Asahi Shimbun Publications has decided to release the original yonkoma (four panels) manga of “Sazae-san” free of charge, after many elementary schools across the country have been temporarily closed due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
This will be the first digital distribution in Japan and can be read for a limited time from Mar. 17 (scheduled until late Mar.).
The manga “Sazae-san”, which has been published since January 2020, is a reprint of the super rare original versions that were published and then went out of print by “Shimaisha”, the company that was founded by Hasegawa Machiko and her sister. They have reprinted up to volume 9 out of the 68 volumes in total.
The volumes 1 and 7 to 9 will be released for free as yonkoma manga covering from the valuable episode 1, which was serialized in the newspaper on Apr. 22, 1946 (Shouwa 21), to 1951 (Showa 26).
The whole family, including both the children and the elderly, will be able to enjoy it, and since there are also annotations and newspaper publication dates, it will be good studying material of the Shouwa era.
