Nanohana (manga)

 is a Japanese manga anthology written and illustrated by Moto Hagio. Published from 2011 to 2012 in the manga magazine "Monthly Flowers", the series is a collection of one-shots on nuclear power and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Noted as one of the first works on the incident published in Japan, the series focuses on a message of hope in the face of the disaster, while also being a satire that is critical of nuclear power. "Nanohana" was critically acclaimed upon its release, with Hagio winning a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sense of Gender Awards for the series in 2012. A theatrical adaptation of the series was staged in 2019.
Synopsis.
The series consists of five one-shots: the titular duology whose parts open and close the series, and the "personification of radiation" trilogy. A sixth one-shot, "Fukushima Drive", was published in a special anthology edition of "Big Comic" before being published in the second edition release of the "tankōbon" (collected edition) of the series.
Production.
Context.
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku caused a powerful tsunami that impacted the Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures. The disaster led to failures at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
At the time of the disaster, manga artist Moto Hagio was living in Saitama Prefecture. She had been working on her long-running one-shot manga series since 2006, but found herself unable to create new chapters due to writer's block. Finding little reassurance in government messaging stating that the disaster was under control, she began to investigate the history and operation of nuclear power plants from Marie Curie's initial work on radioactivity. This investigation led her to understand that the disaster was far more serious than government messaging suggested.
Though Hagio had depicted social and political issues in her manga in the past, it was typically in the context of science fiction and fantasy narratives. Previously, the only work in which she had depicted a political topic directly was her 1971 one-shot , which depicts a character with asthma caused by air pollution. Hagio described the experience of creating works depicting political problems "very painful" because "the problem was never solved," but stated that "I used to created a candy-coated psychological world of fantasies, but I could not believe the beautiful fantasy anymore after the events of the earthquake and nuclear crisis of Fukushima."
First edition.
In April 2011, Hagio learned about the practice of phytoremediation, or the use of rapeseed and other plants to absorb radionuclides as a form of environmental remediation; the practice was implemented in Chernobyl following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, as well as in Fukushima. The story of the "Nanohana" one-shot was inspired by an image Hagio pictured of a Ukrainian girl and a Japanese girl standing in a rapeseed field with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the distance, as the Ukrainian girl hands the Japanese girl a seed drill; this image became the climactic scene of the one-shot. During the development of the "Nanohana" one-shot, Hagio conceived of a science fiction trilogy focused on anthropomorphized radioactive elements. 
"Nanohana" and the trilogy were published in the manga magazine "Monthly Flowers" from June 28, 2011 to January 28, 2012 as part of Hagio's "Koko de wa Nai" series. The series was published by Shogakukan as a hardcover volume in March 2012, independently from the "Koko de wa Nai" series; the hardcover also includes the "Nanohana – Gensō" sequel.
Second edition.
In commemoration of the 45th anniversary of its manga magazine "Big Comic" in 2013, Shogakukan began publishing , a two-volume anthology of one-shots drawn by the publisher's most famous and celebrated manga artists. Hagio contributed "Fukushima Drive" to the anthology, which was published in "Big Comic" on October 25, 2013. The second edition hardcover, published by Shogakukan on March 15, 2016, includes "Fukushima Drive" as a concluding story.
International release.
In 2015, the academic journal "Mechademia" published a special issue focused on "world renewal" in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The issue includes the "Nanohana" one-shot, translated into English by Rachel Thorn and Frenchy Lunning. With Hagio's consent, the translation uses Scottish accents to indicate the Tōhoku dialect spoken by certain characters in the story. The March 7, 2012 issue of the French newspaper "Courrier International" dedicated to the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster uses an illustration of Madame Pluto as its cover.
Analysis.
Manga researcher Yukari Fujimoto notes that responses to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in manga vary depending on the work's demographic group. Manga aimed at a male audience ("shōnen" and "seinen") approaches the disaster from a social and technical perspective, while manga aimed at a female audience ("shōjo" and "josei") focuses on the impact the disaster has on character's lives, and the choices they face because of it. "Nanohana" is no exception to this trend, though because its chapters were published across multiple magazines that are aimed at different demographics, it does not strictly conform to one specific demographic.
Style.
"Nanohana" duology.
Both "Nanohana" stories begin with a simple panel layout that utilizes a succession of rectangular boxes, a standard practice in "seinen" manga. As the story progresses to the dreamlike sequences of Naho's interior monologue, the panels become looser; the structured panels of the Fukushima sequences are juxtaposed against the ethereal and fanciful page layouts of the dream sequences, where borders are drawn with dotted lines. These dream sequences are congruent with visual conventions typical of "shōjo" manga, notably in the use of floral decorations surrounding panels that depict rapeseed blooms, sacred lotuses, cherry blossoms, and golden lilies. These sequences also have minimal dialogue and leave the emotions and feelings of the characters to audience interpretation, another convention of "shōjo" manga.
"Personification of radiation" trilogy.
The "personification of radiation" trilogy uses a panel layout more typical of conventional "shōjo" manga; its satirical tone is additionally less serious than that of both "Nanohana" one-shots. Hagio has stated that she was inspired by the feeling of fascination she imagined Curie and other scientists of the early 20th century felt towards radioactive elements, and chose to depict the elements as sensual and sexually desirable. Count Uranus is a "bishōnen" ("beautiful man") who uses his physical charms to seduce his audience, while Salome is a cabaret dancer. Madame Pluto is based on Lady Gaga and Marilyn Monroe, is often illustrated making lascivious poses, and dresses in an outfit that commentators have compared to a dominatrix or prostitute. 
In "shōjo" manga, sexualized characters are typically depicted as "the other" who stands in contrast to the protagonist, who the reader is meant to personally identify with. They are often sexually objectified, they also serve as mediators so that readers can approach potentially "traumatic" themes and subject material with a certain distance. In Hagio's trilogy, they allow the reader to examine problems associated with nuclearization indirectly. To create distance between the readers and nuclearization, the effects of radiation are shown metaphorically, such as through polluted and sterile environments, a black sun, or a haze that takes the shape of a skull or a mushroom cloud.
"Fukushima Drive".
While "Nanohana" and the trilogy were published in a "shōjo" manga magazine, "Fukushima Drive" was published in a "seinen" magazine, and thus utilizes a more structured panel layout. Hagio uses only a series of compressed horizontal boxes, which critic Joe McCulloch argues "isolate the characters in their sad surroundings".
Position on nuclear power.
In the afterword to the first edition of "Nanohana", Hagio explains that she wished to communicate a message of hope in the wake of the Fukushima disaster while reflecting on the broader political issues, though without adopting a strong position or proposing a concrete solution. However, in subsequent interviews, Hagio has stated a firmer opposition to nuclear power, and voiced support for anti-nuclearism.
In "Pluto Fujin" and "Ame no Yoru", the opinions expressed both for and against nuclear power echo Hagio's internal conflict on the subject. The two works are very similar: both follow a personification of a nuclear element who is judged by an assembly, and both characters use an argument based on the stability and prosperity that nuclear energy provides to defend themselves. Their arguments have been compared to speeches made by former Prime Minister of Japan Yasuhiro Nakasone, who stated that nuclear power is necessary for the development of the nation and that nuclear accidents are only a small sacrifice that must be accepted.
However, the works diverge in the gender of the personifications, and thus the judgement that is brought upon them. Margherita Long sees in this a manifestation of ecofeminist philosophy, which postulates that the subjugation of women and nature by men stem from similar mechanisms, a topic explored by Hagio in her 1978 manga series . The assemblies are immediately captivated by the beauty of both personifications, but whereas the handsome and sexually aggressive Count Uranus convinces the assembly, Madame Pluto is unable to do so, and is seen as a mere passive sexual object. Long notes that while Count Uranus is assimilated into society and thus able to transcend his state as a chemical element, Madame Pluto does not manage to transcend her status as an object; men want her to be infinitely available and infinitely docile (both as a woman and as a source of energy), but fail to control her.
Reception and legacy.
Critical response.
Published just three months after the Fukushima disaster, "Nanohana" is noted as among the first creative works to address the disaster. Though it was preceded by the manga by Kotobuki Shiriagari, Hagio's fame and reputation as an artist influenced other manga artists to depict the subject in their works.
The series received generally positive reviews during its initial serialization in "Monthly Flowers". The collected edition of the series received positive reviews from the "Mainichi Shinbun", the "Yomiuri Shinbun", and "The Asahi Shimbun", with the "Mainichi Shinbun" praising the ability of manga to respond quickly to social issues. This largely positive reception has been compared to the public response to the manga series "Oishinbo", which was placed on indefinite hiatus following controversies that arose when the series began to address the disaster. Critics who had a mixed or negative perception of "Nanohana" have cited the "overly hasty treatment of the topic" or the inappropriate nature of the message of hope it conveys.
Awards.
In 2012, Hagio was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for "Nanohana" at the Sense of Gender Awards, which recognize Japanese science fiction and fantasy works that explore the concept of gender. In 2018, the series was awarded the Special Award at the 8th Iwate Manga Awards, which recognized works that have contributed to the promotion and reconstruction of Iwate Prefecture since the disaster. Iwate governor Takuya Tasso praised Hagio for her treatment of the subject and for depicting the novel "Night on the Galactic Railroad", whose author Kenji Miyazawa is from Iwate.
Adaptation.
In 2019, the theater company adapted the "Nanohana" one-shot into a play. The adaptation was directed by Jun Kurata with music by Hayata Akashi, a singer from Fukushima Prefecture.