Moongaze Ginji

MOONGAZE GINJI
A celebrated Fast Food Grifter who emerged from the black market immediately following World War II, Ginji was glorified as the finest of disciples in the 1000 years of fast food history. He disappeared leaving countless legends behind him. His specialty was lectures on moongaze soba noodles. Nothing is known of this man: his birthplace, birth date or background.

Kaito Kisshoji
(Shizuoka Prefecture, 1962). Freelance journalist. His fashion trademarks, a black hat and an Inverness, have become the visual model for Moongaze Ginji since the days of the novel's serialization.

WORDS
Shinada: Gimme a break! It's only a bowl of noodles!
Narrator: "Indeed, it's only a bowl of noodles," Ginji might have muttered as well. And it can also be presumed, almost without fail, that he would have likely added, "It's only a bowl of noodles with loads of bogus ingredients. No, it's only a substitute made from bogus ingredients. But still," he could go on, "it's a nice landscape, don't you think?"

THE AGE OF MOONGAZE GINJI
1902 * Meiji Emperor dies; end of the Meiji Era, Taisho Era starts.

1926 * Taisho Emperor dies; end of the Taisho Era, Showa Era starts.

1931 * Machurian Incident: the Japanese Army starts the occupation of Manchuria.

1937 * Marco Polo Bridge Incident: outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War; Nanjing Massacre.

1941 * Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor: the Pacific War commences.

1945 * Japan's defeat in the Pacific War; GHQ of Allied Forces occupies Japan under MacArthur's command; the black market prospers. * Moongaze Ginji carries out his scam at "Tokumitsu's." * Japan rises from the ashes. Reintegration to the international community. Mistrust of the authority. A Season of Politics.

© 2006 MAMORU OSHII, Production I.G / TACHIGUISHI RETSUDEN Committee