The History(ies) of Manga

1. The History(ies) of Manga Presented to the Graphic Novel Society this fine day in May. 5/14/2010

2. 1200 Manga? Art? Shigisan-engi (信貴山縁起?, lit. "Legend of Mount Shigi") is a scroll painting done in the early 12th century. The story details miracles which were attributed to the Shingon monk Myoren, who resided on Mount Shigi near Nara in Japan in the latter part of the 9th century. The tales are composed in the genre of engi.Engi is a narrative that chronicles the founding of a Buddhist establishment which, in the case of the Shigisan engi, is Chogosonshi-ji, founded by Myoren. The tales are painted in a style called otoko-e, or "men's pictures", a style characterized by active movement, outdoor scenes and a certain feeling of lacking restraint. The work is also a prime example of Heian scroll painting. As a work that draws from classical Japanese culture, it is referred to as yamato-e (as opposed to the Chinese themes inherent in kara-e.)

3. 1700: Kibyoshi Some argue that Kibyoshi might have some aspect as a foundation for modern day manga. These were illustrated picture books that came about sometime during the 1700s. Kern argues that Kibyoshi had many similar narratives to modern day manga, with the characteristic wit, charm, satire and romance that is found in today’s manga. Kern, Adam. 2006. Manga from the Floating World: Comicbook Culture and the Kibyoshi of Edo Japan. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

4. Pre-World War II - Summary • Some argue that Manga arose pre-World War II • Historians argue amongst themselves that Kibyoshi and other types of graphic literature or graphic art forms are the pre-cursors or certain indicators for what is known as Manga today. • What is a good way to make an argument? Define what manga is today and apply a litmus test!

5. The Comic Style : World War II • -World War II was a game-changer for the nation of Japan. • The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the surrender treaty, forever impacted the Japanese peoples’ psyches and artistic interpretations. • A side effect of the war was that the U.S. became a constant in Japanese affairs, whether they were cultural, military, political or social. • Last Note – In 1947 the Japanese Constitution got rid of ALL forms of Censorship – wonder why Manga is so varied? Article 21 of the Japanese Peace Treaty Constitution. Astro Boy is the first Japanese television series that embodied the aesthetic that later became familiar worldwide as anime. It originated as a manga in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka, revered in Japan as the "God of Manga.

6. Continuance: Genres Arise! • Post WWII Manga had both male & female genres, with the start of shojou and shonen found in Sazae-san and Astroboy. • Sazae-san (サザエさん)is a Japanese comic strip created by Machiko Hasegawa. • Sazae-san was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the FukunichiShimbun (フクニチ新聞?), on April 22, 1946. When the Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞?)wished to have Hasegawa draw the comic strip for their paper, she moved to Tokyo in 1949 with the explanation that the main characters had moved from Kyūshū to Tokyo as well. The comic dealt with contemporary situations in Tokyo until Hasegawa retired and ended the comic on February 21, 1974. As one of Japan's longest running and oldest comic strips and animations, the series is known to nearly every Japanese person, young and old.

8. Shōjo • The term shōjo, shojo, or shoujomanga (少女漫画, shōjomanga?) refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10 and 18. The name romanizes the Japanese少女(shōjo), literally: "little girl". • This is Sailor Moon, started in 1991 and known the world over for revitalizing the magic-girl team genre.

10. Shōnen • The term shōnen, shonen, or shounenmanga (少年漫画, shōnenmanga) refers to manga marketed to a male audience roughly between the ages of 10 and 18. The Kanji characters (少年) literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters (漫画) generally mean "comic". The complete phrase literally means "young person's comic." Examples include Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, Digimon, One Piece, Saint Seiya, RurouniKenshin, InuYasha, YuYuHakusho, Flame of Recca, Detective Conan, Yu-Gi-Oh and Fullmetal Alchemist.

11. WARNING: THE NEXT PAGES MIGHT HAVE CONTROVERSIAL OR RACY IDEAS OR IMAGES. ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO KEEP THIS PG-13, BUT THIS IS A DISCLAIMER – IF YOU DON’T WISH TO DISCUSS OR LISTEN TO THIS INFORMATION PLEASE LEAVE THE ROOM.

12. Erotic Art: A possible avenue for the rise of Modern Manga? China, Korea, Japan • Erotic Art has been ubiquitous in Japanese culture for a long, long time. Shunga(春画)is a Japanese term for erotic art. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format. While rare, there are extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate the Ukiyo-e movement.Translated literally, the Japanese word shunga means picture of spring; "spring" is a common euphemism for sex. • Shunga has its origins in China

13. Censorship and the Restriction of the Arts • The style reached its apex in the Edo period (1603 to 1867). Thanks to woodblock printing techniques, the quantity and quality increased dramatically. There were repeated governmental attempts to suppress shunga, the first of which was an edict issued by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1661 banning, among other things, erotic books known as kōshokubon (好色本?). While other genres covered by the edict, such as works criticising daimyo or samurai, were driven underground by this edict, Shunga continued to be produced with little difficulty.

14. Future of Manga? • Who Knows. Massive explosion after the rapid printing age, and scanlations, dubbing, subbing etc. have expanded the net even further.