The Four Immigrants Manga

A stunning historical graphic novel depicting the lives of four Japanese immigrants living in San Francisco between 1904 and 1924.

A singular and significant achievement, a “documentary comic book” published in San Francisco in 1931, depicting the true adventures of four young Japanese men in America between 1904 and 1924. Written and illustrated by Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama (ヘンリー木山義喬)—who emigrated from Japan at the age of 19, this is a stunning historical source that depicts the immigrant experience in California in what is one of the earliest examples of the graphic novel.

Translated with copious notes and a foreword by Frederik L. Schodt, the translation works to preserve the multilingual character of the original, which included Japanese, Cantonese, and English text.