Ranald MacDonald: A Manga of His Adventure in Japan

Award winning team of Sean Michael Wilson and Akiko Shimojima present their 10th book together, on the adventure of Ranald MacDonald in 19th century Japan.

In 1848, the half Scottish, half Native American MacDonald hatched a wild plan to sneak into Japan – something strictly forbidden at the time, sometimes even facing the punishment of execution. In this manga we see how he carried out his plan after leaving his home area in north west America, and the adventures he had while in captivity in Hokkaido and Nagasaki.

MacDonald is credited by some as being the first native speaker to officially teach English in Japan. His students, while under the care of the Governor of Nagasaki, included those Japanese who would go on to act as interpreters for the treaties with various foreign governments in the 1850s and 60s. Therefore, the renegade MacDonald played an important role in the opening up of Japan after more than 250 years of isolation.