TOKYO Kyodo-based manga artists in central Japan have begun a project in central Japan to preserve their work in ink for generations to come, using durable gampi paper in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, the birthplace of traditional washi handmade paper.
We will preserve manga drawings as a symbol of everlasting peace, said Tamotsu Tanaka, the head of an association for the cultural preservation of washi and manga.
Tetsuya Chiba, the author of Ashita no Joe, Mari Yamazaki, known for the series Thermae Romae, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, of YamatoTakeru and Namuji fame, and Motoka Murakami, the illustrator of the Jin series, participated in the first phase of the project.
They painted the characters and other features from their work on gampi paper, which was made from fibers taken from the inner bark of the gampi tree.
The paintings are being exhibited in the Manga Shoso-in Exhibition at the Museum of Washi and Culture in Echizen from April 29 to June 26.
Washi paper, also made from fibers taken from the kozo and mitsumata plants, is extremely durable.
The Shoso-in treasure house at Todai-ji temple in Nara, western Japan, has documents written on washi dating back to 1,300 years. Since ancient times, gampi has been used to keep important records due to its strong resistance to insect damage.
Chiba, who drew the profile of Joe Yabuki, the main character of the Ashita no Joe boxing manga series, said leaving his drawings much like the Choju-giga, or the ancient picture scrolls of frolicking animals to posterity is a dream he never anticipated.
It's a great honor to be able to show people a million years from now the kind of manga culture that flourishes today, he said.
Murakami drew a woman attempting to write a letter to a samurai warrior on a wary field at the end of the Edo Era 1603 - 1868 Manga is not something people can enjoy in times of conflict, he said. I made the drawing, hoping that peace will last a long time. The impetus for the project came from a fear held by Naho Murata, an Echizen washi artisan, that the future of gampi paper is in danger.
While gampi's current uses are based on printmaking and calligraphy, gampi's past uses are limited to printmaking and calligraphy.
As demand fell, Tanaka, an acquaintance of Chiba's, established the association for the cultural preservation of manga and washi.
After the exhibition, the drawings are kept in the possession of the association. We want many people to see them in different places, Mr. Tanaka said.
In an interview with the museum in Poland, he said, a museum has shown interest in holding a special manga exhibition.
He said he plans to expand the project to a network of 20 to 30 popular manga artists.
A collection box will be placed at the exhibition in Echizen to receive donations for refugees from war and disaster through the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The proposal was an ardent wish from Chiba, resulting from his experience of near starvation after his family's escape to Japan from Manchuria, now northeastern China, following the end of World War II.