The Myth of Effort and the Season of Juvenile Culture Symbolized by Otoko Do Aho Koshien, 1970-1975

The Myth of Effort and the Season of Juvenile Culture Symbolized by Otoko Do Aho Koshien, 1970-1975
Shinji Mizushima's "Otoko dou hou Koshien" is a baseball manga that symbolizes Japanese society in the 1970s. The background of this manga was the unstable social situation following the end of rapid economic growth and the oil shocks. While there was a pervasive atmosphere of uncertainty about whether hard work would be rewarded, the postwar Japanese value of "if you work hard, a path will open up for you" remained strong. Koshien, the setting of the story, was more than a sports tournament; it was a sanctuary of youth that created a sense of community nationwide through televised broadcasts. The friendship, perseverance, and triumph depicted in the cartoons gave hope to children and young people who felt stagnant and anxious about reality, and served as a surrogate expression of social ideals. Baseball remained at the center of the national pastime. Shōnen Sunday and other boys' magazines had a circulation of more than 1 million copies, and baseball cartoons were a true re
flection of the spirit of the times. Otoko douahou Koshien" occupies an important position as the last glimmer of the myth of hard work and as a symbol of the shaken youth culture of the 1970s.