Rakuten Kitazawa - Notable Works

Notable Works

• Rakuten drew many political cartoons for Jiji Shimpō and Tokyo Puck. His early style was critical of the government, but after the High Treason Incident it became more conservative.
• Many of Rakuten's most popular comic strips were published in Jiji Manga.
  • Tagosaku to Mokubē no Tōkyō-Kenbutsu (田吾作と杢兵衛の東京見物,?, "Tagosaku and Mokube's Sightseeing in Tokyo") - started 1902. The story of two country bumpkins on a sightseeing trip in Tokyo. Knowing nothing about modern culture, they behave foolishly (for example, by separately eating lumps of sugar for coffee).
  • Haikara Kidorō no Sippai (灰殻木戸郎の失敗,?, "The Failures of Kidoro Haikara") - started 1902. The story of a young man who boasts of his imperfect knowledge of the West but ends up embarrassing himself. His name can be read "Mr. European style affected man".
  • Chame to Dekobō (茶目と凸坊,?, "Chame and Dekobo") - Stories about two mischievous boys, counterparts of the Katzenjammer Kids in Japan. The characters Chame and Dekobo appeared as dolls and on playing cards in one of the first examples of character merchandising in Japan.
  • Teino Nukesaku (丁野抜作,?, "Nukesaku Teino") - started 1915. The story of a wooden-head man, Nukesaku Teino, whose name can be read "Mr. Foolish Wooden-head". He was a popular character during the Taishō era in Japan.
  • Tonda Haneko Jō (とんだはね子嬢,?, "Miss Haneko Tonda") - started 1928. The story of a tomboyish girl, Haneko Tonda, whose name can be read "Hopping-jumping girl". Haneko was the first girl protagonist in manga and influenced early shōjo manga like Machiko Hasegawa's Nakayoshi Techō.