A virgin high school student goes back in time to “Prostitution Island” at the height of the 1980s! What is the charm of the manga “Prostitution Island 1981”?

Prostitution Island 1981″ is a comic based on Mizuho Takagi’s “Prostitution Island: Report on Watakano Island, the Last Peach Blossom Land” (Saizusha), which was published in 2005 and became an unprecedented bestseller as a documentary. The manga has already been serialized in the October issue of “Jitsuwa Knuckles,” and an electronic version will be available at Amazon Kindle and other e-bookstores from December 22.

Prostitution Island” is a reportage about Watakanojima, a remote island in Mie Prefecture. Watakanojima is a small island with a circumference of 7 km and a population of about 200 people, located in Matoya Bay at the tip of the Shima Peninsula. The island was once an urban legend as a “modern-day Shangri-La,” with Okiya (brothels) all over the island and male tourists flocking to the island for prostitution. The story of the island’s history and the origins of the prostitution industry, as well as detailed interviews with people who knew the island in its heyday, have been revealed and have caused quite a sensation.

The comic book version of the story is not a non-fiction work, but an original story based on Takagi’s original story. The story takes place in 1981, when “Watakanojima” was at its most “dangerous”.

The main character is a high school student who grew up in a poor family in Tokyo. He lives a miserable life, resenting his father, who he was told by his mother had died in an accident. One day he happens to learn that his father was from “Watakanojima” and was alive until recently. He is curious about his father and travels to the island, but it has become an ordinary tourist attraction, and there is no trace of the “prostitution island” of old.

However, a chance time-travel accident leads him to Watakanojima 42 years ago, where he finds himself in the midst of an ostensibly glamorous and joyous life. On the surface, Watakanojima was a glamorous entertainment district, but behind the scenes, it was a world of hell for women. And the man who reigned there was the father….

The comic is an original story inspired by the early 1980s, when “Prostitution Island” was at its peak. While I was doing a lot of research on the island, there are quite a few stories that I couldn’t write down in the book because I couldn’t get the proof. I was told that prostitutes were forced to work on the island under the influence of drugs, and that a gang from the Kansai region was distributing drugs on the island. I am planning to include such stories in the book.

The drawings are by Taro Kanafuro, a horror manga artist who has gained a cult following for his dark style. This issue of the magazine is pleased to present the first episode of the manga as a special feature. We look forward to seeing what kind of drama will unfold on “Prostitution Island” in the 1980s as a result of Takagi and Kanafuro’s teamwork.

Prostitution Island 1981″ eBookJapan

Also available on amazon kindle and other e-bookstores