Considering how closely their artistic careers
and social concerns paralleled one another
throughout the 1970s and 80s, one might be
surprised how wildly Katsumata Susumu’s
background differed from that of Tsuge Tadao.
While Tadao was molded by brutal experiences
in the urban squalor of eastern Tokyo, Susumu
was born and raised in modern-day Ishinomaki
City in the rural, northeastern corner of
Miyagi Prefecture, almost 250 miles north
of the capital.
As an orphan raised by his older stepsister,
he spent much of his childhood assisting her
with domestic tasks such as selling bellflowers
or caring for their farm animals.
This lifestyle instilled within Susumu a deep
appreciation for environmental concerns.
Inspired by artists such as Fukui Ei’ichi,
Yamane Hifumi, and Sugiura Shigeru – popular
among boys of his generation - Susumu began
drawing manga in the 1960s, and his early
works focused upon Japanese folklore, particularly
the interaction between humans and those mythological
creatures, such as water imps and raccoon
tricksters, that inhabit the wilderness.
When his family no longer required his assistance
at home, Susumu had the opportunity to attend
school, and he excelled in his classes.
A true Renaissance Man, Susumu expressed a
passion for both art and science.
As an undergraduate student at Tokyo Education
University – modern-day Tsukuba University
– he majored in physics, and after graduating
in 1969, he pursued a master’s degree in
nuclear physics.
Though he eventually left school in 1971 and
turned his attention to manga as a profession,
science became a fundamental theme in his
work.
Like his professors at Tokyo Education University,
Susumu felt deeply concerned about the potential
use of nuclear weaponry in the Cold War.
In January 1972, he began to express those
fears in cartoons about nuclear weapon testing,
which he published in the journal Education
Review.
After hearing about the accident at Pennsylvania’s
Three-Mile Island Facility on March 28, 1979,
he realized that his hometown was threatened
by its close proximity to Onnagawa Nuclear
Facility.
As a form of protest, Susumu collaborated
with journalist Amagasa Keisuke to publish
the illustrated polemic “Why the Production
of Nuclear Energy is Frightening” To publicize
the book, the two further conducted a series
of social-awareness seminars at high schools
in the early 1980s.
Susumu’s anti-nuclear manga ultimately culminated
with works such as “Deep Sea Fish,” published
in 1984, and “Devil Fish (Octopus),” published
in 1989.
An excerpt of “Deep Sea Fish” is on display
nearby.
The artist’s death in 2007 spared him from
witnessing his hometown decimated by the 2011
Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, but his manga
prophesized what would occur at the nuclear
facilities in Fukushima Prefecture.
Since that disaster, the world is finally
acknowledging the depth and relevance of Susumu’s
art as well as the power of manga as an educational
tool and a way in which to prevent similar
catastrophes in the future.
