Manga

:This article is about the Japanese medium. For other uses see Manga (disambiguation)

Origins

Literally translated, manga means "random (or whimsical) pictures". The word first came into common usage after the publication of the 19th century Hokusai Manga, containing assorted drawings from the sketchbook of the famous ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. However, gi-ga (lit. "funny pictures") drawn in the 12th century by various artists contain many manga-like qualities such as emphasis on story and simple, artistic lines.

Related Topics:
19th century - Hokusai Manga - Ukiyo-e - Hokusai - Gi-ga - 12th century

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and Western art movements. When the United States began trading with Japan, Japan tried to modernise itself and catch up with the rest of the world. Thus, they imported Western artists to teach their students things such as line, form and colour (things which were never concentrated on in ukiyo-e as the idea behind the picture was normally considered more important). Manga as people know it in the 20th and 21st centuries only really came into being after World War II when the government bans on any non-propaganda were lifted and many publishers sprang up.

Related Topics:
Ukiyo-e - United States - Japan - World War II - Propaganda

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 20th century, manga came to refer to comics, though in Japan, the word is more commonly used to describe children's animation; the English word is actually the main term in use. Though roughly equivalent to the American comic book, manga holds more importance in Japanese culture than comics do in American culture. Manga is well respected both as an art form and as a form of popular literature. Like its American counterpart, manga has been criticized for being violent and sexual; however, there have been no official inquiries or laws that have tried to limit what can be drawn in manga, except for fuzzy decency laws that apply to all published materials, stating that "overly indecent materials should not be sold". This freedom has allowed artists to draw manga for every age group and about every topic.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~