A Single Match (Japanese: マッチ一本の話, Hepburn: Matchi Ippon no Hanashi) is a Japanese short story gekigamanga collection written and illustrated by Oji Suzuki [ja]. Suzuki originally wrote the stories during the 1970s for Seirindo's alternative manga magazine Garo, which collected them in 1985. Drawn & Quarterly published the manga in North America on January 4, 2011.
A Single Match
The Drawn & Quarterly cover of A Single Match, showing a panel from the titular story
A boy runs home in the rain, becoming sick. As he lays in bed, he tells his grandmother that he saw his older brother, but she tells him he is an only child. He dreams of his brother enticing him to ride a train with him which ascends to the sky and his brother disappears. When the boy awakes, he calls for his grandmother.
"Highway Town" (街道の町, Kaidō no Machi)
Kyoko is an old woman who lives with a cat behind an elementary school, surviving on a stipend from the town hall and leftover lunches from the school. She reminisces on when she used to light street lamps on the way to meet her love, a brick factory worker. Recently the owner of the oil shop attempted to rape her but left when he realized she had her period. As she lay in bed, Kyoko realized she was pregnant.
"A Single Match" (マッチ一本の話, Matchi Ippon no Hanashi)
A young boy on the road stops a man for a match. The boy had left his house playing his harmonica. At the outskirts of town, a traveling salesman told him of a boy on the other side of the mountains who also plays the harmonica well. He imagines himself In the plains, finding a house where he thinks he heard a harmonica playing, but it is only a family who tells him that the boy joined a music troupe. The boy continues traveling for a long time until he comes to a small mountain town. There, he stays for three and a half years and has his eye on a girl who is scared of lighting matches. The boy continues traveling until he becomes an old man, admiring the stars along the way.
"Tale of Remembrance" (思い出物語, Omoide Monogatari)
"World Colored Pants"
"Evening Primrose"
"Town of Song" (歌の町, Uta no Machi)
"Crystal Thoughts"
"Mountain Town" (山の町, Yama no Machi)
"Fruit of the Sea" (海の実, Umi no Mi)
"City of Dreams" (夢の棲む市, Yume no Sumu Shi)
ReleaseEdit
The stories in the manga were written by Suzuki during the 1970s for Seirindo's alternative manga magazine Garo, which collected them in 1985.[1]Drawn & Quarterly published the manga in North America on January 4, 2011.[2][3] The manga had also been previously published in In France under the title Le Kimono Rouge (The Red Kimono) by Seuil.[1][4]
ReceptionEdit
Chris Mautner of The Comics Journal observed that the manga is "enigmatic and elliptical enough to frustrate and confound even an attentive reader", noting its blurring of perception, fragmented narratives, and its poetic ambitions. Mautner lamented that there wasn't more background material and concluded that the manga will likely require multiple readings, although the award for doing so might not be obvious.[5] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club noted the dreamlike quality of the manga's art and how it tries to explore reveries, concluding that it is a striking "sketch of the woes and wonders of everyday life that makes room for those moments when we zone out."[6] Hillary Brown of Paste called the manga "irritatingly vague", finding a cultural barrier to understanding it like its background noises, concluding that the manga is too unsatisfying to make up for its weak narrative.[7] Richard Pachter of The Miami Herald called Suzuki "terrific and challenging", saying that the manga is fitting of gekiga, calling the art "rich and vibrant" and noting the manga's aspects of "whimsy and fantasy".[8]
The manga was nominated for a 2012 Harvey Award in the "Best American Edition of Foreign Material" category.[9]
ReferencesEdit
^ abSands, Ryan (August 14, 2009). "D&Q To Release Red Kimono By Oji Suzuki". Same Hat. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
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A Single Match Japanese マッチ一本の話 Hepburn Matchi Ippon no Hanashi is a Japanese short story gekiga manga collection written and illustrated by Oji Suzuki ja Suzuki originally wrote the stories during the 1970s for Seirindo s alternative manga magazine Garo which collected them in 1985 Drawn amp Quarterly published the manga in North America on January 4 2011 A Single MatchThe Drawn amp Quarterly cover of A Single Match showing a panel from the titular storyマッチ一本の話 Matchi Ippon no Hanashi MangaWritten byOji Suzuki ja Published bySeirindoEnglish publisherDrawn amp QuarterlyMagazineGaroPublishedJanuary 4 2011Volumes1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Release 3 Reception 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksPlot Edit Color of Rain 雨の色 Ame no Iro A boy runs home in the rain becoming sick As he lays in bed he tells his grandmother that he saw his older brother but she tells him he is an only child He dreams of his brother enticing him to ride a train with him which ascends to the sky and his brother disappears When the boy awakes he calls for his grandmother Highway Town 街道の町 Kaidō no Machi Kyoko is an old woman who lives with a cat behind an elementary school surviving on a stipend from the town hall and leftover lunches from the school She reminisces on when she used to light street lamps on the way to meet her love a brick factory worker Recently the owner of the oil shop attempted to rape her but left when he realized she had her period As she lay in bed Kyoko realized she was pregnant A Single Match マッチ一本の話 Matchi Ippon no Hanashi A young boy on the road stops a man for a match The boy had left his house playing his harmonica At the outskirts of town a traveling salesman told him of a boy on the other side of the mountains who also plays the harmonica well He imagines himself In the plains finding a house where he thinks he heard a harmonica playing but it is only a family who tells him that the boy joined a music troupe The boy continues traveling for a long time until he comes to a small mountain town There he stays for three and a half years and has his eye on a girl who is scared of lighting matches The boy continues traveling until he becomes an old man admiring the stars along the way Tale of Remembrance 思い出物語 Omoide Monogatari World Colored Pants Evening Primrose Town of Song 歌の町 Uta no Machi Crystal Thoughts Mountain Town 山の町 Yama no Machi Fruit of the Sea 海の実 Umi no Mi City of Dreams 夢の棲む市 Yume no Sumu Shi Release EditThe stories in the manga were written by Suzuki during the 1970s for Seirindo s alternative manga magazine Garo which collected them in 1985 1 Drawn amp Quarterly published the manga in North America on January 4 2011 2 3 The manga had also been previously published in In France under the title Le Kimono Rouge The Red Kimono by Seuil 1 4 Reception EditChris Mautner of The Comics Journal observed that the manga is enigmatic and elliptical enough to frustrate and confound even an attentive reader noting its blurring of perception fragmented narratives and its poetic ambitions Mautner lamented that there wasn t more background material and concluded that the manga will likely require multiple readings although the award for doing so might not be obvious 5 Noel Murray of The A V Club noted the dreamlike quality of the manga s art and how it tries to explore reveries concluding that it is a striking sketch of the woes and wonders of everyday life that makes room for those moments when we zone out 6 Hillary Brown of Paste called the manga irritatingly vague finding a cultural barrier to understanding it like its background noises concluding that the manga is too unsatisfying to make up for its weak narrative 7 Richard Pachter of The Miami Herald called Suzuki terrific and challenging saying that the manga is fitting of gekiga calling the art rich and vibrant and noting the manga s aspects of whimsy and fantasy 8 The manga was nominated for a 2012 Harvey Award in the Best American Edition of Foreign Material category 9 References Edit a b Sands Ryan August 14 2009 D amp Q To Release Red Kimono By Oji Suzuki Same Hat Retrieved February 27 2017 Suzuki Oji January 4 2011 A Single Match ISBN 978 1770460096 Adair Torsten January 17 2011 Coming Attractions January 2011 Comics Beat Retrieved February 27 2017 Demay Nicolas June 16 2007 Le Kimono Rogue Retrieved February 27 2017 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a website ignored help Mautner Chris March 23 2011 A Single Match The Comics Journal Retrieved February 28 2017 Murray Noel March 28 2011 Graphic Novels amp Art Comics late March 2011 The A V Club Retrieved July 6 2020 Martin Garrett Brown Hillary Edgar Sean March 2 2011 Comic Book amp Graphic Novel Round Up 3 2 11 Paste Retrieved February 28 2017 Pachter Richard March 16 2011 Mid life crises traffic jams Miami Herald Archived from the original on May 16 2011 Retrieved February 28 2017 Alt URL Hodgkins Crystalyn July 2 2012 Mizuki s Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths Gets Harvey Nod Anime News Network Retrieved February 27 2017 Further reading EditTong Ng Suat February 9 2011 Oji Suzuki s A Single Match The Hooded Utilitarian Retrieved February 28 2017 External links EditA Single Match at Anime News Network s encyclopedia A few words about A Single Match at the Drawn amp Quarterly blog archived Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Single Match amp oldid 1177717779, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
