n## Performativity of Painting","[{\"question\":\"What is the central question of the article about Barefoot Gen?\",\"answer\":\"The article asks how the manga’s visual representations arouse emotions and how these images function to transmit war memories to younger generations.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do painters play an important role in Barefoot Gen?\",\"answer\":\"The narrative uses encounters with painters to shape Gen’s development, connect painting with mourning and artistic ideals, and encourage him toward a future as an artist.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article explain the function of point-of-view shots and performative images?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that images are not merely representations of reality; they operate as moments that trigger emotions and actions, linking images, emotions, and memories in a performative way.\"}]","How emotions work - The politics of vision in Nakazawa Keiji’s Barefoot Gen - Chapter 17 | PDF",1787221086,26,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":29},"how-emotions-work-the-politics-of-vision-in-nakazawa-keijis-barefoot-gen-chapter-17","",{"@graph":37,"@context":85},[38,53,68],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,48,51],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/how-emotions-work-the-politics-of-vision-in-nakazawa-keijis-barefoot-gen-chapter-17/133511/",{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":42,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-29","2026-08-20",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What is the central question of the article about Barefoot Gen?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"The article asks how the manga’s visual representations arouse emotions and how these images function to transmit war memories to younger generations.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"Why do painters play an important role in Barefoot Gen?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"The narrative uses encounters with painters to shape Gen’s development, connect painting with mourning and artistic ideals, and encourage him toward a future as an artist.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"How does the article explain the function of point-of-view shots and performative images?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"It argues that images are not merely representations of reality; 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