Norakuro
Japanese media franchise
title: "Norakuro" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1931-manga", "1933-animated-short-films", "1933-anime-films", "1933-films", "1934-animated-short-films", "1934-anime-films", "1934-films", "1935-anime-films", "1935-films", "1938-anime-films", "1938-films", "1970-anime-television-series-debuts", "1971-japanese-television-series-endings", "1981-comics-endings", "1987-anime-television-series-debuts", "1988-japanese-television-series-endings", "animated-television-series-about-dogs", "anime-and-manga-characters-introduced-in-1931", "anime-series-based-on-manga", "anime-short-films", "comics-about-anthropomorphic-dogs", "comics-about-talking-animals", "eiken-(studio)", "fuji-television-original-programming", "kodansha-manga", "manga-adapted-into-films", "military-anime-and-manga", "pre-1945-manga", "shōnen-manga", "studio-pierrot", "war-in-anime-and-manga"] description: "Japanese media franchise" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norakuro" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Japanese media franchise ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox animanga/Header"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Norakuro bunkoban vol. 1.png |
| caption | Manga volume 1 cover (1975 ja edition) |
| ja_kanji | のらくろ |
| genre | |
| :: |
| image = Norakuro bunkoban vol. 1.png | caption = Manga volume 1 cover (1975 ja edition) | ja_kanji = のらくろ | genre = | type = manga | author = Suihō Tagawa | publisher = Kodansha | magazine = Shōnen Kurabu | magazine_en = {{English manga magazine | US = Kramer's Ergot | first = 1931 | last = 1981 | volumes = 36 | volume_list = | type = tv series | director = Toru Murayama | producer = | writer = | music = Hidehiko Arashino | studio = TCJ | network = FNS (Fuji TV) | first = 5 October 1970 | last = 29 March 1971 | episodes = 26 | episode_list = | type = tv series | title = Norakuro-kun | director = Masami Anno | producer = | writer = | music = | studio = Pierrot | network = FNS (Fuji TV) | first = 4 October 1987 | last = 2 October 1988 | episodes = 50 | episode_list =
Norakuro is a Japanese manga series created by Suihō Tagawa, originally published by Kodansha in Shōnen Kurabu, and one of the first series' to be reprinted in ja format. The titular protagonist, Norakuro, or Norakuro-kun, is an anthropomorphic black and white dog inspired by Felix the Cat. The name Norakuro is an abbreviation of norainu and Kurokichi.
Media
Manga
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Norakuro01.jpg" caption="English version of a 1937 ''Norakuro'' strip as published in the sixth ''[[Kramer's Ergot]]'' comics anthology."] ::
In the original story, the central character Norakuro was a soldier serving in an army of dogs called the "fierce dogs regiment". The strip's publication began in Kodansha's Shōnen Kurabu in 1931, and was based on the Imperial Japanese Army of the time; the manga artist, Suihō Tagawa, had served in the Imperial Army from 1919 to 1922. Norakuro was gradually promoted from private to captain in the stories, which began as humorous episodes, but eventually developed into propaganda tales of military exploits against the "pigs army" on the "continent" - a thinly veiled reference to the Second Sino-Japanese War. The series became a hit in Japan; Shonen Kurabu's circulation was of 750.000 in 1936, and several Norakuro-themed merchandise (toys, stationery and other products - licensed or not) were sold. Kimihiko Nakamura argues that "Norakuro connected children with the war and became a representative of wartime children's culture as an unofficial propaganda hero."
Serialization of Norakuro stopped in 1941 for wartime austerity reasons. After the war, due to the popularity of the strip, the character returned in various guises, including a sumo wrestler and a botanist.
There is an excerpt that appears in the sixth Kramer's Ergot comics anthology which is the only example of Tagawa's work published in English.
Short films
At least seven extant animated short films featuring Norakuro were made from June 1933 to 1939.
::data[format=table]
| English title | Japanese title | Release date | Directed by | Written by | Studio | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327165154/http://www.digital-meme.com/en/our_products/dvds/4dvdset2.html | archive-date=27 March 2016 | url=http://www.digital-meme.com/en/our_products/dvds/4dvdset2.html | title=Japanese Anime Classic Collection [Disc 2] | publisher=www.digital-meme.com | access-date=2016-01-10}} | のらくろ二等兵 演習の巻 |
| Suihō Tagawa | Yokohama Cinema Company | 1 film reel | ||||
| Private 2nd Class Nora-kuro: The Drill | のらくろ二等兵 教練の巻 | 14 June 1933 | Yasuji Murata | Chuzo Aochi & | ||
| Suihō Tagawa | Yokohama Cinema Company | 1 film reel | ||||
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810210058/http://www.digital-meme.com/en/our_products/dvds/4dvdset3.html | archive-date=10 August 2017 | url=http://www.digital-meme.com/en/our_products/dvds/4dvdset3.html | title=Japanese Anime Classic Collection [Disc 3] | publisher=www.digital-meme.com | access-date=2016-01-10}} | のらくろ伍長 |
| Suihō Tagawa | Yokohama Cinema Company | 11 minutes | ||||
| Private 1st Class Nora-Kuro | のらくろ一等兵 | 1935 | Mitsuyo Seo | Suihō Tagawa | Seo Talkie Manga Labs | 1 film reel |
| Private 2nd Class Nora-Kuro | のらくろ二等兵 | 1935 | Mitsuyo Seo | Suihō Tagawa | Seo Talkie Manga Labs | 2 film reels |
| Nora-Kuro's Tiger Hunt | のらくろ虎退治 | 1938 | Mitsuyo Seo | Suihō Tagawa | Geijutsu Eiga Sha | 10 minutes |
| title=国産動画 - のらくろシリーズ｜玩具映画フィルム｜おもちゃ映画ミュージアム | url=http://toyfilm-museum.jp/film/domestic/norakuro | access-date=2023-10-06 | website=おもちゃ映画ミュージアム | language=ja}} | のらくろ軍曹 空襲の巻 | c.1939 |
| :: |
Anime series
Two post-war animated series of Norakuro, in 1970 and 1987, have also been produced. In the 1970 series, the voice of Norakuro was played by Nobuyo Ōyama, also known as the voice of Doraemon. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Norakuro was the mascot of the Physical Training School (Tai-Iku Gakko) of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
Notes
References
References
- Jason S. Yadao. The Rough Guide to Manga
- ""Norakuro" {{pipe".
- Exner, Eike. (2021-11-12). "Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History". Rutgers University Press.
- Skabelund, Aaron. (2011-12-15). "Empire of Dogs: Canines, Japan, and the Making of the Modern Imperial World". Cornell University Press.
- (2022-09-22). "Manga: A Critical Guide". Bloomsbury Publishing.
- McCarthy, Helen. (2014-06-16). "A Brief History of Manga". Octopus.
- Nakamura, Kimihiko. "Norakuro: Imperial Japan's Unofficial Mascot for Children". Aziatische Kunst.
- Deppey, Dirk. (25 September 2006). "Kramers Ergot 6". [[The Comics Journal]].
- "Japanese Anime Classic Collection [Disc 2]". www.digital-meme.com.
- "のらくろ二等兵 演習の巻 - のらくろ二等兵 教練の巻". animation.filmarchives.jp.
- "Japanese Anime Classic Collection [Disc 3]". www.digital-meme.com.
- "のらくろ一等兵". [[Japanese Movie Database]].
- "のらくろ二等兵". [[Japanese Movie Database]].
- "NoraKuro's Tiger Hunt". Japanese Movie Database.
- "国産動画 - のらくろシリーズ｜玩具映画フィルム｜おもちゃ映画ミュージアム".
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