Breaking News English

Manga exhibition is British Museum's biggest show

Manga - Level 4

The Japanese art of manga has risen in popularity in the past few decades. Its roots go back nearly 1,000 years. It is now as well known as sushi, geisha and Mt Fuji. It is so popular outside Japan that a manga exhibition was the British Museum's most popular show in 2019. It was the largest display of manga material ever put together outside Japan. Around 1,920 people paid to see it every day.

The exhibition showed manga's 900-year history, from the earliest forms to sketches of today's popular anime and game characters. The show included 70 manga series, including the seminal work "Astro Boy". The British Museum said: "Manga is the modern graphic art of storytelling first perfected in Japan....Building on Japan's centuries-old tradition, the best manga have the visual power to excite us and draw us into their world."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3    |     Speed 4

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Manga - Level 5

The Japanese art of manga has greatly risen in popularity in the past few decades. Its roots go back nearly 1,000 years but it is only recently that it has taken off globally. Manga is now as well known as sushi, geisha and Mt Fuji. Manga is now so popular outside Japan that an exhibition of manga was the most popular show at the British Museum in 2019. It attracted more visitors than a show on the painter Rembrandt. The exhibition was the largest display of manga material ever put together outside Japan. Around 1,920 people paid to see it every day.

The exhibition showed the 900-year history of manga. It included the earliest forms by master painters to sketches of today's popular anime and game characters such as Pokemon. The show included 70 manga series, including Osamu Tezuka's seminal work "Astro Boy". The British Museum said: "Manga is the modern graphic art of storytelling first perfected in Japan and is now loved all over the world. Building on Japan's centuries-old tradition, the best manga have the visual power to excite us and draw us into their world, with inventive storylines that engage our emotions."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3    |     Speed 4

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Manga - Level 6

Manga - the Japanese art of comic books - has greatly risen in popularity worldwide in the past few decades. The art form can trace its roots back nearly 1,000 years in Japan but it is only in recent times that it has taken off globally. Manga is now as synonymous with Japan as sushi, geisha and Mt Fuji. Such is the popularity of manga outside Japan, an exhibition of manga works proved to be the most popular show at the British Museum in 2019. It attracted more visitors than a show on the Dutch painter Rembrandt. The manga exhibition was the largest display of manga material ever assembled outside Japan. Around 1,920 people paid to see it every day, according to the museum.

The manga exhibition showcased the 900-year history of the art. It included the earliest forms of manga by master painters to sketches and illustrations of today's popular anime and video game characters such as Pokemon. There were also exhibits from animated films known as "anime". The show included 70 manga series, including Osamu Tezuka's seminal work "Astro Boy". Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, said: "Manga is the modern graphic art of storytelling first perfected in Japan and is now loved all over the world. Building on Japan's centuries-old tradition, the best manga have the visual power to excite us and draw us into their world, with inventive storylines that engage our emotions."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3    |     Speed 4

MORE

25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson