| Sazae-san | |
Lead character, Sazae, riding a horse with her little sister, Wakame. |
|
| サザエさん | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Machiko Hasegawa |
| Published by | Asahi Shinbun |
| English publisher | Kodansha Bilingual Comics |
| Demographic | Josei |
| Magazine | Fukunichi Shinbun Asahi Shinbun, etc. |
| Original run | April 22, 1946 – February 21, 1974 |
| Volumes | 45 (approx. 10,000 comic strips) |
| Anime | |
| Studio | TCJ (later Eiken) |
| Released | October 5, 1969 – ongoing |
Sazae-san (サザエさん) is a Japanese comic strip created by Machiko Hasegawa. It was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the Fukunichi Shinbun (フクニチ新聞), on April 22, 1946. When the Asahi Shinbun (朝日新聞) wished to have Hasegawa draw the comic strip for their paper, she moved to Tokyo in 1949 with the explanation that the main characters had moved from Kyūshū to Tokyo as well. The comic dealt with contemporary situations in Tokyo until Hasegawa retired and ended the comic on February 21, 1974.
Contents |
The comic was very topical. In the beginning, Sazae was more interested in being herself than dressing up in kimono and makeup to attract her future husband. Hasegawa was forward-thinking in that, in her words, the Isono/Fuguta clan would embody the image of the modern Japanese family after World War II.
Sazae was a very "liberated" woman, and many of the early plotlines revolved around Sazae bossing around her husband, to the consternation of her neighbors, who believed that a man should be the head of his household. Later, Sazae became a feminist and was involved in many comical situations regarding her affiliation with her local women's lib group.
Despite the topical nature of the comic, the core of the stories revolved around the large family dynamic, and were presented in a lighthearted, easy fashion. In fact, the final comic, in 1974, revolved around Sazae's happiness that an egg she cracked for her husband's breakfast produced a double yolk, with Katsuo remarking about the happiness the "little things" in life can bring.
Today, the popular Sazae-san anime is frequently taken as nostalgia for traditional Japanese society (since it lacks modern marvels such as video games and otaku culture), even though it was leftist to the point of controversy when it originally ran in Japanese newspapers.
A next-door neighbor of the Isono family.
The names of the characters are derived from marine animals and things relating to the sea:
The inspiration for the characters is said to have come to Hasegawa as she was strolling along the beach one day.
Although the comic ran for twenty-eight years, the characters never aged: Sazae was always 27 years old, her husband 28, her father and mother were always 54 and 48, and Sazae's siblings were around eleven and seven years of age, respectively.
The comic strip was published in book form by Shimaisha (姉妹社), which Machiko ran with her sister, Mariko. In April 1993, this publishing company went out of business and the comic books went out of print. The same year, Asahi Shinbun purchased the right to publish the forty-five paperback volumes. Selected comics have been published in the United States by Kodansha America, Inc.
In October 1969, Fuji Television started an animated comedy series, which is still on the air today and currently in production, making it the longest-running animated and non-soap opera scripted TV series in history. It has been broadcast every Sunday from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. and contains three vignettes. The animated series has some characters, like Katsuo's classmates, who have not appeared in Hasegawa's original works.
The end credits for each episode include brief animations of the original comic strips, with dialogue appearing in word balloons. Since November 1991, after the closing credits and the next episode previews, each show has ended with a janken match between Sazae and the viewers at home, in which Sazae holds up a sign representing one of the appropriate hand gestures.[1] From 1969 to 1991, Sazae ended each episode by tossing a bean or rice cake in the air and catching it in her mouth. This was often imitated by viewers. In 1990, a child choked to death after imitating the trick, and Fuji Television switched to the janken match.
On November 16, 2008, the series' 3000th episode was broadcast in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the animated series; this special episode also featured Sazae-san wearing five costumes based on submissions from viewers.
The animated series was originally sponsored solely by Toshiba—including placement of its products within the show—but later expanded to other sponsors.
Sazae-san was the last television anime to use traditional cel animation, although as of April 2009, the opening credits were digital.[2]
In 1955, a radio station aired a serial drama based on the comic strip.
The same year, a short-lived live-action television series was started, and was aired on what is now TBS.
In November 1965, TBS started a dramatic television series modeled after the comic strip. It aired until September 1967.
In 1979, NHK made a dramatic serial which ran for six months, focusing on the creation of Sazae-san and Machiko Hasegawa in her younger days.
In 2010, Fuji Television debuted a live-action situation comedy series, Sazae-san 2 (サザエさん2), followed the following year with Sazae-san 3 (サザエさん3). The series is patterned after the animated series and uses the same elements, including the theme music and the closing janken match.