Manga Hokusai Manga: Approaching the Master’s Compendium from the Perspective of Contemporary Comics

By introducing some of the similarities and differences between modern Japanese manga, which now enjoy worldwide popularity, and Hokusai Manga, a collection of sketches by the ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), this exhibition sets out to introduce the charms of this unique field of Japanese culture. Focusing on pictorial storytelling and participatory culture of “manga” from different periods, the exhibits include panels, books, videos, and a group of new works by contemporary manga artists.

Directed by
Jaqueline Berndt (Professor, Stockholm University)

Curated by
Yu Ito (Curator, Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center)
Mizuki Takahashi (Senior Curator, Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito)

Art direction by
Shin Sobue

Chapter
<Panel Exhibition> Part 1: Hokusai Manga: Funny Pictures?/Part 2: A Character Named Hokusai/Part 3: Manga-like ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e-like Manga/Part 4: Hokusai Manga: Shared Manual!
<Mangawork Exhibition> Contemporary Manga Artists Revisiting Hokusai Manga

Dates

2027 first semester Kenya *TBC

2026 second semester Benin *TBC

2026 second semester Cote d'Ivoire *TBC

April 23 - August 16, 2026
Museum of Ethnography（Budapest, Hungary)

December 22, 2025 - March 8, 2026
The South Karelia Museum（Lappeenranta, Finland)

October 30 - November 23, 2025
Grafill (Oslo, Norway)

September 10 - 30, 2025
Modern Ary Museum（Yerevan, Armenia)

July 2- 22, 2025
The Omani Society for Fine Arts (Muscat, Oman)

April 30- May 20, 2025
Raas Al-Ain Gallery (Amman, Jordan)

February 16 - March 8, 2025
Beit Amir Al-Bahar, Culture Square, Jeddah Historic District（Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

January 1 - February 8, 2025
SAMoCA (Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art)（Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

October 4 - November 30, 2024
The Japan Cultural Institute in Cologne (Cologne, Germany)

August 15 - September 15, 2024
Museum of Republic of Srpska（Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina)

May 24- July 30, 2024
National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

See past exhibition schedule

Image of Manga Hokusai Manga
© Shiriagari Kotobuki 2015　© Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints

Image of Hokusai Manga 1
Katsushika Hokusai
Hokusai Manga, 11, c.1823-1833
© UNSODO. Inc

Image of Crescent Moon: The Adventure of Tametomo
Kyokutei Bakin (author) and Katsushika Hokusai (artist)
Crescent Moon: The Adventure of Tametomo, 1807[-1811]
Collection of National Diet Library, Tokyo

Image of A person who draws the world
Daisuke Igarashi
A person who draws the world, 2015
Ink and watercolor on paper
36 x 110 cm
© Daisuke Igarashi

Image of La Mer I (detail)
Daisuke Nishijima
La Mer I (detail), 2015
Acrylic and pencil on paper, sound
300 x 60 x 13 cm
© Daisuke Nishijima

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