Original comic book published in Japan

By Fr Yoshiki Sekiya, SDB

Tokyo, Japan - A comic book on Don Bosco by the publishing sector of the Salesian Japanese Province (Don Bosco Sha) has come out on 7th May.

Don Bosco Sha had been working on the production this past year together with a professional cartoonist and a professional cartoon editor in order to ensure high-quality of the production to attract the youth of today, even non-Christian youth, with the main target audience being the teenagers.

The story-line is devised in a novel way to let the reader experience encounter with Don Bosco. The main characters, present day teenagers Riku and Mana, are transported back in time to the founding days of Don Bosco’s oratory. Riku and Mana are the typical youth of today who find difficulty in envisioning the future with hopes and dreams, and are frustrated with relationships. They meet the youth of the oratory, get involved in various incidents, and through eye-opening experiences, are helped to grow. In the end, they return to their present day life to start anew with a positive look on life they learned from Don Bosco. The central message is having faith in someone, having someone to have faith in you, and that the key to this is “staying together”.

Illustrator, Mr. Guri SUZUKI is a 38 year old cartoonist. He accompanied the group of young Salesians from Japan on their pilgrimage in order to research for the project. He became friends with the Salesians, saw the holy places of Don Bosco with his own eyes. His own experience of encounter with Don Bosco shines through in the work.

Editorial Supervisor, Fr. Shinjiro Urata, SDB, studied spiritual theology at UPS, holds a doctorate degree in theology and specializes in Don Bosco studies. He accompanied Mr. Guri Suzuki in his research for the project.

The Salesian Japanese Province hopes the production will be read by many people, especially the young, all over the world in different languages.

For more information:

Fr. Yoshiki Sekiya (Salesian Press DON BOSCO SHA, Tokyo, Japan, Japanese Province) db-henshu@donboscosha.jp

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The long awaited opening of the Machida Salesio Kindergarten was celebrated with the entrance of 51 children (26 in the 3 year-old regular class, 25 in the pre-school special course) on 10 April. The cherry blossoms which had bloomed early towards the end of March this year were almost gone, but young shoots of leaves were already energetically appearing and growing on the branches as if to cheer on the little new “Bosconians”, delicate of age, but full of resilient life.

This new Salesian Kindergarten in Machida City, which is in the western part of metropolitan Tokyo and away from its busy center, is located in a growing housing district with many young families moving in, in contrast with the aging population of Japan in general. With Fr. John Tomohiro Kojima as its Director, the kindergarten belongs to the most recently erected Salesian community which also runs the Salesian Polytechnic School in the same compound. The youths of the Polytechnic (15-20 years old) were delighted to see the little kindergarten students move in next door.

The Salesians already had 2 kindergartens in Tokyo, in Adachi and in Meguro. The new kindergarten in Machida was technically supported, especially by Meguro Kindergarten also in personnel. It will share the same spirit, Don Bosco’s preventive system in order to treasure each child.

The parents also look forward to the different activities in collaboration with the Polytechnic School, such as creative experience with the students of design course or experience with robots with the students of mechanical electronics course.