Trash Market

by Tadao Tsuge, Ryan Holmberg (Translator)

Dark and funny comics from a Garo magazine manga-ka

Tadao Tsuge was one of the key contributors to the legendary avant-garde Japanese comics magazine Garo during its heyday in the late 1960s and early 1970s, renowned for his unpretentious journalistic storytelling and clear, eloquent cartooning. Trash Market brings together six of Tsuge’s compelling, character-driven stories about life in post–World War II Japan.
     “Trash Market” and “Gently Goes the Night” touch on key topics for Tsuge: the charming lowlifes of the Tokyo slums and the veterans who found themselves unable to forget the war. “Song of Showa” is an autobiographical piece about growing up in a Tokyo slum during the occupation with an abusive grandfather and an ailing father, and finding brightness in the joyful people of the neighborhood. Trash Market blurs the lines between fiction and reportage; it’s a moving testament to the grittiness of life in Tokyo during the postwar years.
     Trash Market features an essay from the collection’s editor and translator, Ryan Holmberg, who is a specialist in Japanese art history. He explores Tsuge’s early career as a cartoonist and the formative years the artist spent working in Tokyo’s notorious for-profit blood banks.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Fiction, Japan, Comics Manga

272 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2015

About the author

Tadao Tsuge (born in 1941) has been drawing comics since the late 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of the central contributors to the underground comics magazine Garo, and the magazines Yako and Gento. In addition to cartooning, Tsuge is an avid fisherman and has written essays on the subject. He has held full-time blue-collar jobs for most of his artistic career, most significantly on the cleaning staff at one of Tokyo’s for-profit blood banks, which figures prominently in a number of his works. In 1995, cult-film director Teru Ishii made a movie based on Tsuge’s comics. Tsuge lives in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late Yoshihiro Tatsumi's work has been enjoying a resurgence of popularity lately, with six elegant translated volumes of his gekiga out from Drawn and Quarterly, a portfolio in The Paris Review, and a full-length animated biopic. The work of his near-contemporary Tadao Tsuge, however, can only be found in English in this indifferently designed but passionately curated volume. That's a shame, because although Tsuge is a weaker artist than Tatsumi, he's at least as interesting a storyteller. Tsuge's stories read like storyboards from never-realized films by Shohei Imamura or Nagisa Oshima. They're dark and acidic tales of doomed rebellion and familial sadism, of a shell-shocked nation destroying its young. If you're a fan of Tatsumi or of gekiga in general, be sure to seek out Trash Market.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slice of life comics stories, bleak and deftly done, completely unsentimental at the least and sometimes crushingly dark. I like the late Yoshihiro Tatsumi's work and this is similar. He's not quite as good an artist, maybe, but I liked all of this. It's a commentary on class by a working class artist who does not see work as ennobling or revolution as possible. Home and workplace looks equally damaging. Some autobiographical writing by Tsuge is included, and an essay on his work is helpful and interesting. The title story, on the poor "trash" who survive by giving blood for cash, is informed by his work in a blood bank. And this collection is seventies gekiga, reflecting on the fifties, but it is relevant to today's bleak economic times. I liked it a lot, as harsh as it sometimes is.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tadao Tsuge is one of those legendary manga creators one hears about, usually in some high end publication like the Comics Journal or an interview with the sort of comics artist who regularly appears in the Year's Best Comics anthologies. Most of his work appeared in the Japanese anthology Garo, itself something of a legend to those in the know. So it was with great pleasure that I picked up this volume of stories to read. Amazingly enough, it actually lives up to the anticipation. Tsuge's reputation is for "dark" stories, but I think "realist" might be closer to the mark. Poverty and the struggle for survival are recurring themes. But there's an inner strength to his characters. Even when circumstances seem hopeless, they sigh and roll up their sleeves and get to work. The story that made the strongest impression on me was "Manhunt." An accountant returns to his hometown after having been missing for three months. A local paper that had been running stories about his disappearance interviews him, but the account he gives doesn't match the results of their detective work. The afterword to the book describes this as a "... police procedural [turned] inside out ..." There's a certain feeling to the story that recalled to me a half-remembered passage from either Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammet about a man who abandoned his old life for a new one after witnessing a person killed by a falling girder, because he suddenly realized that he lived in a world where death struck completely at random. Anyway, these are very fine stories, well worth your time. I note with interest that this manga was flipped so that it reads English style, left to right. Manga have been appearing in English unflipped (right to left) for so long now that this almost feels unnatural.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty odd ball stories many which don't seem to have a point to them besides to show perhaps a slice-of-life of lower class in the post-war world. Very gritty. Interesting artwork with a unique style.

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

--Up on the Hilltop, Vincent van Gogh . . .
--Song of Showa
--Manhunt
--Gently Goes the Night
--A Tale of Absolute and Utter Nonsense
--Trash Market

The Tadao Tsuge Revue (1994-97)
Portrait of the Artist as a Working Man, by Ryan Holmberg

[Zach Vaupen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sincere and crushing look at the effects of widespread poverty during Japan's Showa era. A lot of people criticize Tsuge for not drawing as slick as Yoshihiro Tatsumi, but in my opinion the loose and fluid and sometimes sparse art compliments the mood perfectly, and I find Tadao Tsuge to be more powerful a storyteller than Tatsumi (though perhaps less subtle at times). I think this is a truly underrated book.

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd, disturbing short stories in graphic form. Waaaay over my head.

[Massimiliano · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a shared cultural norm that tends to associate the end of wars and reconstruction periods with images of hope and rebirth. The protagonists of these narratives are resilient people, their eyes firm on the future, conscious that the suffering of past and present times will heal.

Trash Market is on the opposite side of the spectrum. The shitamachi ("under city", the home of the poor and disadvantaged) of post-WWII Tokyo is a brutal place, populated by individuals who have been scarred beyond repair. Here, there is little space for hope. Cynicism and nihilism devour all.

And yet, amid the bleakness, moments of affection, solidarity, and empathy emerge. They are isolated in comparison with the misery that surrounds them. But their only existence is enough to give meaning back to the world.

Trash Market is a quasi-autobiographical, poorly known gekiga that made me uncomfortable most of the time. Seldom, but very powerfully, it moved me with unexpected tenderness. I stumbled upon it without knowing what it was, and was pleased by the discovery.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trash Market is a gekiga manga, therefore, it will be strange - akin to artsy short films that represent a moment in time to reflect on —there is often no clear beginning, middle or end. These particular short stories are set against the backdrop of a violent, post-war slum (for lack of a better word). Characters range from veterans suffering from PTSD, students rebelling against Japan’s emperor, starving artists unable to make a decent wage, and a child unable to escape abuse in his home. The picture painted is of pain and suffering that forces the reader to examine harsh generational trauma of post WWII Japan. Despite the the “un-pretty” content the storytelling leaves an undeniable impact. I am moved and scarred by the trauma portrayed. Worth a read but not for the light-hearted. The book would have also benefited from a forward with history to contextualize the stories— but if you are artsy and not afraid of visuals that challenge societal hegemony then I highly recommend this graphic novel.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second title that Shea and I discussed for the June manga show: http://comicsalternative.com/manga3/. I very much like this book, more "alternative" in nature, and quite a contrast to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Tsuge's quiet, working-class, and very human dilemmas give this collection an impact that wild adventure narratives can't provide.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 4 out of 5]

for those personally interested in the post-war psyche of ordinary Japanese folks, this collection of stories offers a darkly fascinating window. Many of the stories don't have a conventional ending, and the art is sketchy and shadowy. The pacing feels a lot like mid-20th avante guard cinema, with long slow stretches punctuated by violence.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird little manga stories in black and white. Some of them are very strong, some of them are just unsettling.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some really great panels and silly one liners, but this is primarily a serious read. The author based these comics on his life in a poor part of Japan during the 1940's through the 70's. The stories are mostly quite bleak and violent. I enjoyed reading the mini bio at the end that puts the stories into context. I did not enjoy the rape scenes (if that is what they were?) and I found plot holes and confusions in every story. Not sure what these stories are supposed to mean or say; they seem to just be.

As a manga lover, I'm glad I read one of the pioneers (and he does mention Tezuka at one point, which I loved); however, I am uninterested in looking up more of this author's work.

[Peter Landau · Rating 4 out of 5]

TRASH MARKET is the second collection of Tadao Tsuge’s comics I’ve read. Both feature works from the 1960s and 1970s of a literary bent. That means nothing much happens, but they’re evocative of a time and place, postwar Tokyo. His art is fluid and expressive, with backgrounds that I learned he copied from photographs, which give them an air of realism. I also learned he worked without a script, having a story idea and then just spontaneously drawing them. It can make for some talky, meandering tales, but ones that capture something that can’t be planned.

[Jim Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of character driven alternative manga stories set in postwar Japan. Slice of life stories with no easy answers. The art is sketchy and rough which fits the stories well.

The two stories I enjoyed the most are based on the author’s experiences. In “Song of Showa” he describes growing up in a Tokyo slum with a dysfunctional family. In “Trash Market” he describes his experiences working at a blood bank where he met all kinds characters who were there to donate blood for money.

Most of the stories were originally published in magazines such as Garo and Yagyo. Essays by the author and by translator Ryan Holmberg add a lot to the reading experience.

If you enjoyed this collection I recommend checking out the author’s collection of later stories, “Slum Wolf.”

[rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of typical gekiga, honestly, but not bad. Forgot to review this actually so rereading may be necess. but most things here, especially the title cut, have that loner vibe reflecting nihilism and harsh life stories and of course you get a nice essay at the end cuz its d&q and they do it right. Got this in Baltimore at Atomic on a blind buy and now I kinda wish I picked BARTKIRA instead! Any other tome of Garo they've brought over here feels more satisfying. Anyways tell me what you think manga frenz.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of me is still torn on how I ultimately feel about this, but I also can't deny how haunting and visceral some of these stories in TRASH MARKET are, or how easily Tsuge grips the psychological center of a side of Japan rarely seen in English translated manga. The art is rough and so are the panels at points but it works. And after reading the essays at the back of the book, I got a deeper appreciation for Tsuge and his work and the period he worked in. I would recommend this to fans of Yoshihiro Tatsumi and post-WW2 narratives.

[Sarja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories (manga) by Tadao Tsuge about working class life in Japan as well as the psychological struggle of different characters.

And I really like the portrayals. They're all very interesting, seeing how they try and find an identity for themselves. I'm mainly thinking of 'Manhunt', but the same goes for the rapist in the one of the other stories.

It's not for everyone, but I personally liked it very much. My two favourites would be 'Manhunt', as already mentioned, and 'Up on the Hilltop, Vincent Van Gogh...'

[Erin Sterling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gritty graphic novel that's a series of vignettes set in post-war slums of Tokyo. While I thought the subject matter and style was interesting, especially in light of most of my experience with Japanese comics is manga and this is very different plus it was about a period in Japan I didn't know almost anything, it was a little too realistically dark and the stories didn't really have endings exactly.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly uncomfortable at times, these slice of life stories plunge us into a world of desperation and corruption and makes it impossible to look away. The supplemental stuff at the end is highly recommended, as it puts a lot of context to these stories as well as revealing just how many are pulled from Tadao Tsuge's own life experiences.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like a single thing about this graphic novel which takes place in post war Japan. Did not like the artwork or the stories. The essays at the back of the novel helped me understand what I was reading and the basis for the stories but it was definitely written for a specific audience - but not for me.

[Sasha Boersma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd, yet compelling little stories. I'm not sure if they're intended to be deep, or intended to be taken at surface value. Each story gives you a different opinion. It's a book I'll revisit and think about more.

[Don Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tsuge spares nothing in his depiction of the seamier side of post-war Japan. I love his honesty and his determination to capture the less palatable people and details of the period. I really feel like I'm traveling back and getting a glimpse into that time.

[Emerson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man it took me too long to get through this. Some of the pieces were better than others...overall not my favorite. The art fluctuated greatly.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this collection but wonder if greater cultural understanding would have enabled me to appreciate it more.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, bleak, tragic, unhappy things. You won't like it.

[Kevin Mckinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was pretty good... would like to read more of this genre/style, but probably not more tadao tsuge lol

[Dean Simons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an easy read and not all the stories make sense but they are a remarkable window into the postwar period in japan. Worth a read if you are more familiar with the context.

[John Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A discussion on post war Japan and poverty. Enjoyable stories. The generational family(Not actual title of story) was my favorite story.

[Khalid Albaih · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best story writing I ever read. Dark and leaves you wondering. Feels like half told full stories.