Author: Andrea Horbinski, Manga's First Century

How did manga become manga? Manga's First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905-1989, explores the rise of manga as a distinct medium in Japanese society in the 20th century. Beginning with the new use of "manga" to refer to high-collar political cartoons in the 1890s, Andrea Horbinski traces manga's development across formats through newspapers, magazines, and books as creators sought to expand the medium in the face of challenges ranging from state repression under the imperial government to perpetual editorial stubbornness. Taking a comprehensive look at the wide range of formats and subject matter, that "manga" has encompassed, she shows how its development into a globally popular medium was the product of interactions between creators, editors, and above all manga fans.

Andrea Horbinski began studying Japanese in college after she started watching anime in high school, and went on to research hypernationalist manga in Kyoto on a Fulbright Fellowship before pursuing her PhD in history and new media at the University of California, Berkeley. There she harnessed her love of manga and pop culture while writing her dissertation, uncovering the role that fans of manga have played in manga's development since its earliest decades. She lives in the Bay Area.

This program is a collaboration with the Art, Music & Recreation Center.

Japanese Animated Film Classics

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Film Center (now the National Film Archive) and the National Institute of Informatics (NII) jointly built the research project on digital preservation and utilization in movies (BDC Project) of the "Culture and Arts Promotion Grants-in-Aid for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts (Mitsuiboument for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts)" (the Grant-in-Aid for the Promotion of Digital Culture and Arts (MEXT) for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts (Mitsui-Mitsui), and the National Institute of Informatics (NII) as a result of practical research related to digitalization and preservation technology and new methods for the release of collections. 

Sixty-four Japanese animated films, digitized from the film collection of the Film Center, have been released. In addition, part of the "Ofuji Noburo Collection" owned by the Film Center can be seen at the "Oto no Noburo Memorial Museum". In addition, you can also see the oldest existing animated film in Japan, "Namakura Katanagatari" (literally, "Namakura Tori no Maki") in Japan.

Connect:

Andrea Horbinski - Website | Andrea Horbinski - Bluesky | Andrea Horbinski - Instagram | University of California Press - Manga's First Century Page

International Center - Website | Art, Music & Recreation Center - Website