Japanese Culture & History in Manga

Useful Manga (& Related Western) Titles

• [A Drifting Life @ D&Q >>]
• Barefoot Gen by Nakazawa = Hiroshima, as told by a survivor…
• Buddha by Tezuka
• Iguana Girl by Hagio Moto
• Daa! Daa! Daa! [Wikipedia article]
•  Doraemon [Wikipedia article]
•  NARUTO
•  [ Wikipedia article ]
•  [Influence of Japanese history and legends]
•  Walking Man
• Yakitate!! Japan [ Wikipedia article | cultural significance ]
• …

SHIGERU MIZUKE:

•  Nonnonba [preview PDF]
•  Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths [preview PDF]
• 
  Showa series (Shigeru Mizuki) = History of modern Japan in manga format [PREVIEW PDFs: 1926-1939 | 1939-1944 ] [1944-1953]
•  Japan Times’ profile of Mizuki >>

Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind Links

• www.nausicaa.net= A thorough fan site.
  • The site’s Manga Page
  • Interviews: Miyazaki
    • “Money Can’t Buy Creativity”
    • “After Nausicaa” (influences, themes, etc.)
• Nausicaa on Wikipedia
• …

General Manga Links

• “Manga”on Wikipedia, including major styles:
  • Shonen Manga
  • Shojo Mangai
  • “Chibi” (“cute, little” … a.k.a. “Super-Deformed”)
  • Gekiga = “dramatic pictures” = more realism & mature material…
• “A Beginner’s Guide to Reading Manga”
• Manga Techniques from Deleter.com

Historical Connections

• 
  One Thousand Years of Manga (Bridgette Koyama-Richard)
  + PW Interview: “The Historical Roots of Manga”

• “Japanese painting” on wikipedia
• Ukiyo-e = “floating world” woodblock prints ~ MIT Collection: Western Industry Russo-Japanese War Perry: Encounters  Perry: Demon Ships  Perry: Portraits Perry: The Black Ship Scroll ~
• Kibyoshi= 18th-century Japanese storybooks, a.k.a. “Yellow-Covers” [on wikipedia]

  • Hokusai (1760-1849)
     Complete works of Hokusai

  • Santo Kyoden (1761-1816) ~ Sample books @ Archive.Org = Kibyoshi jusshu + Mukashi gatari inazuma hyoshi
• Kamishibai = 12th-20th century sequential storytelling, or “storycard theatre” [Kamishibai history]
• Samurai = Pre-industrial Japanese warrior class
• “Fart-War” (c. 1700?) = Sigh…. Well, you’d probably find out about this sooner or later.

Scholarly Articles & Review Sites

• Visual Cultural Research in Art Education= manga, anime, and more
  • “Cross-Cultural Analysis of Artistic Development: Drawing by Japanese and U.S. Children” = article on manga’s influence on the cognitive and artistic development of Japanese students.
• About Japan: A Teacher’s Resource
  • “Anime and Manga: It’s Not All Make-Believe”
• manga4kids.com = A thorough & helpful index of titles, with recommendations and discussions of appropriate content, themes, etc.
• Matt Thorn’s Manga-Gaku site
  • History of Manga = Cultural roots of manga, including ancestors, direct & indirect
  • “Selling Ice to Eskimos” = What do Japanese readers see in American comics?
  • “The Grammar of Manga” = How manga affects the reader
  • “What Shojo Manga Are and Are Not” = An overview of a popular manga subcategory
• Osamu Tezuka’s Museum Website

Manga (& Japanese Culture) in the News

• NPR on International Comics (with some Manga-oriented articles) (Can anyone explain why this series is called, “Men in Tights”?)
  • “Japan’s Comic Book Export” (January 2003) = Anime and manga culture (via Shonen Jump magazine) in the USA
  • “Librarians Harvest New Manga Titles at Comicon” (July 2008)
• “‘Soft Power’ part of balancing act” = Japanese culture (manga & anime, specifically) on the world stage, from CNN.com
• “What Your Global Neighbors are Buying” = a NYTimes.com interactive graphic on “discretionary income.”  (Watch Japan across the categories…)
• “Manga for Girls” = from NYTimes.com
• “The Bottom of a Bottomless Barrel: Introducing Akahon Manga” (from The Comics Journal)