British Museum - Discover the power of manga

Enter the world of manga...

Visually immersive, dramatic and playful, in manga images rule supreme – the Japanese characters translate as 'pictures run riot' or 'pictures unbounded'. But how do you read it? And when did it emerge? Ahead of our major manga exhibition, we reveal more about the art form that's now a global phenomenon.

Manga's roots can be traced back as far as AD 1200 – by the 18th century artists were creating illustrated novels that commented on contemporary society, as in the work above by Santō Kyōden. The form as it is known today emerged in newspaper cartoon strips in the 1920s. Manga is now a multi-billion pound industry, available in many formats and languages.

Traditionally, manga books are opened with the spine on the right and read from the top right corner to the lower left corner of a page. Kono Fumiyo recently published a book called Giga Town, which helps explain the symbols used in manga. Above you can see her heroine Mimi-chan racing a turtle. The scene helps explain the meaning of spirals in manga – to show movement or giddiness.

Sound effects like onomatopoeia are often drawn into the composition of manga, making them part of the image. Blue Giant Supreme by Ishizuka Shinichi tells the tale of an aspiring saxophonist called Miyamoto Dai. The music scenes are dramatic – tightly drawn lines enhance a Japanese sound effect symbol reading ‘baaaaaa’!

Different strands of manga have evolved for different audiences – shōnen manga is aimed at young men, and shōjo manga at young women. Hagio Moto is a pioneer of shōjo manga, creating the Poe Clan series in the 1970s. Revolving around a secret family of vampires, the series is still popular over 40 years later – in 2018 the manga magazine flowers (shown above) started publishing a new storyline.

Discover more about manga and enter a world where art and storytelling collide in our groundbreaking exhibition. Coming soon – book your tickets today!

The Citi exhibition Manga マンガ 23 May – 29 August 2019

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Manga at the British Museum

Explore the Museum like never before in a special manga series inspired by the collection. Professor Munakata's British Museum Adventure is a dynamic story of mystery and danger – available in our shop!

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