A special exhibition on Japanese manga, titled 'Manga. An Art of Its Own!', was unveiled to the press at Paris's Guimet Museum. It traces manga's roots from traditional Japanese art to modern hits, highlighting its global influence. The show opens to the public on November 20 and runs until March 9, 2026.
On November 19, a special exhibition on Japanese manga was unveiled to the press at the Guimet Museum in Paris, drawing crowds of reporters and photographers captivated by the displays. Titled 'Manga. An Art of Its Own!', it explores how manga emerged under Western caricature influences and evolved with social changes into a diverse art form.
In France, comics are known as the 'ninth art' after painting, music, literature, and film, with Japanese manga and anime holding particular appeal. Featured works include masterpieces by legendary artists Osamu Tezuka, Shigeru Mizuki, and Sanpei Shirato, alongside contemporary hits like 'One Piece' and 'Attack on Titan'. Series such as 'Dragon Ball', 'Naruto', and 'Akira' are highlighted for their role in Japanizing European popular culture.
Curator Estelle Bauer noted that traditional Japanese arts like picture scrolls and ukiyo-e woodblock prints formed the foundation of manga's thriving culture. 'Japanese manga works have been created for many years, allowing readers to live with the characters by projecting themselves onto them, which is the key to their global success,' she said. Co-curator Didier Pasamonik told AFP, 'This is not a comic book exhibition like the others: it's an exhibition that places comic books in parallel with the Guimet's collection.' He pointed to displays pairing Noh theater masks, samurai outfits, and katanas with original drawings, including a real 'dragonball' statue gifted by a Japanese shogun to Napoleon III.
The show traces the word 'manga' from 'man' (spontaneous) and 'ga' (drawing), and Japan's late-19th-century Western encounters that adapted European newspaper caricatures with Japanese mythology in kamishibai street theater. It covers styles from shojo (originally for girls) to gekiga (darker, adult-oriented). A dedicated room features Katsushika Hokusai's 1831 woodblock print 'Great Wave off Kanagawa', whose 'clear and structured lines' foreshadow comic aesthetics, per Pasamonik.
While providing historical context, the exhibition also examines manga's impact, creating a 'transnational community of fans, transcending linguistic and cultural boundaries,' as lecturer Bounthavy Suvilay writes in the catalogue. Influences extend to video games like 'Super Mario' and 'The Legend of Zelda', animated series such as 'Grendizer' and 'Captain Harlock', Pokemon cards, and fashion from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Julien David. Ancient narrative scrolls and medieval masks are displayed alongside modern works to reflect manga's creative roots.