The Japan Foundation has comissioned a Japanese manga expert, Natsume Fusanosuke, to put together this showcase of Japanese short comics presenting one of Japan's longest and largest cultural phenomena.
Although much influenced by Western comics, Japanese manga, which shares its style with traditional art such as scroll paintings, has made its own unique development. This exhibition allows visitors to read the actual dialogues in the drawing panels through the English translations provided.
In European countries, Japanese manga has acquired a stereotype image of depicting violence. However this represents only one part of Japanese manga. On the contrary, the virtue of the art lies in the depiction of Japanese people's ordinary life and in its restrained psychological expression. This exhibition aims to shed a new light on the conventional image that Japanese manga has so far received. It contains 29 artists including Tezuka Osamu, a leading manga artist in post-war Japan (deceased).
Manga Associated events
Saturday Art Workshops(£3, book in advance on 01273 643728)
Saturday 17th November 2.00pm - 4.30pm
Saturday Art Workshops - Manga Mayhem (Fully Booked) with Cartoonist Steve Marchant (For 11 - 18 year olds)
Steve Marchant teaches cartooning skills in London and around the UK, and has produced work for books, magazines, advertising, TV, and web sites. He'll take you through the basics of cartooning, and show you how to give your characters that 'Manga' style.
