‘Study manga' makes easy reading out of Japanese educational content

Korea Herald

3 days ago

TOKYO (Japan News/ANN) — 'Study manga,' which help students understand what they are learning at school, are growing increasingly diverse. While the popular genres of history and biography are expanding their range of themes, some study manga are tackling medical and social issues, and attracting readers of all ages.
From a manga on the Iwakura Mission produced by the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. In the center is Tomomi Iwakura. In the back from left are Umeko Tsuda, Hirobumi Ito, Takayoshi Kido and Toshimichi Okubo.
This March saw the release of 'The Iwakura Mission: The story of the beginning — Toward the modernization of Japan — ,' a 120-page study manga produced by the Kyoto-based International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken), Kyoto Seika University and others. The manga is the second in a series, with the first released in 2023 and covering Hosokawa Gracia. The manga is not for sale and will be distributed to educational institutions and other organizations. It is available on the Nichibunken Open Access library.
From 1871 to 1873, a delegation led by Tomomi Iwakura, a statesman of the Meiji government, embarked on a tour to see the West. The manga illustrates the group's journey based on historical facts. Kazuhiro Takii, a professor at Nichibunken and a leading researcher on Iwakura, supervised the production of the manga.
'There are many interesting episodes and the characters have distinctive personalities,' said Takii, explaining why the manga was created.
In the manga, the characters represent the feelings of 'joy,' 'anger,' 'sorrow' and 'pleasure' in the face of the problems facing Japan. Cheerful and optimistic Hirobumi Ito represents 'joy,' passionate idealist Takayoshi Kido represents 'anger,' Iwakura represents 'sorrow' and the upbeat Toshimichi Okubo represents 'pleasure.' The manga explains legal details to readers while also closely examining the historical facts, such as their interactions with German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
'I worked hard to gather materials to understand their hair styles, clothing and even the way of thinking at that time,' said Sakino Hamada, who oversaw the illustrations. 'The visuals of the manga will provide more information than words alone would.'
Major market
For publishers, study manga is a major market, one that began developing in the 1950s. History and biography manga have done particularly well, and many major publishers, including Shogakukan Inc. and Shueisha Inc., entered the market starting in the 1970s. Study manga continue to be revised, reprinted and updated.
In a corner of the Kyoto International Manga Museum, two walls are lined with study manga. Here, many foreign tourists sit and read the biographies of great figures from their countries.
According to Nana Sato-Rossberg, a professor at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies who researches manga translation, educational comics are rarely seen in other countries. This is why she is certain that if study manga become popular overseas, they will be read with great enthusiasm.
The manga museum has been commissioned to produce about 1,000 promotional and educational manga. Among its clients are local governments, companies and boards of education across the country, with stories ranging from the history of the Kamiokande particle detector to the life of the creator of egg packs.
In recent years, the museum has received an increasing number of requests from medical institutions, which distribute manga to promote health checkups and provide information on support for treatments. Its manga about stroke prevention, which depicts the process from hospitalization to recovery, has been well received. The museum says that it is much easier to understand certain concepts when they are illustrated in manga.
But study manga are not without problems. In the past, they presented their themes in a detached manner, like textbooks. However, as manga adaptions have become more popular, 'It has become essential to exaggerate the stories and to make characters look nicer, such as by depicting historical figures as modern, good-looking men,' according to Yu Ito, a researcher at Kyoto Seika University's International Manga Research Center.
With more companies being commissioned to produce manga, the content of their manga has become more diverse, with some works meant to introduce a company or organization. 'Supervisors are going to be increasingly important for (study manga),' Ito said.