or ''The Desert Tribe'' is a
comic strip written and illustrated by
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
. It was serialized, under the pseudonym , and ran in ' between September 12, 1969 and March 15, 1970.
Story
The story is set in the distant past, on the fictionalised desert plains of Central Asia. Part of the story takes place in the fortified city named . The story follows the exploits of the main character, , a shepherd boy of the fictional tribe, as he tries to evade the mounted militia of the nomadic tribe. In order to restore peace to the realm, Tem rallies his remaining compatriots and rebels against the Kittāru's attempts to gain control of the ''Sokut'' territory and enslave its inhabitants through military force.
Background, publication and influences
Miyazaki initially wanted to become a
manga artist but started his professional career as an animator for
Toei Animation
() is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
in 1963. Here he worked on animated television series and animated feature-length films for theatrical release. He never abandoned his childhood dream of becoming a manga artist completely, however, and his professional debut as a
manga creator came in 1969 with the publication of his manga interpretation of ''
Puss 'n Boots'', which was serialized in 12 weekly instalments in the Sunday edition of
Tokyo Shimbun
''The Tokyo Shimbun'' (東京新聞, ''Tōkyō Shinbun'', literally ''Tokyo Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published by The Chunichi Shimbun Company. The group publishes newspapers under the brand name of The Tokyo Shimbun in the Tokyo Met ...
, from January to March 1969. Printed in colour and created for promotional purposes in conjunction with his work on Toei's animated film of the same title, directed by
Kimio Yabuki
Kimio Yabuki ( ja, 矢吹 公郎) is a Japanese animator. Known in Japan for his work on many early classic works by the Toei Animation studio, his best-known film in the West is ''Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer'' from 1985, produced by the ...
.
In 1969
pseudonymous
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
serialization also started of Miyazaki's original manga '. This strip was created in the style of he read in boys' magazines and
Tankōbon
is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...
volumes while growing up, such as Soji Yamakawa's ' and in particular
Tetsuji Fukushima's '. Miyazaki's ''People of the Desert'' is a continuation of that tradition. In ''People of the Desert''
expository
Narrative exposition is the insertion of background information within a story or narrative. This information can be about the setting, characters' backstories, prior plot events, historical context, etc. In literature, exposition appears in t ...
text is presented separately from the monochrome artwork but Miyazaki progressively used additional text balloons inside the panels for dialogue.
''People of the Desert'' was serialized in 26 weekly instalments which were printed in ', a publication of the
Japanese Communist Party
The is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left List of political parties in Japan, political party in Japan. With approximately 270,000 members belonging to 18,000 branches, it is one of the largest non-governing Communis ...
, between September 12, 1969 (Issue 28) and March 15, 1970 (issue 53). The strip was published under the pseudonym .
The strip has been identified as a precursor for Miyazaki's manga ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (1982–1995) and the one-off
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
''
Shuna's Journey'' (1983), published by
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
.
Citations
Cited sources
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External links
* A
''Desert Tribe''on ''
Nausicaa.net''.
{{Hayao Miyazaki, state=collapsed
Comics by Hayao Miyazaki
1969 manga