Kanikousen

“Time to go to hell!”

Anyone who boards the Hakuko Maru ship is alerted to their destination. It seems to be the only alternative left for those unemployed, bankrupt small traders, landless peasants, poor young people and others rejected by society. Still, no one is prepared for the hell that is the ship's routine. In that mix of boat and factory, on the high seas, workers have no rights and are at the mercy of brutal exploitation and violence from the fishing conglomerate's foremen. Some die from malnutrition, others from mistreatment. The workers then discover that, if they don't want to work themselves to death, they will have to resist and fight for their lives.

A classic of 20th century Japanese literature, an exciting comic book version. Originally published in 1929, the novel Kanikosen cost the life of its author, Takiji Kobayashi. Because of the book's enormous success, Kobayashi aroused the ire of the Japanese government and ruling classes. After living in hiding for some time, the writer was arrested, brutally tortured and, finally, murdered by the police in 1933. He was just 29 years old.

Kanikosen was banned for many years, but was eventually rediscovered and, since then, it has been one of Japan's most cultivated novels, with several versions for cinema, theater and this celebrated manga adaptation by Gō Fujio.