Keiji Nakazawa, the creator of the Barefoot Gen manga documenting his life in Hiroshima after the dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945, passed away on December 19, 2012, at the age of 73 due to lung cancer. A native of Hiroshima, Nakazawa was only 6 when the atomic bomb was dropped, and his father, older sister, younger brother, and younger sister all died from the bomb or its aftermath. He moved to Tokyo in 1961 and became a published mangaka, starting his autobiographical work Barefoot Gen in 1973. The story would stretch over 10 volumes and 12 years, becoming a cross-culture phenomenon translated into over 10 languages. The manga has also been adapted into two animated features and one live-action movie. Plans for a sequel series were dropped in 2009 due to Nakazawa’s declining health and eyesight.
