The Man Who Cleans the Filth 不浄を拭うひと

The Man Who Cleans the Filth Review (Rating: 4/5)

Overview

The Man Who Cleans the Filth (不浄を拭うひと) is a non-fiction manga by Bakka Okita (沖田×華), a Japanese author known for her deeply personal, reality-based works such as The Transparent Cradle (透明なゆりかご).
In this series, Okita turns her attention to the rarely seen world of “special cleaning” — the job of restoring homes where people have died alone, often unnoticed for days or weeks.

This is not a story of horror or mystery, but of humanity, dignity, and the quiet traces people leave behind after death.
Wikipedia (English): none available

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What Is “Special Cleaning”?

For many foreign readers, the concept of “special cleaning” (tokushu seisou) may be unfamiliar.
In Japan, where aging and single-person households are increasing, “kodokushi” (孤独死, lonely deaths) have become a serious social issue.
When someone dies alone and is not discovered immediately, the environment of the room often deteriorates rapidly. Biological fluids, odor, and even insects can make the site uninhabitable.

Special cleaning refers to the professional service of cleaning and restoring such places to a livable condition.
However, it’s not merely about physical cleaning — it is also about respecting the dignity of the deceased and helping families face the reality of loss.
This occupation requires not only technical skill but also emotional strength and empathy.

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Synopsis

The story follows Masato Yamada, a 39-year-old man who quits his corporate job and starts working in the special cleaning industry.
He is not driven by ambition or thrill, but by curiosity — and perhaps a quiet desire to understand what lies at the edge of life.

Each chapter presents a new site: a small apartment where an old man passed away unnoticed, a suburban home where a mother and child once lived, a narrow room filled with mementos of a forgotten life.
Through these scenes, Yamada comes to see not only the traces of death but also the evidence of how each person lived.

Rather than focusing on fear or morbidity, the manga portrays the beauty and sadness of human existence, revealed in the quiet aftermath of death.

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Main Character

Masato Yamada (山田正人) — Age 39.
After leaving his office job, Yamada begins working as a special cleaner. He faces death directly, yet never sensationalizes it.
His calm and matter-of-fact approach allows readers to see the emotional weight of the job without excessive dramatization.
Through his eyes, we encounter both the loneliness and the dignity of human life — the stories left behind in empty rooms.

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Story Structure and Themes

The manga is structured as a collection of episodic stories, each focusing on a different case.
While the scenes vary, a common theme runs throughout: every death tells a story.

Yamada’s work brings him into contact with many kinds of lives — an elderly recluse, a once-successful businessman, a young person whose dreams were cut short.
Each home reveals remnants of personal history: a photo album, a half-eaten meal, a notebook with unfulfilled plans.

Okita’s art style is unflinching yet compassionate.
The drawings capture the stark reality of decay, but never exploit it.
There is no melodrama here; instead, the author observes the world with quiet precision, allowing readers to confront uncomfortable truths — not with fear, but with empathy.

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Distinctive Features of the Work

One of the most distinctive aspects of The Man Who Cleans the Filth is its emotional restraint.
Okita does not moralize or idealize the job. She simply shows it as it is — a mixture of unpleasant sights, difficult emotions, and unexpected moments of grace.

Her background in social-issue-based storytelling gives this manga a documentary-like realism.
Readers learn not only about the logistics of cleaning but also about the social conditions behind each death: aging isolation, economic hardship, and the fragmentation of community ties in modern Japan.

Despite the heavy subject matter, the manga never feels hopeless.
By confronting death directly, it paradoxically reaffirms life.
Each story suggests that what truly defines us is not how we die, but how we have lived — and how others remember us after we are gone.

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My Impressions

This is a deeply realistic and powerful work.
Before reading it, I had little understanding of what “special cleaning” really involved.
Through this manga, I realized that behind every cleanup lies a rich, complex human drama.

When a person’s life comes to an end, it’s as if everything they were is condensed into that final moment and space.
Even someone who lived a fulfilled life might face a lonely death — there is no guarantee of peace or closure.
Special cleaners, therefore, witness the raw reality of how people’s stories conclude.

From death, we are made to think about life, meaning, and what truly matters.
It feels strange at first — to find life lessons in the act of cleaning after death — but as the story progresses, it begins to make perfect sense.

This manga also reflects the current social reality of Japan — one that may be difficult for foreign readers to fully grasp.
There are indeed graphic and unsettling depictions, but they serve a purpose.
They remind us that death is not an abstraction. It is part of life, and acknowledging it may help us live more consciously.

For that reason, I believe The Man Who Cleans the Filth is absolutely worth reading.

(If there are parts you find hard to understand, or if this differs from your country’s experience, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.)

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Conclusion

The Man Who Cleans the Filth is not a horror story — it is a meditation on life, death, and human dignity.
Through the quiet perspective of one man, it offers a window into a world that most people never see.

Okita’s understated narrative invites reflection rather than shock.
By looking directly at death, she leads readers to rediscover the fragile beauty of life.

It’s a manga that lingers in the mind long after the last page.
If you are interested in Japanese society, or if you simply want to read something that challenges your understanding of what it means to live — this book will stay with you.