Red Flowers

Yoshiharu TsugeDrawn & QuarterlyExcerpt$29.95 CAD/$24.95 USDThe influential cartoonist hits his stride as he celebrates the charms and oddities of rural postwar culture Translated from the Japanese by Ryan HolmbergYoshiharu Tsuge leaves early genre trappings behind, taking a light, humorous approach in these stories based on his own travels. Red Flowers ranges from deep character studies to personal reflections to ensemble comedies set in the hotels and bathhouses of rural Japan. There are irascible old men, drunken gangsters, reflective psychiatric-hospital escapees, and mysterious dogs. Tsuge’s stories are mischievous and tender even as they explore complex relationships and heartache. It’s a world of extreme poverty, tradition, secret fishing holes, and top-dollar koi farming.The title story, “Red Flowers,” highlights the nuance and empathy that made Tsuge’s work stand out from that of his peers. A nameless traveler comes across a young girl running an inn. While show