The Ministry of Culture is to showcase prominent Taiwanese comics at two locations in Japan this month to widen their exposure among audiences there.
Works from 10 Taiwanese manga series that have won the Japan International Manga Award are to be displayed at the Kadokawa Culture Museum in Saitama Prefecture, along with works from 40 Taiwanese manga series that have been adapted into live-action TV dramas, radio dramas, or computer or tabletop games, the ministry said.
Six Taiwanese manga artists — Chang Sheng (常勝), Gao Yan (高妍), AKRU, Monday Recover, Jian Jia-cheng (簡嘉誠) and Rimui (韋籬若明) — were commissioned to create paintings for the exhibition, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Culture
Their paintings feature distinctly Taiwanese elements, such as Taipei 101, the Alishan Forest Railway, a typical Taiwanese home and xiaolongbao (小籠包, steamed soup dumplings), it said.
Moreover, Rimui created the poster for the exhibition, which features flowers commonly seen in the alleys of Taiwan, the ministry said.
At a separate site, 13 manga series centered on gay and lesbian romance are to be featured in Tokyo at the Ikebukuro flagship store of Animate, Japan’s largest anime and manga merchandise retail chain, the ministry said.
The two exhibitions run from Friday to 27.
A forum at the store on Friday evening next week is to feature Taiwanese manga artist MAE and Japanese manga artist Tamekou, it said.
Japanese Representative to Taiwan Kazuyuki Katayama at a news conference to promote the events underscored the importance of comics and anime, calling them an important source of a country’s “soft power” and essential to promoting mutual understanding.
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