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Go Nagai was born in Wajima City (then Wajima Town, Fugeshi County) on September 6, 1945, around three weeks after Emperor Showa announced Japan’s defeat in the war.
He lived in the city until 1952, when he moved to Tokyo in his first year of elementary school. Nagai says that as a child, he once suddenly lost consciousness and remembered being in his mother’s womb. He also has vivid memories of his early years, including many recollections of Wajima. He recalls playing at shrines and by the seaside, feeling a thrill at the sight of the nude figure of Shingo, the protagonist of Soji Yamakawa's Boy King, and struggling to get to elementary school when the roads flooded on rainy days. After he became an adult, he rarely had time to visit Wajima. Even so, his attachment to his hometown did not change, and he ordered Wajima lacquerware as gifts for his own wedding ceremony. Since the Go Nagai Wonderland Museum opened on Asaichi Street in 2009, he has visited Wajima regularly, building even stronger ties with the city.
The museum burned down during the 2024 earthquake. When it was thought that the original illustrations housed in the museum had been lost, he put the victims’ considerations first, commenting, “I’m still an active manga artist, so even if the illustrations were lost, I can always draw and create new ones.” (Later, the illustrations were found to have miraculously survived the fire.) His message served as a source of courage for many.
In 2023, at the request of Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage, Wajima City’s Taya-Shikkiten lacquerware shop had been producing Wajima lacquer frames for displaying works. The factory and shop of Taya-Shikkiten burned down in the aftermath of the earthquake, as did their gallery, which was under construction at the time. Only 11 Wajima lacquer frames had been produced in 2023, and it was unclear when production would be able to resume.
Out of a desire to do something helpful for Wajima, we reached out to Go Nagai and Dynamic Productions. This led to the creation of the Mazinger Z art print series. We produced color prints and letterpress prints. We decided to donate a portion of the sales from these edition prints to Wajima, along with some of the printed works. The letterpress works were placed in Wajima lacquer frames crafted by Taya-Shikkiten and donated together with photos of the metal plates used for printing.
On the day of the donation ceremony, we were welcomed at Noto Satoyama Airport by officials from Wajima City Hall, and together with Go Nagai, we headed to Wajima City. Along the way, we saw buildings that had been destroyed in the earthquake, and mountain surfaces that had collapsed due to heavy rain. The first stop was Nagai’s visit to the ruins of Go Nagai Wonderland Museum. Led by a car from Wajima City Hall, the van entered the city.
“As we stepped off, I thought, ‘Why are we stopping here? Why are the press gathered over there?’ I couldn’t tell at all that this was the site where the museum used to be. The landscape was unrecognizable. If even the smallest trace had remained, the memories might have come back, but instead, it felt like I had come to some other place,” Nagai muttered as he got into the van after a media photo shoot at the museum site.
After the visit, the donation ceremony was held at Wajima City Hall. The works were presented to Mayor Shigeru Sakaguchi.
Nagai delivered the following remarks at the donation ceremony.
“Today, I was very shocked to find that my hometown of Wajima City had become completely unrecognizable. I would like to donate art prints of my work to express my hopes for the building of a new Wajima City. This is the opening illustration from back when Mazinger Z was running as a serialized manga. Shueisha transformed it into a large-format artwork and made it available for sale. It would mean a lot if even one of each could be placed in Wajima City. I decided to donate these works because I thought that it might offer hope to the people of Wajima, as well as visitors to the city, until my museum is rebuilt.”
According to Wajima City officials, the Mazinger Z art prints are scheduled to be displayed at the city hall, civic centers, elementary schools, and roadside stations.
We had lunch at Mebuki in the Marine Town area. In Wajima City, there was a French restaurant that was completely destroyed in the earthquake. Mebuki is the new izakaya started by its chef, who continued to provide relief meals along with his colleagues despite being a victim of the disaster himself. While complimenting the current food, Nagai encouraged the chef by saying, “I hope to taste your French cuisine again someday,” and posed for a commemorative photo with him.
After lunch, we moved to a place where we could see the Sea of Japan. That day, the skies over Wajima were perfectly clear. Dressed in a blue jacket and white hat, Nagai had a turquoise magatama pendant hanging from his neck. He reminisced about a spot with a shrine where he played as a child, and the bookstore where he bought manga magazines.
Afterward, they visited the “traveling morning market” held inside a shop at Wai Plaza, a shopping center in Wajima City. While chatting with the morning market vendors, Nagai signed shop curtains and banners upon request.
At Hiyoshi Sake Brewery, he had his photo taken with a sake bottle labeled Mazinger Z in his hand, and then drew a picture of Cutie Honey.
At Taya-Shikkiten lacquerware shop, where Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage ordered the production of Wajima lacquer frames, he met with Takahiro Taya, the president of the company. Nagai mentioned that Taya-Shikkiten was the store he entrusted to make the gifts for his wedding. After the disaster, Taya-Shikkiten converted a trailer home into a Wajima lacquerware showroom and craft studio. They are also developing and operating a community center with lodging facilities.
Our last stop was an elementary school. A temporary school building was built at Kawai Elementary School, which Nagai attended. (At the time, the school was known as Wajima Town Wajima Elementary School.) The institution is run as a consolidated elementary school combining six Wajima City schools. The lively voices of children and the sound of running footsteps filled the school building.
“I wonder how many years it’s been. I haven’t been back here since transferring to another school just before the summer vacation of first grade,” Nagai recalled.
There were two principals who greeted us. They informed us that there are two principals because the institution is a consolidated elementary school. He donated the work Mazinger Z: Giant Machine God to the elementary schools.
“My homeroom teacher was a woman who cared for me very much. When I was about to move, she gave me a set of fine crayons. Even after I moved to Tokyo, I treasured those crayons.”
“I love the people of Wajima, including the way they approach me without hesitation,” Go Nagai said, laughing.
Surrounded by many people, Nagai posed with a smile. Since the earthquake, he has continued to support Wajima City and Ishikawa Prefecture in various ways. In the latest effort, Nagai and others called on the Japan Cartoonists Association to host a charity auction of signed boards for Noto Peninsula earthquake relief, donating over 1.23 billion yen in proceeds to Ishikawa Prefecture.
Go Nagai’s works and actions continue to inspire courage in people.
