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.

木山義喬が遺した本作は、単なる記録を超えた魂のドキュメントです。二十世紀初頭の米国で、若者たちの野心と挫折、過酷な差別を多言語が交錯する生々しい筆致で描き出しています。歴史の荒波を生き抜く個人の息遣いを漫画という表現で定着させた先見性こそ、文学的至宝と呼ぶべき魅力です。 映像化では紙面の熱量が立体的に再構築され、時代背景がより鮮明に補完されています。原作の筆致と映像の動的表現が共鳴し、百年前の物語が現代に地続きの感動として迫ります。両メディアを味わうことで移民たちの生の輝きはより深みを増し、私たちの胸を熱く焦がすのです。