A Fukuokan's Notes from Sapporo

In summer, the season when we are expected to remember the war, I often find myself drawn to books related to World War II, such as Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse.

As the end of the year approaches, however, my mood somehow becomes lighter. There is no special reason for this—I am simply swept up by the festive atmosphere in supermarkets. At such times, I reach for something completely different: a manga like Saint Young Men(聖おにいさん),

in which Jesus and Buddha live together in a small, rather shabby (at least for gods) apartment, enjoying their vacation after getting through the turn of the millennium.

There is no religious intention in this comic, nor in this post. It offers nothing more than simple, innocent laughter— perhaps the kind of humor unique to Japan, where it is said there are 8.08 million gods.