2025 Volume 48 Issue 1 Pages 1-14
This paper examines differences in the portrayal of Kenji Miyazawa in elementary school Japanese language textbooks, educational manga, and films. Traditional biographical instruction using only a single text has often been criticized for its limitations, such as preventing learners from engaging with the subject from multiple perspectives or from noticing the author’s voice in the text. In addition, the perceived distance between the biographical subject and the learner has been pointed out as a persistent issue. To address these problems, this study employed comparative reading using multiple texts, including educational manga and films. The aim was to explore the potential of multimedia education and to demonstrate the value of new approaches to biographical materials. The analysis revealed differences in narrative styles across the media and shifts in the image of the subject that each medium conveyed. Furthermore, in classroom practice with fourth-year university students, it was found that each text presented a different impression of the subject. The findings suggest that exposure to diverse aspects of the subject through multiple media can help bridge the gap between the subject and the learners.
