The Only Amazing Manga Museum in the World 2021
Kyoto Manga Museum, famed for its geisha girls and global warming protocol, is also home to the only museum catering to manga, i.e. Japanese comics of wide-eyed heroes and heroines. The Kyoto International Manga Museum opened in November 2006 in a refurbished primary school and houses approximately 200,000 manga books and assorted historical items. On any given day, the museum is packed with delighted children as stacks and stacks of manga books are freely available for viewing.
Under the auspices of Kyoto Seika University, the ambitious International Manga Research Center systematically collects manga-related materials both Japanese and foreign, and analog and digital for its archives. Researchers study manga’s influence in light of cultural history and media theory and educational tools will be developed based on this study. Organizers do not see manga as a passing pop culture fad, but as a serious area of scholarly study that can boost Japan’s industry and educational areas. They see it as an effective means for business communication and that it can be used to strengthen networks of industry, government and academia.
An historical exhibition titled “Japanese Manga in 1945 – 1954” features rare post-war publications. Even though the war almost ended Japanese comics due to paper shortages and cartoonists being drafted, several key artists worked hard to continue to publish and newspaper comics were becoming popular. However, comics radically changed when two new cartoonists arrived on the scene: Osamu Tezuka who is known for his Astro Boy was inspired by Fukujiro Yokoi’s robot boy comics. The futuristic plot lines and speedy actions of the characters influenced today’s manga.
Next year, the museum plans to host the International Manga Summit which organizers believe will boost tourism and cultural promotion and as a way to create cultural exchange as cartoonists from around the world are invited to participate.
Kyoto International Manga Museum
Karasuma-Oike Nakagyo-ku
Kyoto, Japan
Tel: +81-75-254-7414
www.kyotomm.jp
The Kyoto International Manga Museum opened in November 2006 in a refurbished primary school and houses approximately 200,000 manga books and assorted historical items.
Category: Culture
