HASHIMOTO Masaru
HASHIMOTO Masaru was born in 1942 in Tokyo. His works include satirical manga in newspapers and magazines, posters, book cover designs, and movie criticisms. He is currently developing a new expression called the Talk Live (Laughing Religions series).
His masterpieces are "Sensoutte nanda!?" "Eiga no meigaza"(Kyouyou bunko), "Doumo Nippon"(Chikuma shobou), "Chaplin" "Nippon"(Beginner series,Gendai shokan), "Vietnam ga mondai da!?"(Daisan shokan).
Joint works are "Datsu genpatsu sika nai" "Bye-bye kakuheiki" "Higashi to nishi to minami to kita to"(Daisan shokan), "Nippon no keisatsu" "Kyoukasho" "Hibouryoku" "Sikei"(Beginner series).
Foreword
A mere five years remain in the 20th century. I was born in the middle of it, and have lived just over a half a century in its midst. I can thus truly be called a "child of the 20th century." I feel a strong attachment to it.
What kind of an era was this 20th century? I would venture to say that no century has been the scene of such dramatic changes in human history. The greatness and stupidity of human beings were both coarsely demonstrated in this era. Science and technology reached the point where it could take human beings off the planet, and at the same time brought us longer lifespans and rapid population growth. The reality, however, is that countless children continue to starve to death even today. This century witnessed a bold attempt to create a utopia on this earth, but it has collapsed miserably today as we stand on the brink of the 21st century. The contradictions of human history have all exploded in the conflicts of the 20th century. We will now impose many problems, to which we have no solutions, onto the next century.
This calendar is an attempt to condense the 100 years of the 20th century into 366 days. Choosing one historical event and one keyword for each of these 366 days, we have attempted the reckless task of deciphering the century. My manga illustrations act as a supporting role, or perhaps as a guide, in this effort. My occupation is drawing satirical manga on society, politics, and civilization, and so I have always had, by necessity, to deal with issues of this era, as a contemporary. In a way, this is a slighly eccentric "report from the field" from this child of the 20th century, and I would like to send it along as a time capsule for people of future centuries.
I cannot simply wait for the 20th century to end! If we do not reflect on what the 20th century was, what chance is there that the human race will reach the 21st century? If we do not, then Earth, the planet of life, will become a planet of death. It is this feeling of urgency which pushed me to create this work which sums up the 20th century.
After all, I do love the 20th century.. December 31, 1995
HASHIMOTO Masaru
[up]