遥かな町へ

Today the world lost a great manga artist, Jiro Taniguchi.

I can't pretend to know the depth and breadth of his body of work, but his graphic novel, 遥かな町へ, or A Distant Neighborhood in English, is one of my favorite literary works.

I had serendipitously found it when I was searching for a work in translation that I could teach my class. I took a chance on it, and it was a choice I never regretted.

It's not one of his more famous works, but I think it's criminally underrated.

I won't speak about at length tonight. I intend to reread it tomorrow, as means of celebrating his life. Hopefully by the end of the year, I could read it in Japanese as well.

In the meantime, here's the trailer for the film version of 遥かな町へ. Surprisingly, it's not a Japanese movie, but a French film, Quartier lointain, as Taniguchi was apparently especially popular in France.

Rest in peace, Taniguchi-san. May you finally be home in that distance place of eternal rest.