What is it?
Manga, the Japanese name for comics, is rooted in Japanese graphic arts and caricatures dating back as far as the 12th century. The contemporary manga genre, involving mostly story manga, emerged in the 1950s and expanded in the 1960s. Unlike single-frame caricature, story manga consists of dozens of frames that engage readers in the story as the plot develops.
Children are generally assumed to make up the majority of comic book readers, but development of story manga into complex tales and human dramas helped manga attract adults who grew up with the genre. Japan’s economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s helped the manga industry expand its readership to include children, adolescents, young adults, homemakers, middle-aged businessmen, and working women. To respond to these readers’ needs and expectations, manga addresses a range of forms and topics reflecting Japanese society and culture, including science fiction, love stories, adventure, history, sports, and politics. By the early 1990s, manga was a major part of the Japanese publishing industry. (Mizumura, Ayako. “Manga.” Encyclopedia of Women in Today’s World. Ed. Mary Zeiss Stange, Carol K. Oyster, and Jane E. Sloan. 1st ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2011. 892-94. SAGE knowledge. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.)
What does Furman have?
To get an idea of our small but growing collection, see our Pinterest board. Thanks to Dr. Sachi Schmidt-Hori for her help in selecting these titles. Please let us know if there are other titles you would like to see the library acquire.
Who is it for?
The books we collect are for the enjoyment of all our users, the support the Japanese Studies program, and for anyone who is interested in this aspect of Japanese culture.