Tree in the Sun, A (Manga)

Also known as 陽だまりの樹 (Hidamari no Ki)

Sometimes referred to as Tezuka’s Ancestor Dr. Ryoan, Osamu Tezuka’s series A Tree in the Sun (1981-86) was originally published in Big Comic from April 25, 1981 to December 25, 1986.  Based on the life of Tezuka’s real-life ancestors, Ryoan Tezuka, it is one of Osamu Tezuka’s three medical dramas, with the other two being Ode to Kirihito (1970-71) and Black Jack (1973-83).

What it’s about

Ryoan and Manjiro’s first meeting

A Tree in the Sun (1981-86) centers around the lives of two young men, as they struggle to come to terms with the political turbulence and social upheaval in Japan in the late 1800s, during the transition from the Edo to the Meiji periods (commonly referred to as the Meiji Restoration).  On the one hand, there is Dr. Ryoan Tezuka, a young medical student attracted to the radical new ideas brought about by the entry of Western (particularly Dutch) medicine.  On the other, is Manjiro Ibuya, a young and fearless samurai who is a staunch supporter of tradition and honour above all.  While Manjiro is determined to live the vanishing way of life of the samurai, Ryoan is just as determined to clear the way for modern medicine, fighting against ignorance and superstition.

It also doesn’t help that they both love the same woman.

When Manjiro is severely wounded in a duel sparked by a matter of honour, he is brought to the Tezuka medical clinic for treatment.  Although his father is out, the young medical student Ryoan successfully treats Manjiro’s wounds using techniques he’s gleaned from studying translated Dutch medical textbooks.  Far from being grateful, however, Manjiro is horrified at the thought of having these “newfangled” treatments inflicted upon him.

Ryoan and Manjiro meet O-Seki

Although his father, the respected doctor, Ryosen Tezuka is also a proponent of integrating Western medicine into Japan – specifically in the form of a smallpox vaccination centre – he favours a slow and methodical approach.  However, the younger Ryoan, a brash youth with a fondness for chasing young women, sees his father’s way as being restrictive and limiting.

Of course fate plays a hand, and both young men cross paths with, and quick become enchanted by, the beautiful O-Seki, the daughter of a respected Temple priest.  However, despite their attentions, the young lady can only debate the pros and cons of a future with either a handsome doctor with strange new ideas and a playboy tendencies, or a rugged, shy and stoic man for whom upholding the bloody samurai ideals of duty and honour are a way of life.  The matter is soon put on hold when Ryosen Tezuka announces he’s sending his wayward son to Osaka to study at Tekijuku, the premiere school of Dutch medicine in Japan – the cost of which will necessitate him putting his own dreams of treating smallpox on hold.

The Americans arrive in Osaka

Despite good intentions, Ryoan soon discovers the life of a student isn’t an easy one, and he’s soon seen regularly frequenting the pleasure houses of Osaka rather than concentrating on his studies.  Meanwhile, back in Edo (Tokyo), after Manjiro ends up saving a large number of people seeking shelter from an earthquake at O-Seki’s family temple (despite originally simply intending to ensure O-Seki’s safety), he makes a name for himself in the upper echelons of samurai society.  This leads to him being given an assignment of the utmost importance to the shogunate… Acting as the guide (and handler) of Mr. Harris and Mr. Heuksen, the two emissaries from the United States of America.  Although he begrudgingly accepts the assignment, his initial distrust (and distaste) of the Americans eventually turns to respect and then a kind of friendship.  However, Manjiro soon discovers that being friends with the Americans is no easy task.  After Heuksen starts to lust after a local geisha girl, Manjiro is forced to navigate a great many cultural pitfalls.  To make matters worse, he begins to question the toll that spying on men he has come to consider his friends, takes on his own honour.

Manjiro ready for war

For his part, Ryoan’s brash attitude puts him in direct opposition with the traditional remedies and theories of the established Shogunate medical community – the very same people that need to be convinced to issued a permit so that Ryosen and his son can finally open their dreamed of smallpox vaccination program.  Ryoan soon begins to understand that the only way to combat the systemic opposition to new-found medical knowledge is to craft complex political relationships of his own.

Each man’s personal drama unfolds, with Ryoan eventually settling down, getting married, and taking over the medical practice from his father, while Manjiro rises through the ranks of samurai society.  However, the tumultuous times eventually weave their own personal dramas into the the larger tapestry of the nation itself.  And so, as the violent end of the Edo era comes crashing into the start of the Meiji, both men find themselves drawn into the army on the even of a civil war.

What you should know

In 1981, after giving a talk at a medical university, a medical researcher who had been in the audience contacted Tezuka and sent him some documents detailing his own family history in medicine.  Not only was Osamu Tezuka himself a medical doctor, but he was also part of a medical dynasty of sorts – his great-great-grandfather, Ryoan Tezuka, is considered as the first modern army doctor in Japan, and a man who did much to introduce Western medical knowledge to Japan.  This inspired Tezuka to create A Tree in the Sun (1981-86), as a period medical drama – one which weaves historical fact and fiction in detailing the stories of Ryosen Tezuka and his son Ryoan Tezuka.

Tekijuku medical school

Also, much like he did in his earlier medical dramas, Tezuka continued to explore the theme of the rigidity of the Japanese medical system.  Although, unlike those earlier works, such as Ode to Kirihito (1970-71), which detailed the systemic corruption inherent in the rise to power of senior medical doctors, or the wish-fulfillment of having a rogue medical genius who operates outside of the confines of the established community in Black Jack (1973-83), in A Tree in the Sun (1981-86), Tezuka details the medical community’s historical resistance to change.  One of the key plot threads of the story revolves around Ryosen and Ryoan Tezuka attempting to obtain a permit to open a smallpox vaccination clinic.  However, blocking them at every turn are the traditional medical practitioners, whose superstitious theories and close-minded grip on the power that comes from being the recognized authority on a subject, frustrate the forward-thinking Tezuka family to no end.  Rather than recognizing the curative powers inherent in the scientifically-based Western medical knowledge, traditional medicine stubbornly clings to charms and medallions needed to chase off demons and evil spirits.  Although the Tezuka family eventually is granted permission to immunize the Osaka population against smallpox, it is only achieved through a complex series of political alliances and machinations, rather than an educated desire to help the people.

It is also interesting to note that Tezuka’s attention to detail includes a meticulous rendering of the building where the Tekijuku medical school once stood in Osaka.  Now part of the Osaka University Medical school, the original building is a preserved historical site, a fact that allowed Tezuka to incorporate a great deal of realism and credibility to his manga story.